- Bribe Fighter
- 13 years ago
- 4757 views
Refused to pay marriage 'brokers'
I got married on a Sunday in the month of June. There a number of these 'marriage brokers' around who will help you register your wedding if you pay them. Usually, they work in partnership with the mandapam in which the wedding is held. So we got the number of the broker 6 months ahead of time, spoke to her. She said since it was a Sunday, it will cost Rs.2000 to get the certificate on the same day. She also asked us to call her and remind her 2 weeks before the wedding. My parents caller her 2 weeks before. She then said "its too early, call me next week". We did that also. When we called her the week after that, she said "Why are u coming now sir? Its too late. You should have filed the papers much earlier. Now it will cost you Rs.4000 if you want the certificate on Monday. But if you want it same day, it wil cost Rs.8000." We were fuming because generally my parents are very organized and like to get things get done on time. So it was not their fault at all. We then refused to pay her. My mother is a state govt. officer. So she had some contacts whom she called up. They helped her contact the registrar and fasten things up. Even then, my mother had to spend her entire day standing at the registrar office, getting shouted at a few times but finally she managed to get the certificate for more than 5-6 hours there. We needed the certificate to go for a visa interview the next day.
If only there were clear guidelines somewhere online as to what papers are needed, when they should be filed, how long it will take and if someone needs it expedited, how much is the official fee for this..
Also why is that couples are not allowed to register their wedding before the rituals are over? We are both adults in our mid-twenties. What is wrong in this? In Singapore, my friends and colleagues usuaully register their wedding legally 1 or sometimes even 2 yrs before their ritualistic wedding to help them apply for a housing loan. What is wrong in permitting this in India? Why should the couple have to wait till after the ritualistic wedding? What if we decide not have the ritualistic wedding at all? Can;t we have a simple registrar marriage wheneevr we want to? I am asking these questions because when my fiance and I tried to register the wedding ahead of our Hindu wedding, we were told it is not possible. and even if it is an inter-caste wedding, we have to inform them 1 month before and the detail will be put up on the notice board etc etc.