Wedding Rituals in the Jain community

The Jains are very simple and down to earth people who celebrate their weddings in very elaborate and religious manner. The marriages are very simple and traditional, which includes participation of almost every family member. Generally, the weddings are not as grand as celebrated in Punjabi or other north Indian communities. Wedding in the Jains are not complete without the grand proclamation by the bride and groom and the public acceptance of the institution of marriage.

There are certain rituals in Jain matrimony, which are bound to be followed:

1.    Kanyavaran: With this ritual, the wedding ceremonies start. During the Kanyavaran ceremony, the elders of the family give a one rupee and a 25 paisa coin along with some rice, in the hands of the bride. The bride’s father puts his daughter’s hands over the hands of the groom and gives away his daughter to the groom, while the chanting of holy verses by the priest.

2.    Granthi Bandhan: During this ritual, the married ladies of the family tie the end of the bride’s shawl with the stole of that of the groom to form a knot.

3.     Pheras: It is all about taking four circles around the sacred fire, and is believed to be the most important ritual which is conducted at the predefined time, which is set by the family priest who is conducting the wedding. During the 1^st round of the phere, the bride walks ahead of the groom and for the next rounds, the groom walks ahead of the bride. After here, the bride and groom make seven vows to each other. The bride then sits to the left of the groom, which marks her into the groom’s life.

4.  Mangal Geet: The elderly females of the family sing traditional wedding songs during the wedding rituals. At the end, the couple exchange garlands and the Jain matrimony concludes with a sacred Havan.

Author: Rashmi Karan

Weddings Offer Ultimate Photographic Moments for Photography Lovers

Recently, I attended wedding celebrations of one of my friends. It was a traditional Sikh matrimony, which lasted for one night and two days. All the relatives and family friends were present at the wedding. It was a lavish wedding and included more than 700 guests. Since it was the wedding in Punjabi community, there were lots and lots of sumptuous food available for the invitees. By the time the bridegroom arrived, we enjoyed clicking photographs and enjoying the tasty food, which was waiting for us to gorge upon.

I am quite fond of photography, and as soon as I came to know that the wedding is theme based, I was thrilled with the feeling that I will get a lovely chance to click my beautiful friends and the decorations of the Sikh Matrimony. And as I had expected, I got so many beautiful moments that were impossible for me to miss. The theme of the decor was yellow and golden, while the bride wore fiery red lehenga. The overall combination was awesome and the golden hues give a look of fire flames. Yellow and golden are the best colours for photography as they impart a very dramatic and beautiful effect.

Apart from the decor, I also captured the shots of the bride’s beautiful mehendi, the Kaliras, her eyes, and her dress.

The welcome gate was looking amazing and I found different angles to shoot. There were awesome decorative plants and light effects which provided me lovely scenic stills. The rituals of Sikh matrimony after arrival of the groom were so fun and I got so many unforgettable moments to capture.  Some of the shots are my favourite, and I am planning to gift them to my friend after she is back from her honeymoon.

Author: Rashmi Karan

Advantages of the Marriage Sites

Jeevansathi.com

After crossing the age of 22-23, the parents of every girl in India worry about their wedding. The most conventional way to search for the life partner in India has been through references, when the parents used to tell the mediators about their preferences and the mediators then searched the appropriate choices accordingly. However, this method for searching the prospective life partner has been very old and in the modern context no one likes to open up their personal choice in front of everyone. The arrival of marriage sites has been pretty helpful in searching the life partners, through which you can find your life partner as per your choice.

However, many parents are still apprehensive about registering on these online marriage sites, as they fear about information security breach. It is the high time to make them understand about the benefits of the marriage portals:

1.      Reachability:

You can look for the profile of your choice at any place, at the comfort of your home or while moving from one place to another. The range s unlimited and you look for the boys or girls according to your as well as your parent’s preferences. Being register on matrimonial site means that you have the direct access to thousands of bridegroom profiles in India.

2.      Security:

Security is the main concern of the elders of the family. The owners of the matrimonial sites adhere to the stringent privacy policies, where nobody could get access to your confidential information without your consent.

3.      Breaking Communication Barriers:

The marriage sites have undoubtedly broken all the communication barriers, allowing the prospective brides and grooms to interact with each other without being face to face, thus cutting down the fear of embarrassment. This will also develop the level of comfort between the boy and girl.

Author: Rashmi Karan

Finding Life Partner through Online Matrimonial Sites

Almost every second person in the country is addicted to internet and likes to spend his/her time while surfing different sites and meeting new people. Starting from shopping and chatting with friends to finding the life partner, Internet has eased everything. Internet has helped so many people in finding their life partners.

Earlier dating or match making sites were now viewed positively and consider it to be something that needs to be hidden from others. But gone are those days when people find it embarrassing to tell others that they have found their love of the life on Internet. These sites are the hot favourite in the market, and seeing the good scopes, various websites have been launched to cater the increasing needs and count money. The advantages offered by these match making sites are:

1.    Convenience: These sites are very easy to use and you can search your partner while sitting at the comfort of your home. If you find the suitable partner according to your choice then you can exchange your contact details and chat with the person according to your availability and ease. If things go well, you can also meet the individual in person.

2.      Cost-effectiveness: It is an extremely affordable and cheap way to search, which saves both time and money. No need to go to other cities or expensive restaurants to meet the families. All you need to have is a computer and internet connection, and the world is yours. Also you need not to worry about what you are wearing or get stressed about facing the person.

After you finalize the life partner for yourself on match making sites, you can now ask your parents to intervene and talk about the future prospects. Internet has really made the things easy and it’s now up to us how we utilize things for our own benefits.

Author: Rashmi Karan

Jodhpuri Suits for the Indian Bridegroom

Indian men dressing have come a long way. From wearing dhoti-kurta to western styled shirt-trousers, this shift in dressing pattern for Indian men is due to many reasons; important among them are the comfort factor and changing work culture. Dhoti-kurta was the traditional dress of men in most parts of India with regional variations like shirt-dhoti and kurta-pajamas. For regular wear, men in India wore cotton clothes. The influence of western culture in India also affected the dressing. Shirt-trousers soon became the daily wear. The comfort factor and corporate culture introduced in the country, western men wear soon became a norm.

Even for regular wear, men started preferring jeans-T-Shirts. However, when it comes to wedding ceremonies, Indian me still wear the traditional clothes. The Indian Bridegroom dons the traditional attire on the wedding day. Different Indian states have their distinctive attire on the wedding. Bridegroom from the northern state wears the traditional jodhpuri suit or sherwani.

These are Indian-styled suits, which gives the bridegroom elegant and classy look. The Jodhpuri suits are closed jackets suits, which gives bridegroom a regal appearance. This was the princely attire of the Rajasthan, which soon was popular in masses.

The suits have clean cuts and style. They are available in solid shades as well as white, beige and pink. This garment is mostly customized and is simply designed. It can be worn on any formal occasions like weddings and family functions. For marriage, jodhpuri suits are available in rich embroidery. Not just the Indian bridegroom dons jodhpuri suits; male members of the family also prefer wearing these simple yet stylish suits.

The style and cut of the jodhpuri suit makes the entire dressing complete. No accessories are required for this attire. The simplicity of the suits makes up for the accessories. For the bridegroom, wearing a bejeweled necklace completes the look.

Author: Shipra Sinha

Rituals in the Garhwali Matrimonial

Uttarakhand is one of the most beautiful states of India, which flaunts mesmerizing beauty of nature. The state is divided into two regions, Garhwal and Kumaon. The Garhwal and Kumaon divisions are surrounded by amazingly high hills and scenic beauty. Both the divisions have different lifestyle and different wedding customs.

The wedding traditions are unique and the region has an applauding anti-dowry approach. The Garhwali matrimonial follows a strict caste system and arranged marriages are only preferred. Every wedding includes matching of horoscopes of the boy and the girl, fixing of wedding dates, etc. the weddings are fixed as per the status of the families only.

The first step to conduct a wedding is engagement ceremony, where the families of both bridegroom to be present gifts to each other and the boy and girl exchange rings. At the time of wedding, a procession is led with a white flag (Nishaan), which depicts that the groom is clad with the Baratis and traditional band including shehnai, piper, nagada and drums. At the end of the procession, a man carries a red flag, representing the bride.

After the wedding procession reaches the bride’s home, the groom is welcomed and ethnic food is served to the Baratis. The Garhwali brides wear a big nose ring made up of gold, known as nath, which symbolizes prosperity. The nose ring is presented to the bride by the groom’s family.

The wedding rituals in Garhwali matrimonial include seven steps, where the couple takes seven rounds of the sacred fire. After these rituals, the couple is declared as husband and wife. The bride bids adieu to her family and the marriage procession returns with the bride and groom together. The procession is led with a red flag and a red doli. At the time of returning, the last man of the procession holds the white flag.

Author: Rashmi Karan