Pehravni: When Grandpa Dresses as a Bride

Somewhere in the middle of a Marwari wedding, while the music and buffet line are still going, a man usually old enough to be your grandfather gets handed a sari. In most cases, he’s the most senior man on the groom’s side, the one who’s spent the whole event being deferred to and offered the best seat in every room. Now, the bride’s side is outfitting him: they might drape a dupatta over his head, give him a bindi, adorn him with jewelry, and even add some makeup. The room laughs. He laughs, too. 

This is Pehravni, a custom of ritual cross-dressing in Marwari weddings. Marwari families are known for business empires, strict patriarchal hierarchies, and arranged marriages. And yet, at their weddings, they dress a grandfather as a woman, hand him an infant, and call it a blessing. Scroll through social media today, and reels of the centuries-old practice keep going viral. But there’s one question everyone wants to know: where did Pehravni come from?