Indian Wedding Event

By Najwa Asim:
India is popularly known as the land of diversity & this fact is evident from the varied kind of wedding traditions followed in the country. Because of the religious foundation Indian weddings are not solemn & rigid affair rather they are festive, colorful & full of bright events, filled with ritual and celebration that continue for several days.
The true Indian wedding is about two families getting wedded socially with much less emphasize on the individuals involve.
Before the marriage ceremony, groom’s parent informally shown intention that they want a particular bride. If the bride & his family accept the proposal then a small ring ceremony known as engagement ceremony is organized. In this ceremony groom & bride exchange the rings and show commitment to marry each other.
After that elders from both the families decide the date and venue for the accomplishment of wedding ritual. After deciding the date and venue they start doing preparation for the grand occasion. The main factor of Indian wedding is “SHOPPING”. Each and every individual involve in the ceremony wants to dress him/her self in a special kind of traditional dress.

The rituals of the Indian wedding ceremony starts with the Haldi ceremony. The Haldi ceremony is held before two or three days of the wedding. Haldi or turmeric paste is applied to the body of groom & especially on bride for the fair complexion. Just a day before the wedding, bride and his friends apply Mehndi/heena on their hands and feets. The beautiful designs are gracefully detailed . As the Mehndi represent the strength of the love in their relationship and the brides don’t want the color of Mehndi to last as long as possible.
Then on the day of wedding, groom arrive with his family and friends at the bride’s place for the accomplishment of rituals . The arrival of groom’s family signals the beginning of the Baarat ceremony. On this day bride dresses herself in a graceful traditional dress, adoring the jewelry to attend the most important ritual, which starts with the involvement of priest and parents according to their respective religious customs like VARMALA or NIKAH. Once the ceremony gets completed, the well-wishers congratulate them. Food is served during the ceremony.
After that the bride leaves her parents house escorted by the groom to live with her husband. Traditionally this phase is accomplished by the bride’s family shedding many tears. This farewell ceremony is called VIDAAI.
Weddings of India are not the formalities in fact it involves many emotions, feelings and hearty blessings . It is treated as a moment to share the joy & happiness of couple getting married, and make the most important day of their lives as memorable as possible.