Sindoor used at Indian Weddings

Women when married take pride in coloring her maang with red color that symbiosisthat she is somebody’s wife. This strongly signifies traditional Indian culture. During the Indian wedding the process of coloring the brides maang is called sindoordaan. Back in the day, most men worked for the army and womenbelieved that wearing this mark helped in pleading with god to keep their beloved ones safe from danger. The colors used are red, orange, and yellow and pink  (usually bright colors) The color red signifies love, fertility,lust and sexuality.

Another use of the vermillion mark is in the for of Kumkum which is applied on the forehead and has no concern with marriage, ago or sex of the person. Men and women are seen with it on their foreheads during religious ceremonies or during visits to their holy places / temples.

Parvati the wife of Lord Shiva is supposed to be the ideal Indian wife. It is believed that Parvati herself protects every Indian woman that wears a Sindoor on herself. As perother astrological significances it is believed to bring women immense happiness and good health. Sindoor is prepared by mixing turmeric with lime and a little mercury. Mercury is believed to control the blood pressure levels of the body and its application in the right proportion is beneficial to the body.  During the wedding ceremony while applying the sindoor to his bride he promises everlasting love, care and protection.

In the earlier days, women used to make the sindoor at home and the exact proportions we passed down generations. Today on can easily purchase Sindoor in the local market. It is believed that women in India applied sindoor more than 5000 years ago, which was considered very auspicious.

Different cultures in the Hindu religion follow different ways of applying sindoor. Brahmin grooms apply sindoor on their own bride’s forehead. Bengali grooms apply sindoor in a form of a ring on the parting of the bride’s hair. Assamese culture suggests that the mother – in – law applies sindoor on the head of the bride welcoming her as a daughter in the family.

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The Vidaai Ceremony Of Hindu weddings

In India, the wedding day is probably the most sacred and auspicious day in the life of a Hindu bride and groom. Marriage is a onetime affair here and the commitment level huge. The wedding ties both the bride and groom into a never ending relationship. The Hindu wedding it is believed repeats 7 times through re incarnations for the same couple. They come together in 7 weddings. The Vidaai, which means farewell, is one of the key ceremonies that plays an important role. This is the last act after which the bride leaves her parents for her husband’s house and there is no turning back.

The Vidaai ceremony takes place after the Pheras. Immediately after this there is a sense of loss and a gloom that descends on the bride and her family after days of celebration. They have given away and lost their girl – Kanya Daan as this is called. The Vidaai is a tear filled ceremony when the bride suddenly realizes and so do her parents that she is going and no more part of the family. It is in ways the breaking of a relationship. Of course there is an inner happiness as well, as she is partaking on a new life journey on the next leg of her life.

This tearful farewell is mainly attended by the really close family members.  The groom feels like a hijacker! The bride’s father sees her off with blessings for a great future and prays for her well being in her new surroundings. The Vidaai is accompanied by the scattering of rice grains or then coins when the couple departs. This signifies the bride returning back what she has taken from her parents from her youth to the time of her wedding.

The bride and groom finally sit in their car to leave. The car is pushed by the brides’ brothers as it pulls out of the driveway. The brides’ brother accompanies her to her in laws place in the car as the only other member from her side of the family. Upon delivering her safely, he returns back. The girls brother acts as a support for her throughout his life. Stay tuned for more articles from your favorite wedding designer in India.

Article Source :- UniversalWebDirectory.Com

Importance Of Varmala Ceremony In The Indian Weddings

Marriage is a serious matter and approached with love and tender care by a brides family. The birth of a daughter, her bringing up and then finally getting her married is a love filled journey. As good Hindus say, girls are Devis or goddesses and to be treated and worshipped as such. A man’s future it is believed is dictated by his wife’s luck. The Varmala ceremony in a Hindu wedding is the first meeting of the groom with the bride after his entourage – the baraat reaches the wedding venue. Subsequent to the Milni and aarti, the groom proceeds and waits for the bride either at the mandap or then on an erected stage where the Varmala union is done.

The bride makes a slow entrance towards the groom for the Varmala ceremony. She is accompanied by her brothers and friends.The Varmala is also called as Jaimala in some parts of North India.The ceremony consists of the bride and groom garlanding each other with rich floral Maalas. The flowers plucked from these garlands are considered auspicious. The exchange of the Varmalas or then the flower garlands symbolize the acceptance of the bride and groom towards oneanother. It also portrays colour, harmony and beauty. The Varmala ceremony is accompanied by cheers and clapping as the bride and groom exchange the Maalas.

The significance of the Varmala goes as back as far as the Maharbarata when the bride would choose her groom by garlanding him at a swayamvar (gathering) of prospective suitors. Arjun was garlanded by Draupadi after a competition with other suitors. Similarly in the Ramayana, Ram successfully broke the bow and was garlanded by Sita after he did this. The bride garlanding the groom symbolizes her acceptance of him. Ofcourse, there are no back breaking competitions these days!

The brides acceptance of the Varmala around her neck signifies a public acceptance of the groom, his family and further lifestyle. The bride first garlands the groom who then follows suit.To make this fun the groom sometimes makes it hard for the girl to garland him by standing on his toes.The groom's garland signifies the welcome of a new life into his, a promise to look after his bride, and his desire for self realization. TheVarmala depicts a mutual acceptance of the wedding between both. In the olden days and sometimes even now in certain rural areas, the mother in law does the Varmala on behalf of the daughter. The Varmala ceremony is overseen by the brides’ maternal uncles.

The Varmala ceremony is a formal acceptance of the final wedding pheras being held.

Article Source:Universal Web Directory

All Time Hit Indian Wedding Songs

An Indian wedding cannot be without music and songs, shor sharraba, band and baja! If that were the case, it would simply not be an Indian wedding. A wedding in India has to be vibrant. There are movies galore depicting the Indian wedding to give you an idea of how awaited and musical these events are.

There is a huge selection of Indian wedding music available to use. I guess one needs to make a selection based on the audience – the age groups, village urban divide and on whether it is a wet or dry affair - all contributing factors.

To those who do not know this, the DJ (disk jockey) is now a standard part of the sangeet and India probably has the largest DJ population.

Some of the really old numbers that have been played at weddings over the past 50 are the top numbers per my list. Here are some of them:

Babul Ki Duaayen Leti Ja – Captures the emotion of a father losing his daughter to a groom; originally sung by Mohamad Rafi.

Le Jayange – Fun filled song sung from the grooms side that says that he will take the bride. Originally sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle and from the movie Chot Machaye shor, this is one of those bandmaster delights.

Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna – from Dilwali Dulhniya this was sung by Lata and Udit and is one of the alltime favorites.

Joote De do paise leh loh – A fun filled peppy number that talks about the stealing of the grooms shoes during the pheras. This is from the movie Hum Aapke Hain Kaun.

Mujhse Shaadi Karogi – Name of the movie and song, a fun filled modern day number.

Punjabi songs that are bhangra based are now universally loved all over India and their rhythm and catchy tunes make them the ideal foot tapping music to be played at weddings. Infact Bollywood music of late should be called as Pollywood music due to the large number of Punjabi song releases. This music brings in cheer and appeals to both the old and young alike. Here are some evergreen peppy Punjabi numbers –

Soni De nakhre – teasing the bride about her nuances.

Ma Da Ladla – This foot tapping number from Dostana is played always.