Had an eventful weekend, attending Gujarathi wedding of Pooja and Kunal. May there be showers of blessings on both of them. Their wedding was, simple, elegant and lively. There was lot of splendor, colours, dance, dazzlingly décor, traditional ritualism, and fun. Indeed it was very colorful and vibrant.
Sangeeth ceremony
On Saturday had been for the Sangeeth night before wedding., and wanted to return early – but the function was so mesmerizing that I ended up being my true self – A born spectator. It began with
• Dandiya – the traditional Gujarati dance which is performed by family members, with two sticks, and two circles, one moving clock wise and the other moving anti – clockwise. This ceremony gives chance for both families to meet, greet and know each other well. It was an opportunity for people to interact with as many people and know them.
• Other Dance – There were other dance like Bhangda, and Bollywood dance with D.J. Songs.
• Cake Cutting & Ring Exchange - There was cake cutting and ring exchange between the would be bride and groom. Both of them looked stunning in their traditional costume.
• Games – There was special game arranged for the bride and groom; with 10 set of questions asked, with both of them sitting facing opposite directions, and had to lift different hands if they agreed or disagreed. The would be couple scored 7 out of 10.
• Food/Dinner – Simple and yummy my mouth still waters, when I think of them – Masala Dosha, Chole Bhature and Tomato rice; followed by deserts being gulab jamun and icecream.
Wedding ceremony
On Sunday, it was soothing to see the colourfully decorated Mandap with soothing colours and few flowers with the four pillars – made of brass (presumably) pots kept one above the other, that surround the mandap representing the parents of the bride and groom. This signifies the important part they have played in raising their children to become the responsible adults they are today.
Chaats to welcome the guest, followed by yummy lunch and tea/coffee with Vadas – Batata Veda and Medhu veda.
• Barat – on the wedding day groom arrives on horse dressed in traditional attaire and family members dance in surrounding on the traditional music of band. Not sure if it happened as such, as we arrived after that.
• Ponkhana (welcoming the groom) – the groom is welcomed by brides family in traditional way where brides mother perform aarti and pulls him playfully by grabing his nose. Groom then step forward by crushing earthen pots into small pieces this signifies that groom has power to overcome any obstacles in his married life
• Ganesh Pooja – after the groom is welcomed to the mandap the ceremonies start whith prayer of lord ganesh who is know are aradhya daivat (god of peace, happiness and prosperity). ceremony begins with the worship of Lord Ganesh, deity of peace and wisdom. This is done so people can find strength within themselves to remove any obstacles that may arise..
• Madhuparka – the brides father wash grooms feet with honey, yoghurt and ghee. This is the time when sister and cousins of groom steel shoes and groom have to offer some money and take it back. Did not witness this either.
• Kanya Agman (brides arrival) – the bride arrives with her maternal uncle (mama) on the mandap when she reaches mandap there is curtain (antarpath) in between of bride and groom which separates them from each other
• Jaimala – during the arrival of bride the priest begins the ceremony by saying mangalashtak and then antarpath is lower and the couple exchange the garlands
• Kanya dan – the ritual is that parents give (dan) their daughter (goddess laxmi) to the groom (lord Vishnu). Parents give away their daughter by keeping her hand onto the grooms hand.
• Varmala – cord is tied around the neck of bride and groom and looped around 24 time by the elders in family. This means the couple is safe from any negative energy or evil
• Hasta Milap – the scarf wore by groom is tied to the scarf of bride this is known as meeting of soul. The petals of flowers and rice grains are shower on them during this ceremony.
• Mangal Pheres – brother of bride is asked to put some rice on the hands of bride and groom and pour it in hawan. The bride and groom take four circles around the hawan (fire) signifying the promise to be with each other, good health and prosperity, blessings, love and loyalty. During this ritual the priest recite some mantra. After which the bride and groom runs and sit on the chair, it is been said that whoever sits first will rule the house for life time.
• Saptapadi – during this ceremony the groom helps bride to touch 7 betel nuts with her right toes by chanting seven mantra in which he request for support from his wife in ups and downs of their life. This is the most important rite of the entire ceremony. Here the bride and the groom take seven steps together around the sacred fire (Agni) and make the following seven promises to each other: As per the Vedic rituals, the groom sings "With God as our guide, let us take":
1. The first step to nourish each other
2. The second step to grow together in strength
3. The third step to preserve our wealth
4. The fourth step to share our joys and sorrows
5. The fifth step to care for our children
6. The sixth step to be together forever
7. The seventh step to remain lifelong friends
8. The perfect halves to make a perfect whole!
The Satapadi ceremony concludes with a prayer that the union is indissoluble.
• Sindoor Daan – The groom puts red powder on brides head and ties mangalsutra around her neck which symbolize that she is married and belong to him.
• Kansar – the bride and groom feed sweets to each other after this all rituals have been done (this varies from tradition to tradition).
• Akhanda Saubhagyavati Bhava – here any seven womens are called to give blessing to newly married couple. These womens bless bride as akhanda saubhagyavati bhava which means that may your husband live long life and be with you forever.
• Ashirwad – The newlyweds take blessing from elders by touching their feet.
Post wedding functions
Gifts are exchanged between families
• Vidaai – This ceremony is about departure of couple which include tears of joy and sadness as the bride is departing for her new home leaving her old memories back.
• Ghar Nu Laxmi – The bride is welcome in her new home as Laxmi who will bring happiness and prosperity in their house. The mother-in-law place a matka or steel vessel filled with rice and ask bride to enter the new world by touching vessel with right foot.
Glad could be part of some, though not all the events – and wishing the newly wedded couple all joy.
All said and done, howsoever strong a women is, how much soever she may claim that she would not cry at her wedding day, it is an emotional day, an emotional moment. Not only the girl, those closely related to her also end up crying. This I have seen in post of the Indian weddings....all over the country, irrespective of the state or religion; except for a had few of them.
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