“Indian Bengali & Hindu Wedding”
I had the unique opportunity to be present at an Indian wedding. There are several Indian wedding rituals.
One day before the Indian wedding, some pre-wedding rituals are held in the parental household. The entrance was decorated with flowers and all the friends, neighbors and the whole family were there. The mother cooked traditional food. All the guests sat on the floor in the living room and talked and prayed. A priest was on site and spoke to the Indian Gods together with the family members. Praying together is a tradition in India. The father wished his son the groom all the best for his future life. Candles were burning, a fruit bowl with flowers and Indian sweets stood on the floor with incense sticks, the fertility god.
All the girls and women gathered and looked forward to your henna ceremony. A professional henna artist painted the arms/hands and fingers of all the women. Mehandi (henna) lasted about 3 hours. Check out the henna artist. The women dabbed a red/orange paste with their index finger on their hairline or between their eyes. Married women wear the line at the hairline. In Hindi, the line/dot is called tika, also called the third eye. All women danced around a small newly planted tree, which represents family happiness.
Indian wedding = Aladdin in Bollywood
We then took a cab to the wedding location. About 1 km before the location we got out. You have to imagine, it felt like carnival. There was loud Bollywood music coming out of some kind of carnival scales. All the family members were dancing to the music. I had the time of my life. 🙂 We walked through some beautifully lit gates. This loud caravan was there to demonstrate to the bride’s wedding guests we are coming to get the bride. Arrived at the last gate, all the guests were waiting for us. A consolation was given and we were allowed to enter.
A large tribune was prepared. The groom with his closest friends including me were allowed to sit on the tribune. We were served princely with the best Indian delicacies. I really felt like a queen. Many photos were taken. It was exciting that the bride was sitting on a beautiful bench at the other end of the large hall. During the evening, the bride and groom moved towards each other through various rituals.
The Indian wedding rituals::
–Saat-Paak: The bride sits on a piece of wood and is carried to the groom by strong men. The men carry the bride 7 times around the groom.
–Mala-Badal: After that, the bride and the groom exchange each other’s flower wreaths.
–Potto-Bastra: The groom sits on the altar and the bride and the priest take their seats. The priest blesses them both.
–Topor: The groom and bride receive a white hat. Now they are king and queen. The bride receives two traditional white bangles made of crab shell.
–Tika: 7 married women mortar turmeric into a paste and the groom puts the line on his bride’s hairline for the first time. This means that she is now a married woman. He gives her a new saree. A very beautiful symbol.
Last but not least, the groom’s parents throw rice over the bride and groom and the bride’s parents. The bride receives gold jewelry, sarees and dolls. This custom shows the polite