JEYPORE/KORAPUT: In tribes, the community binds people like nothing else. And in the recent instance of a marriage solemnised in tribal-dominated Mangalpur village, the Kandha community took to sarees of all hues to decorate the entire village under Narayanpatna tehsil of Koraput district, when no other mode of decoration was possible.
At a time when the families of Masi Nachika and Tika Kendruka were worried as to how to get the two married as their village, present on top of a hill, is cut off from the rest of the world, the community got in to help. This apart, the inability to arrange finances for the decoration was an uphill task.
But people in the community rose to the occasion as always and planned to conduct the marriage, albeit with a difference. Sources said the village comprises as many as 36 Kandha families, most of whom earned their livelihoods by making and selling brooms.
The residents of the village jointly took a decision that each family would bear the expenses which they receive by selling brooms, and pay for three sarees to be used for decoration. That led to a number of sarees that the locals fetched from a nearby market. Lo and behold! the entire village was transformed into a colourful marriage venue.
Over 23 youths from the village shouldered the responsibility of decorations and it took them two days to complete the work. While some sarees were hung from trees, others got used up to make the roof of the marriage mandap.
“Apart from access, the money required for the wedding was beyond budget, so villagers took it upon themselves to lend help. Three to four sarees were collected from each household and the entire village was aesthetically decorated for the wedding,” said the groom’s relative Subana Nachika.
A local Subas Kenruka said it was special as there had been no weddings in the village since the last two years. “We were all excited to see Masi and Tika get married. After the wedding day was fixed, we brought tree branches from nearby forests to construct the stage for the wedding. We also sold brooms to arrange sarees for the decoration. I am happy the marriage concluded smoothly,” he added.