Weddings in India

Hello there buddies. Purpose of this post is just to give you guys an overview of marriage ceremonies in India, zeal associated with them, scale of celebration, preparations associated, generally piquant and mind blowing Indian food and also, how different it is to marry in India than any other country in world.

Starting straightaway, in any culture or part of the world, weddings are pious means to celebrate the bonding of two hearts. It gives, lovely relationships, a legal status in society and in Indian culture, it really is a very big and holy celebration with two hearts promising each other, every bit of themselves.

Wedding celebration in my country is a package of many awesome ceremonies:-

1. Engagement Ceremony: This is common ceremony in many cultures and not Indian only. In this, families formally announce the wedding of couple and to be bride and groom share rings. After engagement, wedding may be anytime maybe sooner or later. It depends on families only but generally, it takes place within half year afterwards.

2. Mehendi Ceremony: If you haven't heard it before then this is really a fun thing to know. In this ceremony, Mehendi(Henna) is applied on bride's hand and feet. Also, all the other females in the house do so too. Mehendi songs or traditional songs are played, generally they are native to the region where ceremony is taking place.

3. Sangeet Ceremony: Word Sangeet means music. Continuing this zealous prolonged celebration, sangeet ceremony adds more fun to it. It is all about dance and music. Both the sides prepare dance performances and on the sangeet evening, they perform them in front of the family members and relatives. Themes and costumes are decided for dance performances, choreographers are also hired. These things also depend upon your budget and background.

4. Haldi Ceremony: In Hindi language, turmeric is called Haldi. This spice has a very important role in this ceremony and thus the name haldi ceremony. In this ceremony, family and close relatives apply haldi on the bride and groom's body at their separate venue. Haldi cleanses and purifies the skin and when it is rinsed off, it removes dead cells and gives glow to skin. Also, it is said that it protects bride and groom by shooing off evil spirits. Haldi is placed in small bowls and holy green grass(grass which is grown in a clean place and its part above the root) is used to apply the haldi paste on bodies. Traditional songs are played while the ceremony goes on and bride-groom receive blessings and wishes from elders and youngers.

5. Vivah Sanskar: This day is most special of entire wedding period. After this night, bride and groom belong to each other forever. A wedding hall is booked or in many cases, huge tents are fixed in open ground and arrangements are done within in. A separate stage is there where Rajgaddis or big decorated sofas are placed where bride(dulah) and groom(dulhan) sit together, a place for dance and music is there along with a big hall where tasty, delicious food is placed over decorated tables. Many dishes are made at the spot only and people wait in queue to relish their taste buds.

   Groom comes with Baarat(his relatives and friends) on horse or vehicle dancing and celebrating all the way and then, at the wedding place, bride's side does ribbon ceremony, in which, after performing prayers(aarti), ribbon is being cut by groom. On the entry only, bride's side steals groom's shoes and then they ask for shagun(money as a sweet gesture) in return for those shoes. After groom's entry, bride is ushered to the stage and they both sit over there. Then, all the relatives congratulate them and beautiful pictures and videos are taken with relatives and of bride and groom. After photo session, Jaimala(ceremony of exchanging garlands) takes place and it is worth watching as funny facial expressions and notorious activities of both the sides bring smiles to all the faces present. Meanwhile all the guests feast upon the delicacies arranged by the bride's family. After, guests leave(mostly at 11 pm) couple and families eat together. Then, on the following day, at about 4O'clock in the morning, oath of togetherness is taken by the fire. A pandit is presend at the venue and they chant the marriage mantras. Gods of marriage as in Hindu cultured are praised and then bride and groom tie each other in knot and take sath phere(circle the holy fire seven times) which binds them together for sath janmas. After this, they solely belong to each other and the groom makes promises to bride during this ceremony which he has to follow throughout his life. Holy fire binds both the souls in pious bond.

6. Vidaai: It is when the bride goes to her new home with groom and emotional gush in forms of tears is evident on the faces of groom's side. She says goodbye to her dear parents and all the other relatives. Warm hugs are exchanged and finally she leaves for her new adobe.

In our Indian culture, wedding go for a really prolonged period and for wedding, dates are finalized(called shubh muharats) when different ceremonies are to take place. There are some months when weddings don't take place at all. They are not considered good and these dates are in accordance with stars and kundlis of bride and groom. Also, marriage of couple can only take place if their kundlis match and there are whole lot of rules for them to match which are taken care of while fixing marriage by trusted and knowledgeable pandits of both the parties. After wedding, bride visits her parents occasionally but her new home is that of her hubby's.

Delicacies served in Indian Weddings:

India is famous for its spies and mixed flavors. In this wedding period also, food is cooked and served according to the region and religion but mostly its spicy and made in lots of ghee, oil and it's undoubtedly piquant and lovely.

Loads of sweet are prepared on both the sides for distribution in relatives as well as to serve the guests who stay during these joyous days. On the ceremony nights, there is a whole lot of dishes to choose from. Some of them are: varieties of paneer(shahi, kadai etc), variety of chicken(depends on beliefs and culture), fast food(including desi Indian dishes like tikkis, golgappe, dosa etc as well as more than enough other enough cuisines), soups, paneer tikkas, spring rolls, cutlet, juices etc are served as starters and you will really get a wide variety of chapatis, veggies and curries to choose from on ceremony eves.

A variety of sweet dishes are also there including halwa, icecream, jalebi, rabri, sweets, cakes etc.

Make sure to eat the right quantity of food if you are going to attend the wedding for first time in India as heavy food may or mayn't comply with your stomach.

Both sides buy lots of clothes and gifts to exchange as well as for their own use and in my country, budget of wedding can go as much as you are ready to spend. In really big weddings, you may come across a wedding tent in a stretch of kilometers serving all the delicacies you will find in best of the hotels across the world and also, arrangements for dance and music like those of big shot edms and celebrities. If you are visiting India and you are life enough to get to one of those, you will experience a really electrifying experience and I am sure you will be mesmerized and amazed at an another level.

In my country, a wedding is like a full hustle bustle electrifying party and people gather together to celebrate the harmonious bonding of two souls.

Thanks for reading. Do comment if something was missing or you wanna know anything. Like and upvote guys.<3