The twenty-first century may have dawned, but a wedding in the family is today as much as it was centuries ago, an occasion for joy, celebration - and song. In Hindu families of UP and Bihar, there is a song for every occasion, starting with an invocation to Devi, the Mother Goddess, to bless the forthcoming nuptials, to Vidai, songs of farewell, as the bride leaves her father's home. This treasure trove of songs, representing an intangible heritage that is in ...
