Hindu Weddings

A Hindu marriage follows the rituals which started in the vedic times. First a muhurat is chosen, an auspicious time of the year. The wedding is usually conducted at the bride's place. Entire families gather and the evening is spent singing, dancing and eating.

A day before the wedding the palm and feet of the bride are decorated with "henna", in the mehandi ceremony. A canopy or mandapa decorated with flowers is erected at the place of wedding. On the wedding day the bride and groom are anointed with turmeric in their respective homes. The bride looks resplendent in all her finery. The following description of a typical Indian bride has been given in the great Indian classic, the Ramayana - "She is arrayed for her wedding in gossamer fine, red garment, which is embroidered with gold, and jeweled butterflies and other ornaments adorn her lustrous black hair. She is wearing precious gems in her ears, and her arms and wrists are covered with bracelets, while a golden band encircles her slender waist and anklets of gold shine on her feet." The present day Indian bride also dresses almost the same way.

The north Indian bridegroom tie a veil of flowers, called sehara, to their turban. It is said that the tying of sehara confers the status of Vishnu on the groom.

The Indian wedding procession of the groom or the Baraat is the main event on the groom's side, who get off lightly compared to the more elaborate arrangements that are the responsibility of the bride’s parents. The baraat is headed by a deafening display of fireworks and vigorous dancing of the congregated folks. Accompanied by the rhythm of the north Indian dholak to the brass-bands playing the western tune Tequila the baraat finally reaches the milani or the meeting point, where the elders of both the families meet and the baraaties are welcomed with garlands and arati. The groom is welcomed by the bride's mother, she performs an arati, womenfolk shower flowers on him and then he is taken inside the pandal.

The bride then comes with the jaimala, and both the bride and the groom exchange garlands to denote formal mutual acceptance.

After this the bride and groom sit in the mandapa next to each other before a sacrificial pit or havana kund. And the detailed ritual of kanyadaan begins.

Old ladies of the house, the elders, and the friends of both the bride and groom remain near the mandapa, some to carefully follow the ritual, some to enjoy the ambiance. Rest of the guests start towards the other most interesting part of the pandal, the food section.

It may be mithi daal in a Gujarati wedding, fish fry in a Bengali wedding, biryani in Muslim or butter chicken in a Punjabi wedding, food is one of the central themes at any Indian wedding, the color and spice may vary from region to region.

After kanyadaan where the bride is given to the groom by her father, symbolically giving her to Vishnu, the ritual of pradakshina starts, in which the bride and the groom ritually walk seven times around the sacrificial fire. Also called phera, this signifies their union. The marriage ceremony now enters its most important phase, the saptapadi, in which the bride and the groom take seven steps together facing the north, After which the bride comes to the groom's left, leaving his right side free to take on the world. The couple are now considered married.