AP Television Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India - June 4-5, 2011 1. Various of female wedding guests singing 2. Mid of female guests watching 3. Wide of guests at the wedding 4. Mid of groom (centre) surrounded by guests 5. Wide pan right of people seated on floor for the Kashmiri wedding feast "Wazwan" 6. Various of guests eating 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Habib Mir, hotelier and relative of the groom "It is a unique wedding ceremony celebrated here in Kashmir from ages and it continues from the day of mehendi (Henna ceremony) up to the reception of Baraat (wedding procession) and continues for another day which is called Walima. So, with all these formalities and traditions we cannot remain without having Wazwan. Wazwan is the special thing." 8. Various of men preparing, chopping, pounding and seasoning the meat 9. SOUNDBITE: (Urdu) Haji Abdul Samad, head chef "The tradition of Wazwan came from Iran and slowly the practice caught on here too. A large number of dishes are prepared in this, not only the ones that you see here, but many more. Anything between 20 to 30 dishes are prepared, especially for weddings. Be it a marriage party or any other function, every one here - whether rich or poor - prepares Wazwan." 10. Various of pots cooking over wood fire 11. Various of 'Trami' being prepared for Wazwan - a plate for four people with different types of meat dishes served over rice 12. Wide of 'Trami' being served to guests seated for the Wazwan feast 13. Various of guests eating Trami dishes 14. Wide of many Trami pots waiting to be served 15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mohammad Shafi Khan, promoter of Kashmiri Cuisine "They are same, there is no change in that because they can't be compromised as far as the authenticity is concerned, as far as the spices are concerned, as far as the cooking methods are concerned, they can't make any compromise on that because it has been going on for years, may be hundreds of years." 16. Various of men preparing the wood fires for cooking 17. Various of food cooking on wood fires 18. SOUNDBITE: (English) Usmaan Ahmad, Kashmir Director, Mercy Corps "You know, there are about 600 hundred weddings a day during wedding season and that amounts to around 15,000 trees a day cut for firewood which is putting stress on the environment. So, the question is, can we balance our tradition of weddings with our other tradition, deeply held value, which is environmental sustainability which is part of our traditional culture." 19. Mid of burning firewood 20. Mid of Usmaan Ahmad reading a report on deforestation in Kashmir on his laptop 21. Close of computer screen 22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Usmaan Ahmad, Kashmir Director, Mercy Corps "One option is adopting a different fuel, biomass fuel which can be manufactured, which burns cleanly and puts no stress on the forests. Second is just more fuel efficient methods of cooking using wood but using it more efficiently and the third option is actually to develop farms that grow firewood sustainable." 23. Pull focus from leaves to deforested mountain slope 24. Wide of mountains and stream LEADIN: In the troubled Kashmir region the grand wedding feast - known as the Wazwan - brings cheer and happiness. Integral to the Kashmiri Muslim culture and tradition, the Wazwan is a sumptuous banquet of many courses cooked over wood fires during three days of wedding rituals. But some environmental groups are concerned the number of weddings in the region is causing deforestation, as trees are felled to fuel the flames cooking the Wazwans. STORYLINE: Women are united in song as Kashmiri Muslims come together to celebrate the traditional wedding rituals. And there is food... lots of it. Haji Abdul Samad has been a Waza for over 50 years. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/fdfd02bbaca830a7c9037a9226fc3b52 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 30 Jul 2015
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