Pre-wedding nights

It is almost wedding season again in Brunei. Seems like there is always an increase in the number of weddings in Brunei during school holidays and a month before fasting month. The reason I feel that there seems to be more weddings this past fortnight is the number of wedding invitations I received is increasing.

Traditionally this is the night for the berinai or henna is being applied to the fingers, palms, toes and feet of the bride and groom as part of tradition. It is usually informal and only close relatives and friends are invited. Nowadays, this night is also the time for preparing for the wedding day. Camps and chairs are being laid out. Last minute decorations are being put up. In order to entertain the guests and to keep everybody jovial, many events are also held, like the karaoke.

There is also another way of noticing the number of impending weddings. This is the number of disturbed weekends I get due to the noise from my neighbours karaoke at night. I know that karaoke is now synonymous with wedding nights, especially the night before the big day but I do not understand why some people need to do it with the volume at the maximum and disturbing their neighbours about a kilometre away!! At the moment I think there are two karaoke sessions going on in my area, and it's not even saturday.

There has some letters printed in the opinion page of the local newspaper but there is not much anyone can do really. Sometimes I feel like informing the police when the singing continues beyond midnight, but I dont really want to go that far. I also do not want to disturb their enjoyment, after all it is a happy day for them as well, I just wish they would consider their neighbours feelings as well. I just hope we remember that we are Bruneians and some of our good qualities include being considerate to our neighbours. So if the next time you go to your relatives wedding, please bear in mind your neighbours' rights to a peaceful night as well.

Will try to sleep through the noise.