Pen parthal aka meeting the girl

Once you are past the horoscope matches, and the eligibility checks, you then get to the stage of visiting the girl's family.

This custom has changed a lot from yester-years, now it is a matter of the boy meeting the girl at some cafe and exchanging views about marriage, on topics of mutual interest, and what-not, and deciding if they are the right match.

The traditional pen parthal involves the boy's family and his close relatives visiting the girl's house. The girl's family prepares a sweet and a snack to welcome the boy's family. The idea behind this procedure was to understand each other's family well, and to discuss things in their entirety. For example, what the family customs are, and their practices, their relatives, heredity etc are discussed to decide on the compatibility. Sometimes these things are important because, if the girl's family happens to be modern and the boy's family happens to be way too traditional, there may be difficulties in the girl adapting to the boy's family. To iron out these problems, the pen parthal occasion serves as a good platform for initiation of a wedding prospect.

Another aspect in this occasion is the boy talking to the girl in private. Actually this is what has evolved into the cafe meeting of the current century. This is more about understanding each other and weighing personalities between the boy and the girl.

Some families decide and let know each other later after this ceremony, and some families make a decision immediately and exchange mutual consent. Since this ceremony is the stepping stone of a marriage, it is given its due importance.