Brides refuse to marry drunkards in rural Bihar

This could be music to Nitish Kumar’s ears. An year after he imposed prohibition in the State and spread awareness about ill-effects of liquor consumption, prospective brides in rural areas of the state have started to call off weddings if they find out that their would-be-husbands are drunkards in dry Bihar.

This was evident in Buxar district where a 24-year-old groom Bittu Pandey had to return to his ancestral home in Rohtas unwed. Reason, the bride, during the ongoing marriage rituals, found him in an inebriated condition.

Immediately, she informed her parents about how the groom, under the influence of liquor, was stammering and was unable to recite the marriage hymns – a ritual which takes place shortly before sindoor-daan (where the groom applies vermilion on bride’s forehead).

“He is drunk and can’t even stand properly. I won’t marry him,” the bride told her parents before leaving in a huff from the mandap. Though the groom's side tried to persuade the girl and told her that jaimal (exchange of garlands) had already taken place and only sindoor-daan was to be performed, the bride remained adamant and made it clear that she “can’t marry a person who was already wedded to liquor.”

This is the second such instance in rural Bihar where a bride has token such a stand. Last year, a bride called off her marriage minutes before the jaimal ceremony was to take place at Naugachia in Bhagalpur district, around 300 kms from here.

The bride Preeti Lata, a teacher at a Government middle school, was on stage with the garland when she ‘smelt’ a rat. She realised her would-be husband was completely drunk. She developed cold feet, threw the garland on the floor of the mandap and ran towards her make-shift room, thereby leaving all the guests stunned.

“I cannot marry a drunkard, who has shamelessly consumed liquor even before the wedding,” the intrepid girl told her father Ashutosh Mishra. Preeti’s stand drew widespread appreciation from her other relatives but left the grooms side red-faced.

She sought forgiveness from everyone for bringing disrepute to the family but reiterated that she cannot comprise on certain values.

Consumption of liquor is banned in Bihar ever since prohibition was imposed in the State in April 2016.