ABSTRACT
This chapter is devoted to the study of some important aspects of social life of the (supposedly) lower classes, ordinary people, or poor sections of the society in terms of various customs, traditions, ceremonies and festivals, which they observed on the occasions of birth, marriages, death and religious gatherings. Europeans coming to India during the Mughal period also observed keenly the social exchange and general behaviour of the people and their attitude towards others. Peculiarity in the matter of social norms and behaviour of the people of lower strata was often an outcome of their social background and caste they belonged to. Thevenot and later on Careri too, in their respective memoirs have documented in detail the customs and traditions associated with marriage celebrations among different castes or social groups, and about the castes that permitted inter-caste marriages in those days. The most significant aspect of the society was the complete segregation observed by people in their everyday life.
