In India, marriages are known to be an elaborate occasion and a grand affair. However not all marriages or wedding styles are the same. These weddings are held in a unique manner in different states and regions. Whether it is the east, west, north or south, weddings are celebrated with great enthusiasm and often accompanied by pomp and show. If you did get a chance to be a guest of any one of these, consider yourself lucky or else do check these out and their uniqueness in customs and rituals.
1. Assamese wedding – An Assamese wedding is known to be simple yet is a very elaborate one. On the day of the wedding, as per customs, the bride and the groom’s mother visit their nearest river or post to fetch water for a bathing ritual. This water is considered to be holy. Later on the feast reception party is hosted by the bride’s family.
2. Bengali wedding – The Bengali wedding styles are fun filled and celebrated with great pomp and gusto. The weddings of the Bengalis are incomplete without the “saat paak” ritual where the bride encircles the groom seven times while covering her face with betal leaves. Anotherr ritual known as the “subhodrishti” is followed right after the saat paak and this is here where the bride removes the betal leaves from her face and the couple’s gazes finally meet.
3. Christian wedding – In an Indian Christian wedding, the father of the bride is received by the groom’s best man with flowers. When the bride finally arrives, the priest starts to read out the psalm and the couples take the vows as per their wedding style. After the wedding, there is a grand reception which is followed by a lot of feasting, singing and dancing to celebrate the union of the couple.
4. Gujarati wedding – The wedding starts off with the exchanging of garland known as “jaimala” twice. One unique custom of a Gujarati wedding is that unlike other Hindu weddings, they take four “pheras” which are known as “mangal pheras”. Other Hindu weddings usually have seven pheras. During the Mangal Pheras, the couple circles the holy fire four times. This symbolizes “dharma”, “moksha”, “artha” and “kama”.
5. Jain wedding – Jain weddings are characterized by a number of pre wedding styles and ceremonies and the three major ones are “lagna lekhan”, “lagna patrika” and “sagai”. The other two most important and notable ritual of a Jain wedding are pheras and “kanya daan”.
6. Kannada wedding – When the actual auspicious time of the wedding approach, the bride is brought to the mandap by her sisters or cousins. However, nobody can see the bride’s face right away as her face is covered by a fan made of peacock feathers. Later, the parents of the bride give away their daughter by performing a wedding style called “dhare herdu” which is followed by “satapadi” which again is the seven circles around the holy fire.
7. Maharashtrian wedding – The “shakhar puda” or the engagement ceremony takes place prior to the wedding. During the wedding itself, the couple is separated with a silk shawl. After some time the “mangalashtak” is recited by a priest and the shawl is removed. The pheras are finally performed by the couple by taking permission from their parents to tie the knot and also after a few important rituals.
These were only a few wedding customs and rituals of different wedding of different states. There are several other states with their own wedding styles and rituals unique to them. Yet one thing which is common in all these weddings is that they are very enjoyable and whoever attends these is sure to have a gala time.