Marathi Wedding: A Colourful Event of Uniting
Weddings are the auspicious occasion of uniting together. India is a land of diversity. Our country homes a number of cultures and communities. Each community have their own way of celebrating a wedding occasion. Alike all other communities, Marathi weddings are highly devoted to rites and rituals. Although a Marathi wedding is quite simpler than other cultures, without any pre-wedding functions. Not only this but even a Marathi Matrimony site also maintains a simple outlook.
A Marathi wedding involves bright colours. It involves some chaste and beautiful ceremonies. The following are the rituals followed in a Marathi wedding. The following rituals are the important parts of this sacred ceremony of the Marathi wedding. All these together make Marathi matrimony religious.
Sakhar Puda- Sakhar Puda is mainly concerned with the engagement of the bride and groom. This event is considered as one of the most important events in the whole wedding ceremony. This event is trusted as the declaration to the brief and groom for going ahead towards the wedding events. This occasion is celebrated in the bride’s home and the groom’s family visits the bride’s room with a bag of sugar or sakura puda.
Halad Chadavane: As present in the wedding of other communities, the Mathai wedding also celebrates an event of putting turmeric on the bride and the groom. In this part of the wedding, haldi or turmeric is applied to the couple separately by 5 married women or Suhasinis. This turmeric is applied using a mango leaf on the head, shoulder, hands and feet. First, the groom is applied Haldi and after that, when done the remaining Haldi is sent to the bride’s place for applying on her. The antiseptic quality of Haldi is considered good for the bride and groom both.
Antarpat Ritual: Antarpat ritual is a part of the Marathi wedding performed at the beginning. In this event, both the bride and groom are made to stand on the dais or the mandap. They would be separated by a cloth or anarpat. The respective families are supposed to stand surrounding the bride and the groom. The priests chant a few wedding shlokas and at the end of it, the antarpat or the cloth is removed. After removing the antarpat, the groom and the bride exchange garland. The guests bless the couple in this act with rice kernels. Rice is considered an auspicious omen.
Kanyadaan: In every community in India, kanyadaan is a part of the marriage ceremony. This even happens to be quite an emotional one. In this ritual of kanyadan, the father of the bride gives away the hand of his daughter to the groom. The groom then accepts to receive the bride’s hand and vows to love and respect her till death parts. After this, the couple is blessed for having a happy life ahead. The bride’s parents then consider the bride and the groom as avatars of Goddess Lakhsmi and Lord Vishnu and therefore worships them.
After that the couple ties halkund or a piece of turmeric on the hands of each other. Then the groom ties a mangalsutra or a black beaded necklace around the neck of the bride. Lastly, the groom applies vermillion on the forehead of the bride between her parting of the hair. The bride then applies tilak made of sandalwood on the forehead of the groom and completes the whole ritual of kanyadaan.
Grihaprabesh: After the wedding ceremony is over, grihaprabesh happens to be the first ceremony. In this ceremony, the bride is welcomed to her new home by the mother of the groom. The groom’s mother washes the feet of both the bride and the groom with milk and water. Then she performs an arti for blessing the couple. After all these, the bride kicks down a container filled with rice, kept at the door and then enters the house. The rice-filled container symbolises good luck and prosperity.
Marathi Bride
Irrespective of the simple and subtle marriage rituals, the dress-up of the Marathi matrimony brides steals the whole attraction. The Marathi brides have worn a navari saree of paithani weave. The saree is draped in a dhoti style, which is the traditional form of wearing a saree in Maharashtra. Vibrant colours like yellow and green are mostly chosen for the saree.
A pearl nathni is another very important aspect of the Marathi bride’s look. Generally, the bride’s hair is tied in a neat bun and it is decorated with pearl hair accessories and gajra.
Marathi Groom
The Marathi matrimony grooms are usually dressed as clad in Dhoti kurta of a light shade. The groom also puts on a mundavalya with white and red beads. During the marriage ceremony, the groom has to wear a stole with a thin gold border around his neck.
Conclusion
Looking for a proper bride and groom through matrimonial sites nowadays have become a very common practice. In India, these sites are present in almost every community. Marathi weddings are no different. Through these sites, people can contact prospective families to get tied to.
