JODHPUR: No DJs, no fireworks and no riding horseback for the groom.
These are some of the guidelines that leaders in two communities in Rajasthan's Pali district have issued to make weddings a less expensive affair.
And grooms should be clean-shaven--beards don't go with the ceremony--the elders feel.
Leaders of both Kumawat and Jat communities have also agreed to put a cap on gifts relatives can give to a couple, which includes jewellery, clothes and cash.
The rules discourage customary offering of opium too.
The Kumawats, a community of potters, at a meeting of its members from 19 villages on June 16 came up with the rules.
Terming the marriage a divine affair, they said the groom is considered a king and bizarre beard styles make the ceremony a "non-serious and fashion-ridden practice".
"So, we decided that no groom of the community will grow any sort of beard and remain clean-shaven," said Kumawat community leader Laxmi Narayan Tak.
He said a huge amount is spent on decorations, music and other customs unnecessarily.
"So, we have laid out the rules that there will be no theme weddings, no decoration, no DJ during any procession right from bandoli' to barat', and have also decided to put a limit to jewellery and cash as gifts," Tak said.
Similarly, the Jat community from five villages under Rohet subdivision of Pali has also come out with rules to make marriage functions sober, deciding to do away with marriage processions.
"To ensure uniformity in weddings for all families of the community, we have decided to bring some reforms," said Bhakariwala village sarpanch Amnaram Beniwal.
Besides making it mandatory for the groom to be clean-shaven, the reforms include forsaking riding a horse during marriage processions.
The use of a DJ system and crackers is also being discouraged.
Justifying the reforms, Beniwal said those who have money consider weddings in their families as a means of showing off, which brings inferiority complex in financially distressed families and induce them to attempt a parallel even if they have to borrow.
"So, with a view to bring equality in the community and uniformity in wedding functions, we have developed these rules," Beniwal said.
Both communities are working out a model to impose penalty or punishment on the violators of these rules.
Adherence to the rules will be mandatory for all those living in the villages.