BRIDE IN A PALANQUIN

Yesterday I read a nice report in the Sanchar ( a daily Odia newspaper) on the vanishing palanquins from Odisha’s social life. The bridegroom now prefers to ride a swanky bedecked limousine to the wedding and carry with him the bride the same way. The young daughter-in-law no more returns to her husband’s home in a palanquin, after a short visit to her parents. 

Why then does the British Monarch ride the Horse Carriage on special occasions even today? Why then even our Rastrapati is driven to the RajPath in great style in a Horse Carriage escorted by unit of cavalry on the Republic Day every year?

Why then did the “Nightingale of India”, Sarojini Naidu write the following beautiful lines? 

Palanquin Bearers

Lightly, O lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.
Softly, O softly we bear her along,
She hangs like a star in the dew of our song;
She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide,
She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride.
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

This poem expresses the joy and pride of the palanquin bearers in carrying the royal princess to her in laws house. The palanquin bearers are taking the princess in a palanquin and say that the royal princess is not at all a burden for them but a privilege as she sits and dream of her future after marriage. According to the bearers they carry the princess very carefully as if she is like dew or a teardrop. They sing happily as they carry her away. The princess also sways long on hearing their song.

Should we not revive the palanquin at least on some occasions? I would like a few very eligible bachelors of Kalinga raising this issue while negotiating a marriage. How endearing an eligible spinster would make herself if she insisted on a journey in the palanquin to her husband’s house after the wedding.

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25-06-2013