Wedding Celebrations in Sikh Community

The Punjabis are known for their zest for life. The lifestyle of Punjabis is very sparkling and they celebrate their occasions with full fun. Their bhangra dance, traditional Punjabi food, and fun filled ceremonies form the delightful occasions, which they celebrate with full enthusiasm.

Alike their hale heartiness and fun loving nature, the way they celebrate the weddings is also very colourful that include traditional rituals, music and enjoyment. Marriage is a special ceremony that unites two lives as well as their families. Keeping this in mind, a number of pre wedding and post wedding ceremonies are held that are believed to unite the two families together as they get more and more chances to interact with each other.

Wedding in the Sikh community are celebrated in a Gurudwara and the process is known as "Anand Karaj", meaning a "blissful union". The wedding rituals and customs of Anand Karaj are performed in front of the holy book of Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib. Unlike other communities, the weddings are not conducted in a community hall or a hotel. The religious ceremonies are accomplished in the morning. The weddings are not very elaborate and are very simple, which completely focus on religious practices only.

The bride and bridegroom need to take 4 circles around the holy book Guru Granth Sahib. The holy book does not describes a particular timing to conduct the weddings, as they can be conducted any time, as per the availability of the Gurudwara and ease of the families, however, the marriages are conducted mainly during the day time and the evenings are kept for partying with family and friends.

There have been increased numbers of Sikh weddings that are fixed through the online matrimonial sites. These sites have helped a lot to find Sikh and Punjabi brides and grooms in a very hassle free manner These match making sites are easy to access and one just needs a login id to visit different types of profiles and select the best as per their choice and contact them for an everlasting alliance.

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Rashmi Karan 

Gujarati Wedding- A flamboyant Event

Gujarati wedding is full of fun, rituals and grandeur.  Gujaratis are known for celebrating their cultural ceremonies with zeal and full devotion.

As expected from an Indian wedding, Gujarati matrimony is magnanimous and involves pomp and show. A number of ceremonies are performed to celebrate the occasion. Before wedding the ceremonies that are performed include mandap mahurat and griha shanti. The first ceremony, mandap muhurat is meant to take the blessings of Lord Ganesha by performing puja by priest. The next ritual is griha shanti, which is performed by family members of bride and groom in their respective houses. The ritual is aimed at bringing peace in the life of the married couple.  

The wedding day begins with pokavu ceremony in which the bride’s mother pulls the groom’s nose indicating that the boy is responsible to take care of her daughter. The ritual is followed by jaimala to exchange garland between bride and groom. Madhuparka ceremony involves washing the groom’s feet by bride’s parents followed by juta-churai by bride’s sisters. Bride is brought to mandap in kanya agaman ritual where again the garlands are exchanged by the couple. Wedding is completed by taking mangal pheras at the end; however instead of seven pheras only four pheras are taken in a Gujarati wedding.

Post wedding rituals involved in Gujarati Matrimony includes vidai in which the married couple comes to the groom’s house after marriage. To add the fun element in this auspicious occasion, the couple is asked to play few games such as aeki-beki. All the family members enjoy the game where a tray is filled with milk and water and the couple is asked to find the ring or coin dipped in it. It is believed that the partner who first finds the ring has upper hand over the other for rest of the life.

The rich customs and traditions of Gujarati culture are clearly reflected in their wedding style. The people are enthusiastic and celebrate their festivals and auspicious occasions like wedding in a splendid way.

About Author:

Swati Srivastava writes on behalf of the popular matrimony site JeevanSaathi.com. The author has been writing on various matrimonies to give you an overview of different cultures, rituals and ceremonies in Indian Wedding.

Banarasi Saris: A must have for the Indian Bride’s Trousseau

Indian Weddings present a glimpse of the rich weaving traditions through the bridal attire. The Indian bride dresses elegantly in traditional saris. In northern India, the Banarasi saris are the favorite among brides. These beautiful saris available in rich colors complement the heavy gold jewelry. Moreover, why just the brides, even the women attending the weddings are seen flaunting these saris.

Considered one of the finest saris from the weavers of India, these saris comes the historical city of Varanasi or Banaras. These saris have witnessed many matrimonial functions across communities and religions in Indian. These Banarasi saris have rightfully celebrated the Indian diversity. Most of the weavers of these saris are Muslims and the Hindu brides wear them. Brides from various communities have worn these saris on their wedding functions.

What makes these saris stand out is the intricate designs and opulent embroidery. The zari or the gota as the border of these saris gives its distinctive look. Mostly these are silk saris with detailed engravings making it relatively heavier those other traditional saris. The rich and classy look is apt for wearing at matrimony functions. The brides usually prefer shades of red, as it is a sign of marital status. Even the women members wear these saris in shades of blue, purple, green etc.

Some of exclusive varieties of Banarasi saris are Tanchoi, Jangla, Vaskat, Tishu, Cutwork, Butidar to name a few. The designs in the saris are inspired by Mughal art. The aanchal or pallu have intricate designs like intertwining floral and foliate motifs. The body of the saris usually has butis or string of upright leaves called jhallar. Other features of these saris are heavy gold thread work, figures, jal work, and sometimes mina work. No doubt, these saris form an inevitable part of any Indian bride’s trousseau.

Designer Kantha Outfits in Bengali Matrimony

The weddings in India highlight the fine textiles of India. Attend any Indian weddings and you will find the various fabrics and handwork. Weddings are time when the family members put their best attire. And chances are they will be wearing the local handwork dresses. Attend any Bengali matrimony wedding and you will find that many are flaunting kantha saris and kurtas. 

Indian embroidery has always attracted many and from the state of Bengal, the Kantha surely attracts attention. The rich cultural heritage of Bengal has many gems and kantha works is one of them. The Kantha work on saris and kurtas look elegant and truly captivating. This is a complete handwork and no machines are used. Skilled artisans from the state work day and night to present beautiful forms of art in fabric. Silk and cotton are preferred fabrics for doing this work. Many are also coming with chiffon saris with kantha work. The Bolpur district from Bengal is famous for this work. 

In a Bengali matrimony functions, many women are seen wearing saris with kantha work. Women also wear blouses and salwar-suits with kantha work on it. Men wear cotton kurtas with beautiful kantha work. This beautiful handwork from the state of Bengal has caught the attention of national and international designers. They are coming with beautiful outfits which have this embroidery.

The designers are coming with beautiful kurtis, which have kantha work. These kurtis can be paired with leggings, dhoti pants or patiala salwar pants. Designers are adding exciting elements to this work like beads, mirror work and sequins for more color and unconventional look. the traditional patterns of Kantha include geometrical shapes and motifs like flowers, animals, birds et al. Adding tge modern elements has given Kantha a complete new look. You can see women wearing these modern designer Kantha saris in the Bengali matrimonial functions.

Society and the Tradition of Marriages in India

In India, weddings are the biggest events in the life of an individual, which marks the beginning of a new phase. In India, a rare percentage of the people do not believe in the concept of marriage, and for others there is no option but to get married. Still there are people who love to lead their lives alone, without the interference of any other person and this has started to become a trend in the modern and urban India. However, life is not that easy for the people who take a decision of not to get married. Society questions those who do not marry, and so do their parents.

You can understand the importance of marriages in India by the fact that parents of the girl save money for them. All the arrangements and the gifts require lot of money, and this is the reason that sine the time of the birth of a girl, the father starts saving money for her wedding. 

The concept of arranged marriages in India is quite old or you can say it is traditional, but the tradition also changed with time and the society in the urban India is now accepting love marriages or inter caste marriages, however, in various communities in Northern and Southern India, inter caste marriages are still a big taboo.

Some communities in Haryana, Western UP and Rajasthan never accept love marriages and create a tough time for those who elope and get married. This thinking needs to be changed, we have become so progressive now in every aspect, but when it comes to marriages, people have that same thinking of arranged marries and dowry. How can we think that with that conservative thinking our society can progress, first of all we need to have a change in our thinking and then talk about progressive society.

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Author: Rashmi