Ever heard of a man called Best Man? Fictions and cartoon serials have introduced to us characters like Batman, Spider man, Superman etc. We have heard about gentleman, Cart man, Load man and many others like that. But not the superlative of good man. Dictionary meaning for best man is Bridegroom's supporter [ Mappilai Thozhan ]. In Tamilnadu, lot of parents [ bride's ] fear this gentleman as he pretends himself as the original mouthpiece of the groom. The bride's relatives often take pain to entertain this man and utmost care is given to see that this best man is treated in a grand manner so that he may not turn a worst man.
The practice of sending a best man with the bridegroom started from early days. In olden days the marriages will be held at the bride's residence and the bridegroom may have to stay there for two or three days before he could return to his home with his bride. During that period the groom has to be at the bride's residence, he will be like an outsider there, having no close contacts with anybody there and will feel lonely. To give him company, one of his friends will be nominated to stay with him during that period so that he will not feel isolated. The man thus deputed is known as Best man. The bride's relatives will pay more attention to him than the groom thinking that otherwise he will paint them shabby after returning back home. This is to a certain extent true also that there are cases of the Best man complaining about poor treatment meted out to him. There were cases of the Best man making chaos in the bride's family to show that he deserved more attention than the groom.
I had got a couple of chances to be the Best man. But to my dismay, I didn't get any undue attention and no complaints were raised by me, knowing fully well that the bride's relatives did not ignore me totally. Once I was asked to accompany a groom who belonged to a poor family as no body except me was willing to take that part. The other fellows, who generally compete among themselves to don the role, in this case, refused to do so knowing very well that they will not get a royal treatment because of the bride's economic status. I had to spend one whole rainy night on the veranda of the house on that occasion shivering in the chillness and being attacked by mosquitoes.
Instances of Best man making problems in the bride's residence, specially in Tamil Nadu, were heard and the same have caused strains in the relationship between the bride's and the groom's families. For a simple cause a volcano is erupted. Can this be an act of a man called the Best Man?
The man deputed to be a Best Man should always posses the qualities of a good individual true to the name he is bestowed with.
The practice of sending a best man with the bridegroom started from early days. In olden days the marriages will be held at the bride's residence and the bridegroom may have to stay there for two or three days before he could return to his home with his bride. During that period the groom has to be at the bride's residence, he will be like an outsider there, having no close contacts with anybody there and will feel lonely. To give him company, one of his friends will be nominated to stay with him during that period so that he will not feel isolated. The man thus deputed is known as Best man. The bride's relatives will pay more attention to him than the groom thinking that otherwise he will paint them shabby after returning back home. This is to a certain extent true also that there are cases of the Best man complaining about poor treatment meted out to him. There were cases of the Best man making chaos in the bride's family to show that he deserved more attention than the groom.
I had got a couple of chances to be the Best man. But to my dismay, I didn't get any undue attention and no complaints were raised by me, knowing fully well that the bride's relatives did not ignore me totally. Once I was asked to accompany a groom who belonged to a poor family as no body except me was willing to take that part. The other fellows, who generally compete among themselves to don the role, in this case, refused to do so knowing very well that they will not get a royal treatment because of the bride's economic status. I had to spend one whole rainy night on the veranda of the house on that occasion shivering in the chillness and being attacked by mosquitoes.
Instances of Best man making problems in the bride's residence, specially in Tamil Nadu, were heard and the same have caused strains in the relationship between the bride's and the groom's families. For a simple cause a volcano is erupted. Can this be an act of a man called the Best Man?
The man deputed to be a Best Man should always posses the qualities of a good individual true to the name he is bestowed with.
