Weddings are the best as well as the busiest times in a family. Each religion/caste/sub-caste/sub-sub-caste (okay you got the point...) have their own traditions. Some people are so possessive of their rituals that they frown upon those who get married without them. Maharashtrian weddings are a very simplistic affair, unlike the extravagant and flamboyant ceremonies of other cultures.
Few days before the wedding the groom or bride will have to go through a customary (read compulsory) ritual of - facial/bleaching/manicure/pedicure. The belief is that it cleanses your mind (we wish) and body (we hope). Then there is the elaborate Mehendi ceremony, which nowadays, has become musical - thanks to the North Indian culture. So while the bride is getting her hands tattooed with henna, the relatives break into a jig and shake a leg or two.
After that there is a haldi ceremony and then begins the never-ending rituals - seemaan pujan, dev-devak, vang-nischay, madhu-parka, tond-dhune, kanya-daan, lagna hom, antarpaat, lagna, mangal-sutra bandhan, saat-padi, kan-peelne et al. (Sorry Mom if I missed out anything) .... One thing - we've adopted from movies like Hum Aapke Hain Koun is the - "boot chorne" ceremony. But since this is real world - the bride's mother (anxious to get over with the wedding) either coaxes the defaulters or the groom's party is smart enough to arrange an extra pair of shoes.
One thing that is unique to Maharashtrian weddings is - Ukhane. The blushing bride and the haggard groom are forced to spell out instant poems with each others names in it at the lavish post-wedding feast. At the Grihapravesh ceremony the mother-in-law welcomes the new bride with aarti. The family talks (read teases) with the newly weds for sometime. After a while, the couple retires to their room with everyone's blessings for a dawn of their new journey...
2 comments:
Betu,
Narration of wedding recalled my memories of your marriage and re-freshened the energy to face the rituals so mentioned . Thank God we had only one daughty otherwise...!
wonderful information, I had come to know about your blog from my friend nandu , hyderabad,i have read atleast 7 posts of yours by now, and let me tell you, your website gives the best and the most interesting information. This is just the kind of information that i had been looking for, i'm already your rss reader now and i would regularly watch out for the new posts, once again hats off to you! Thanks a to once again, Regards, Marathi Ukhane for Grooms
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