A Durkheim’s Reading of Indo-Islamic Wedding Rituals in Twilight in Delhi and Contemporary India

Abstract

This research compares and contrasts the Indian Muslim wedding ceremonies of Nawabzada Haider Ali Khan in Noor Mahal, Rampur, (a modern royal wedding), with Ahmed Ali's Twilight in Delhi, in order to emphasize their cultural and social importance. The study examines how rituals function as manifestations of social cohesiveness and collective identity in their contexts by utilizing Emile Durkheim’s Ritual Theory. To emphasize the significance of wedding within the cultural fabric of the community, this study examines the complexities of upper-class Muslim families in Delhi in the early 20^th century.It discusses modern Indian Muslim weddings, a fusion of tradition and modernity, where intricate rituals like the sangeet (music), haldi (tumeric ceremony), mehndi (henna ceremony), and baraat (wedding ceremony) still have cultural value. Thus, this study aims to investigate the changes in social dynamics, the importance of rituals in both contexts, and persisting cultural values by looking at how wedding customs have evolved from the early 20th century to the present day.