Hindu Marriage ceremony

Indian marriages are well-known for their traditions and cultures. There are different traditions in Indian marriages but i choose Hindu marriage ceremony as i'm a hindu. The telugu wedding ceremony is the traditional wedding ceremony of the telugu people in India. In the 19th century, the ceremony could last upto 16 days. In modern times it last only for 5 days.

Nischitartham: means engagement. The two families meet to perform rituals to make the engagement official. A muhurtam (auspicious date and time) for the wedding is decided based on the horoscopes. The couple is then blessed by elders of both families, and is given gifts including jewelry and clothing by their new family.

The couples are then asked to exchange their wedding rings so that it is considered as half part of marriage has been done.

The First day of ceremony - Haldi

On this day, the bride and the bridegroom are applied with the haldi on face, hands and legs. Haldi is a mixture of turmeric powder, rose water and basin powder. The mixture will be yellow in color and it is believed to brighten the skin color before the wedding ceremony and bring good luck to bride and groom.

They are given a new set of clothing to wear and are blessed that everything goes by well. the bride is told not to go out of the town until the actual wedding ceremony.

The Second Day of ceremony- Mehendi function

On this day, the hands and legs of  bride are designed with henna experts and also preferably the family members also put mehendi on their hands. the henna is believed to enhance the bride beauty. A basket containing bangles is handed around so girls can choose those that match the outfit they plan to wear to the wedding. This ceremony is usually takes place a day before the marriage.

                              

During the mehendi function the bride is dressed with flowers by the henna experts people and then the henna is applied to bride to hands and legs.

The Third Day of ceremony- Sangeeth

There is a sangeeth function hosted by the girls family, In which just a few members of boys family are invited. The girls family play the dholak drums and sing songs in which they tease the boy and his family. Nowadays people hire DJ's and have a dance party followed by dinner.

During sangeeth the bride wear a lehenga with a large duppata and the matching jewelery and bangles that brightens the bride beauty. 

The Fourth day of ceremony- Mangala snanam

As a part of Mangala Snanam custom, the bride and groom are required to take an auspicious bath on the day before the wedding. The aim is to purify them and make them prepared to perform sacred rites. this bath is calledAbhyangana Snanam.

oil is applied to the bride and groom at their respective houses. thereafter, the family members get together to perform arthi. they pray for the bride and groom to be granted the life happy.

The fifth day of ceremony - wedding

The marriage is done on the spacious floor called mandapam which is completely decorated with fresh flowers. The bride is taken to mandapam on the pallaki the brothers of bride will carry the pallaki and take her to the mandap. As per a Telugu saying "marriage is supposed to be a family union not an individual formality".

kanyadanam is the ceremony in which the girl's family hands over their daughter's responsibilty to the groom. During this ceremony the bride and groom are not allowed to look at eachother and therefore, they are separated by a curtain that is placed between them. the groom is said to chant "Dharmecha Arthecha Kamecha Mokshecha Naticharami" three times and gives brides father assurance that the bridegroom shall remain for ever her companion in joy and sorrow.

Jilakara Bellam: The couple is asked to place a paste made from cumin seeds abd jaggery on each other's head. this ceremony is observed to communicate that the relationship of the married couple is unbreakable and inseparable.

Mangalasutra Dharana: It means tying mangalasutram. the groom ties the two strings of the mangalasutram each with a golden disc, around the brides neck. managalsutram represents the physical , mental and spiritual union of the couple. In the Telugu wedding, the groom ties three knots of mangalasutram.

Saptapadi: As a part of the saptapadi rule, the groom and bride walk seven steps together around the fire, while taking their oaths of caring,loving,protecting,understanding and guiding eachother.
Sthalipakam: It is a ritual where in the groom adorns the feet of the bride with silver toe rings. and also he put on black beads on the neck of bride. The black beads along with silver toe rings symbolize that she is a married woman.

and then after completion of the marriage the next day the groom family arranges a reception and people comes to wish a new couple and give blessings to the bride and groom along with the delicious dinner the reception goes on.