Sunday, November 29, 2009

Catch [insert new number]

Last night at a party, I met a newly-wed couple. They did the sensible thing and had a registered wedding, and this is apparently what happened:

Before they got their certificate, they had to put up photographs of the wedding up on a board in the Registrar's office.

"Why the photgraphs?" I asked.

"For proof."

"So you guys got married in some other way and also got a registered wedding?"

"No no - it was only a registered wedding."

"But the registrar presided, right?"

"Yes."

"Wait. So you had to prove to the registrar that he married you off?"

"Um... yes."

*

Of course, it would have been much better if the building in which they'd got married was one in which photography wasn't allowed but I'm guessing they haven't thought of that one yet.

9 comments:

Falstaff said...

Of course, if they really wanted to do it properly they'd require you to produce photographs proving you'd never been married before.

Space Bar said...

falsie: no no...surely you mean, they have to prove (with photographs) that they're *not* currently married to someone else?

Rahul Siddharthan said...

The photos are needed if you are being wedded under the hindu act. In that case you need to have been married in a Hindu ceremony and the photos are proof. (In Tamil Nadu there are alternatives, i.e. a family elder can pronounce you married.) if you are getting married under the special marriage act, no photos but you need a month's notice and three witnesses. That's what we did. (The registrar tried to claim that the special marriage act doesn't apply to two Hindus, but we held our ground - that's another story...)

the mad momma said...

or you can just get married in UP where you pay the registrar something and you dont have to put up the notice and he comes home and has a cup of tea and lets you sign there, without photogprahs :D

Rahul Siddharthan said...

ps - I posted the last comment from my mobile on a moving bus, and apparently I didn't read your post very carefully. Putting up photos of the registrar marrying you off sounds very odd, certainly not adequate for a Hindu wedding and not required for a "special marriages act" wedding. The act is available online, but we did find that registrars aren't familiar with it.

Falstaff said...

Space: True. I forgot about the whole remarriage thing. I have a hard enough time understanding why people get married the first time round, why someone would willingly do it more than once is truly inexplicable.

Personally, I think this whole photograph thing is a way for registrars to have a little fun. I bet every registrar has his or her own World's Worst Wedding pictures album, featuring photographs of people looking really stupid in their wedding costumes. They probably have secret conventions where they compare notes, swap photos and stay up late into the night getting drunk and cackling over the latest bloopers.

Tabula Rasa said...

how 20th century. these days, they should require you to post videos. on a board in the registrar's office.

Preeti Aghalayam aka kbpm said...

This sounds fantastic. I wish I could get married (again). Wait! I can! Despite being a 'ladies!' My, thats a liberating feeling, for sure.

Scherezade said...

Wow! I wonder if this procedure is universal. I shall go find out how do I get about marrying someone in Bombay and then report my experience.I have time to kill before my exams anyway and prank phone calls to the local escort agencies aren't cutting it in terms of entertainment these days. On the other hand,I suspect these registrars are planted to dissuade people from getting married in the first place. And that in itself isn't such a terrible move.