End of late-night wedding functions

The decision of the Kashmiri Waza Association to introduce fixed timings for wedding functions marks a welcome step towards ending the practice of late-night marriage ceremonies in Kashmir. For years, weddings have often stretched well beyond midnight, with delayed arrival of the groom and guests disrupting schedules and causing inconvenience to families, workers and attendees. The new guidelines, asking families to serve lunch by 3 PM and conclude dinner by 10 PM, offer an opportunity to bring much-needed discipline to these celebrations. The decision deserves public support, particularly because it reflects the difficulties faced by Wazas, who remain central to Kashmir’s traditional wedding culture. Preparing Wazwan is a demanding task that begins early in the day and involves hours of cooking, coordination and physical labour. When ceremonies are delayed, cooks are forced to wait for long hours after completing their work, affecting their health, family life and ability to attend other commitments. Such delays can also compromise the quality and timely serving of food. Weddings are occasions of joy and celebration, but that should not come at the cost of exhausting those who make the arrangements possible. Late-night functions also create difficulties for guests, elderly people, children and those who have to return to distant places. They can add to traffic congestion and disturb the normal routine of communities. The Association’s initiative should therefore be seen as more than a decision concerning the working hours of cooks. It is an effort to change a social practice that has gradually become inconvenient and unnecessary. Families must cooperate by ensuring that baraats and guests arrive on time and ceremonies begin as scheduled. If followed sincerely, these timings can help bring late-night wedding functions to an end while preserving the warmth, tradition and grandeur of Kashmiri weddings.