A HINDU wedding house practice has grown to a point where it has become very shameful and disgraceful. It is common knowledge that a lot of alcohol is consumed at Hindu wedding houses which, on many occasions, lead up to violent situations.
The alarming situation now is that families who have a marriage being celebrated at their houses set up, for profit, a bar with assorted liquors and beverages. In most cases, if not all, this is done without Customs and Excise permits.
More often than not the bar is located in close proximity to the area where the ceremony is being conducted so that while the Priest is performing the ceremony, rum and beer are flowing all around him.
I myself have seen instances where marriage ceremonies were done in  one-flat houses where the bar was more organized than the maaro, and the music set was higher than the roof of the house.
Hindus must live by a principle: “Atithi deva bhava’. A guest must be treated with respect. It is therefore a tragedy when a Hindu invites people to a marriage ceremony and hopes to make a profit off them by selling alcohol.
I wonder if they are trying to recover money spent on the wedding? This behaviour must be stopped. I will encourage the Pandits that wherever they go to perform a marriage
ceremony and there is a bar, or unacceptable behaviour because of the use of alcohol, then they should leave that place and  not place a few dollars before their dignity. This is the way by which
the pandits will get the respect they deserve.