Swapna Rajput

Marriage is one of the most important customs of all the religions. It is the union of two souls, two families and a step forward to the reproduction of a gracious generation. Almost every religion has some or the other things in common when it comes to marriage, just like covering the face of bride to save her beauty from devil eye, applying Mehndi in hands and legs of couple to enhance the beauty, etc., In this article I would love to share some popular Hindu wedding customs and the meaning behind them, so without wasting time, let us start.

Hindu marriage is a symbol of purity, sacred union of two different people from the different family, community, and culture. All the Hindu marriages carry out similar rituals with minor differences.

Mehndi- Usually this is the first custom of a Hindu wedding. It acts as a natural adornment on the hands and legs of the new couple. Mehndi is best stress reducer and also helps to cool the body temperature. We all know wedding and festive seasons are the most stressful occasions. Wedding duo and the entire wedding crowd may feel feverish during this time. Mehndi helps them prevent and recover with its herbal effects. Followed by Mehndi, there is another custom known as 'Sangeet' a singing and dancing programme organised and performed by the family members to cheer the bride and groom for their upcoming new life.

Dev Karya- This is an important ritual in Hindu weddings especially in south India. 'Dev' means God, 'Karya' means duty. A duty towards Gods and nature before an auspicious occasion is known as Dev Karya, it is the ritual in which the families of the bride and groom invite all the mighty gods for the wedding. Families worship the kitchen items and cook the favourable food for the offerings to God and nature. They worship and invite the holy Tulsi plant and the other holy trees, cow and all the cattle at home, water and invite all other important elements of nature, even the ants by offering them sweets and placing Haldi Kumkum (it acts as pest control) on all the sweets so that they should not spoil the entire sweet and other dishes prepared for the wedding, all this to seek the blessings of nature on the unity of two souls and two families. Here on Dev Karya, all the items of marriage are placed in front of the idol of Lord Ganesha, (the first worshipped Hindu god) to seek his divine blessings. Before Devkarya the families also visit all their family deities with the invitation cards to seek their blessing on the occasion.

Haldi - Yellow colour is auspicious in Hindu tradition Haldi is yellow in colour. This tradition is usually celebrated a day before the wedding. Applying Haldi or turmeric during the marriage is very popular especially in Hindu religion. It holds an entire ceremony of Haldi during weddings, Haldi is not only an antiseptic but also helps shimmering the beauty. In the olden days, when beauty treatments and parlors were not available, People had their own natural beauty secrets. Haldi is known to have properties that glow the skin fair, and also purifies the body that helps to get rid of dead cells and detoxifies the skin. 

Wedding day, on the wedding day usually in most of the Hindu religions groom, wears a white dress that signifies his white seeds for the reproduction and Bride wears red lehnga dress or saree that signifies her red egg which she bears for the reproduction. Let us know the rituals and meanings of the wedding day one by one.

Baraat- This is the most important ritual on Hindu wedding where the groom's family travels to the bride's place or the wedding hall, with the entire music band and dancing. It is an announcement that the groom has joyfully come to marry the bride with the presence and blessings of his family.

Jaimala / Sajan Bhet / Varmala - Welcoming the groom at the wedding place. Before this custom bride's mother welcomes groom with aarti and in the meanwhile she pulls the nose of the groom, that says she is ordering him to take care of her daughter with all the love. 

The reason for Jaimala is to arrange the first thrilled meeting of the bride and groom, earlier days elders of the family used to arrange the wedding, thus, bride and groom used to see each other on the wedding day itself. During this ritual, the bride and groom put fresh flower garlands into each other's necks. The ceremony is not just the meeting of two souls but is a union of two families, a merge of traditions, values, and customs that make the entire wedding complete. The Jaimala or also known as ‘varmala' is an ancient tradition which has been practiced and followed ever since Indian weddings originated.  During the ritual the bride and groom are lifted up by the family members so that the one who bends to take garland around neck has to bend before the partner for the entire life, all this is to chill the atmosphere and create happiness around.

Sath Phere- The big old custom of 'seven circles around the fire' of every Hindu wedding is 'Sath Phere'. Both bride and groom take the circle of Agni (fire) for seven times with seven promises by holding each other's hand to establish a successful married life ahead. Fire is the purest form of nature which purifies all impurities. Thus, taking an oath of exchange of love in front of the fire to start the new life is an auspicious custom of the wedding. Couple offer rice or other things as an assertion in the fire while taking the circles. Now let us know the vows of each Phera or circle.

So these are the important exchange of vows which glorifies the couples love, duty, and respect for each other. 

Tying Mangalsootra- In Sanskrit, ‘Mangala' means sacred and ‘Sutra' means thread.  It is also known as Tali in south Indian languages. Mangalsootra is a black and gold necklace with a gold or diamond pendant that symbolises good luck, love, and companionship and it is one of the most important ornaments of a Hindu marriage, especially in south Indian weddings if the Mangalsootra is knotted around the neck of the bride then the wedding is over. After the sath phera bride moves towards the left side of the groom and sits beside him to take the position close to his heart. Groom ties Mangalsootra around the neck of a bride with the promise of companionship for the lifetime. The black seeds in mangalsootra also save the bride from devil eye.  

Sindhoor (vermilion)- Sindhoor is prepared by a mixture of turmeric-lime and the metal mercury. After tying Mangalsootra groom applies vermillion on the forehead or parting of the hair of the bride. Applying sindhoor has been even observed in the shreds of evidence of Harappa civilization. It holds a very strong position in Hindu mythology, we have read many stories of sindhoor in our mythology, for example, a story of Seeta applying sindhoor - Hanuman asks the reason for sindhoor and Seeta explains Hanuman that it is for the long life and love of Rama. And innocent Hanuman applies sindhoor on his entire body for the long life and love of his idol Rama. 

However, during the wedding, groom applies sindhoor on the forehead of the bride for the first time. Due to its basic properties, besides controlling blood pressure, it also activates sexual drive (that explains why it is prohibited for widows). 

Wearing the Toe ring- After these above offerings, groom places a silver toe ring to the bride. These are the silver rings known as Bichiya (bee-chee-ya) in Hindi, Mettelu in Telugu, Metti in Tamil, Kalungura in Kannada. The reason for wearing these toe rings is, a particular nerve from the second toe connects the uterus and passes to heart. Wearing toe ring on this finger strengthens the uterus. It will keep the female body healthy by regulating the blood flow as well as menstrual cycle. Moreover, silver is a good conductor to absorb polar energies from the earth and pass it to the woman's body which is necessary for her.

These offerings signify the groom's devotion to his bride and the bride's new status as a married woman. Many people argue that why all these ornaments are imposed only on women, whereas men do not carry anything as a symbol of marriage. The above reasons are clear that these ornaments are helpful for the female body to beatify them and lead a happy married life. And when it comes to men they usually wear a ring on their ring finger in all religions. 

However, after all these rituals newly wed couple take blessings from all the elders for their best wishes of long successful and a happy married life. 

Bidayi -After all these ritual comes, Bidayi. A separation of the bride from her parents to grooms place. The saddest part of a wedding, a girl who is born and brought-up for years at her home has to leave everything and move out to lead the new life and make new relations in just a day. 

During this ritual, the bride is asked to throw a handful of rice behind as she walks ahead with her husband towards his house.  By throwing rice, the bride thanks her parents for feeding her so well since childhood and having loved her so affectionately. It is a token of acknowledgment for the unconditional love, care, and concern that her parents and relatives have showered her with. The girl is always seen as Goddess Laxmi (Goddess of prosperity) in Hindu tradition. Rice holds great importance in Hindu tradition. It is considered as a symbol of prosperity. As the bride marches towards her new home, she blesses her maternal home that she is leaving behind and prays for the prosperity of her family.  

Wedding night- Lastly, comes the wedding night. This ritual is performed around the world in all religions. It is uniting of the two bodies and two souls. After the worship of the family deities by the newly wed couple, the final step of the wedding is the wedding night. This ritual is often performed at grooms place. 

During wedding night, new bed and the bedroom is decorated with fresh flowers for the intense scent for the couple that drives romantic moments. Newly weds are traditionally given a glass of milk, to which crushed almond and saffron have been mixed to enhance the sensual experience.

So these are the important rituals of a Hindu wedding. Please share it and post your comments if you liked the article. 

Credit- Wiki and other internet search, 

Pictures- Google

Finding THE ONE is not so easy as it is written in novels, shown in movies or television shows. Things like Love at first sight, saving the girl from goons or any snags, meeting in rain or in an accident and falling in love rarely or never happen in real life.

Whether you are dating someone seriously or you falling in love with someone and situations more like in India your family has arranged your marriage with someone, even great your family would get you married with someone who they chose for you! In any situation of beginning the relationship, this question ‘is she/he the ONE?' inevitably arrives in your mind.

So to help all those who are searching ‘THE ONE' or ‘soulmate' we have researched few situations, where you can easily find out whether you are with your ONE or not. It's not even that easy as you get few social media quotes like ‘if a boy treats well with the waiter in the first meeting at the restaurant he is the one' or ‘If a girl feels shy in front of you at first meeting she is good for you'! Any relationship needs time, and in that time period, if you see all or most of the following points in your person positively then congratulations!! You found your ONE!

1. Going well with your family- In most of the love stories, the first thing you have to face is Family! In India, people get married first then fall in love! So if your partner goes well with your family then you found your true love! Most of the families behave well in the beginning but later on situations changes, you'll find how good your partner is, in worse scenarios for example, she knows your mother doesn't like her, your father doesn't care for you and your partner's life, your sisters and brothers nag her (no offence to sweet in-laws ;)), yet she behaves well with all of them, and tries to do things beyond her patience level. If she behaves well with them with full of heart, just like her own family buys gifts for your family, treats your family's young ones sweetly and respect your elders then my dear friend, you are with right girl! Vice versa,  he knows how nagging your mother is, how possessive your father is, you have an over-enthusiastic sister and irritating brothers,  yet he goes well with all of them and treats everyone with love and respect, only because he likes you and wants to see you happy.

2. Missing you- Missing someone is the beginning of love. Your person would miss you badly when you are away, He/she would wait for the moment to see you again and never finds anyone attractive in your absence.

3. Your happiness is your person's happiness- He/she is happy when you are happy. Your person does all the things to keep you happy. Your person would regularly bring you gifts or, take you out for movies or eating or cooks for you, or else does things which you like. Helps you in your work and supports in decision making. Your person’s first intention is to make you happy if you get sad on various things.

 

4. Supports you- He or she would support you in all the good and bad situations. Your person would accept your dreams and support and puts efforts to fulfil them. He/she stands with you during crisis console you and tries to do things which make you happy.

5. Your best critic- Though she/he support you in all ups and downs of your life, on the contrary, your person is your best critic, She tells you where you went bad in your life and works not to criticise you but to make you a better person. He won't hesitate to say smallest thing like your dress is not pleasing not to disappoint you but he wants you to look great all the time.

6. He/She knows all little things about you- Like for example, she knows how much sugar you take in your tea or coffee, what you think and feel for her and others. How alcoholic your mind gets while meeting your friends. In the same way, he knows what mood swings you get in your periods and maintains his patience level, he knows how excited you become when you see a great dress or how you maintain your crave when you are dieting. Your person knows almost all your favourite movies, food items etc.,

7. Looks don't matter- Your person will fall in love with you beyond the limits of looks. He or She would love you and accept you with all your imperfections. You didn't shave and didn't take bath and looking ugly at times, yet she loves you. You are drunk & hung-over, smell disgusting! She shouts at you to get fresh but she loves you with the bottom of her heart. He doesn't care you got few pimples due to your hormonal changes or got little fat due to circumstances. He loves you for what you are not for how you look.

8. Fights often but can't stay apart- As they say ‘we fight with our loved ones'. Your person fights with you very often on small things but can't stop talking to you more than a day. But do mind one thing, if the fights are more often and it takes more than a week for your person to talk to you and even after that he/she not leaving his/her ego, then you better call off this relationship. Because small fights and arguments are sweet, but fights with ego and dishonesty aren't.

9. Trust you!- Trust is the basic need for any relationship. Though jealousy is normal in love, but over possessiveness and not trusting your partner is never good for a healthy relationship, if your partner has full trust on you then you are with the right person. He won't interrogate you when you are going for official trips, or even for the girls night out. She won't feel insecure when you stare some chics, work with your female work partner, or when you meet your ex!

10. Respect- Your person respects you for what you are and who you are. He/ she would not talk bad about you in front of others. He/ She would never put you down in front of others. They know you and uphold your self-respect in front of you and others. 

Now you know how to find out your soulmate, keep in mind one thing that every love story is unique and personal, enjoy your love story.

Hello readers,

Here I am back with another interesting post on Bollywood, it's always an interesting and one of the most popular topics across. We are always curious to know about our beloved stars. I have got some rare and unseen pictures of many actors and singers of Bollywood. Let's see if you can guess them right with their pictures.

Hope you enjoyed this post, that's all for now. I will keep on updating when I get more rare pictures like these. Do comment if you find any.