Shared Culture Practices

When it comes to weddings, Indian and Pakistani celebrations share quite a number of cultural similarities, from food, to clothing, to traditional events leading up to the big day. Muslims comprise the majoritarian religious population in Pakistan, as Hindus do in India. While the traditional marriage ceremonies – the nikkah for Muslims and seven rotations around the fire for Hindus – are different like night and day, the celebrations leading to the big day are largely the same. For example, both cultural groups, host a mehndi, in which the bride’s hands and feet are decorated with henna, followed by a long night of feasting and dancing, in traditional clothing, such as brightly coloured saaris for the women, and the coat-like garment known as a sherwani for men.