What is ‘Aanau’ in social customs and traditions of Rajasthan?

Correct — option (3), After marriage sending bride to her in-law’s house for the second time.

'Aanau' (आंणौ) is the Rajasthani name for the bride's later going to her husband's home after the wedding, the rite also called muklawa or gauna. So the answer is sending the bride to her in-laws' house for the second time.

Sitaram Lalas's Rajasthani Sabad Kos gives आंणो as the fetching of a daughter-in-law from her parents' home, or of a daughter from her in-laws' home, and as gauna. It lists आंणो-मुकलावौ with the meaning गौना, द्विरागमन (dviragaman, a "second coming").

The Jodhpur District Gazetteer (1979) describes Muklawa or Gona: a very young bride "lives with her parents till she attains puberty. She is then sent to the house of the in-laws for the second time after the marriage."

The Alwar District Gazetteer (1968) agrees: "The bride goes to the husband's house for the second time only after gona".

Aanau is muklawa: the bride's second going to her in-laws' home.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Well worship — Well worship is a separate rite connected with childbirth, not with a bride's journey.

  The Jodhpur District Gazetteer (1979) lists Kua Pujan (worshipping of the well) among ceremonies connected with child birth. The Alwar District Gazetteer (1968) says Jal Puja, "commonly known as jalwa or kuwa pujan", is performed six weeks or 40 days after the birth, when the mother goes to a well with other women.

• (2)
  Going to see the bridegroom’s wedding place by bride’s family — This describes a step during the wedding itself, taken by the bride's side, not the bride's later journey. RPSC's Hindi version of this option reads "दुल्हन के परिवार द्वारा वर की बारात का डेरा देखने जाना": going to see the camp of the groom's marriage party.

  The Alwar District Gazetteer (1968) calls the marriage party's camp at the bride's place the janwasa, and says representatives of the bride's side come there to conduct the party to the bride's house for the marriage.

• (4)
  Worship of Jal Jhulni Ekadashi — Jal Jhulni Ekadashi is a festival day, not a marriage custom.

  The Udaipur District Census Handbook (2011) describes processions on Jal-Jhulni Ekadashi that end at Gangaur Ghat, where idols of Bal Gopal are swung in Lake Pichola. The Sikar District Gazetteer lists a Jal Jhulni fair at Neem-ka-Thana in Bhadrapad.

A Rajasthani wedding could be followed by a second rite that sent the bride to live at her husband's home; for a very young bride, the gazetteers say, it waited until puberty. Its names include aanau, muklawa and gauna (gona).

The gazetteers explain why. The Alwar Gazetteer (1968) says gona "had practical importance in olden days when child marriage was the rule" and was performed after the bride reached puberty. It adds that by 1968, with child marriages rare, gona was performed shortly after the marriage.

The sources count the visits differently. The gazetteers treat the wedding's farewell as the bride's first stay with her in-laws, so gona is the second; Lalas describes gauna as the rite in which the groom brings the bride to his home for the first time.

Key facts

• Lalas's Rajasthani Sabad Kos gives आंणो-मुकलावौ as gauna, dviragaman.
• Jodhpur District Gazetteer (1979): at Muklawa or Gona the bride is sent to her in-laws' house for the second time after the marriage.
• Alwar District Gazetteer (1968): gona was performed only after the bride had attained puberty when child marriage was the rule.
• Kua Pujan (worship of the well) is listed among childbirth ceremonies in the Jodhpur District Gazetteer (1979).
• The Alwar Gazetteer (1968) calls the marriage party's camp at the bride's place the janwasa.

Common traps

• Aanau, muklawa and gauna name one rite; a stem can use any of these names.
• Well worship sounds like a wedding rite, but the gazetteers place kua pujan among childbirth ceremonies.
• The count of visits depends on the source: the gazetteers call gona the bride's second going to her in-laws, because she first stays there briefly after the wedding.

UnlockIAS compared this question with questions from other RAS Prelims papers and found none similar enough to link.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In the social customs of Rajasthan, 'Kua Pujan' (worship of the well) is performed in connection with

  • (a)the birth of a child
  • (b)the betrothal
  • (c)the departure of the marriage party
  • (d)the death of a family member
  Answer(1) — The Jodhpur District Gazetteer (1979) lists Kua Pujan among ceremonies connected with child birth, and the Alwar District Gazetteer (1968) says kuwa pujan is performed some weeks after the birth. Option (2), option (3) and option (4) are other occasions that these gazetteers describe with different rites.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  The marriage party's camp at the bride's place in Rajasthan is called

  • (a)Muklawa
  • (b)Janwasa
  • (c)Toran
  • (d)Aanau
  Answer(2) — The Alwar District Gazetteer (1968) says the marriage party's camp at the bride's place is called janwasa. Option (1), Muklawa, and option (4), Aanau, name the bride's later going to her in-laws' home; option (3), Toran, is the arch at the bride's door that the groom touches on arrival, as the Jodhpur Gazetteer (1979) describes.