Pre-Wedding Rituals in Devanga Matrimony

Devanga community is purely a Hindu community from Karnataka and the rituals followed in Devanga matrimony are similar to Hindu marriage. The differences are only due to the regional impacts.

The marriages in Devanga community is mainly fixed through mediators or marriage consultants who keep an updated the list of prospective brides and grooms. Such marriage consultants are contacted by the boy and girl’s parents, and arrange meetings between the families as well as the girl and boy. Alike other Hindu communities, Devangas strictly believe in arranged marriages and matching the horoscopes before finalizing any alliance. Engagement is the time when the families of both the girl and boy make a formal announcement of the wedding and the wedding date.

A day before the wedding day in Devanga Matrimony, the bride arrives the marriage hall and seeks the blessings of the god. The first ritual is harisna, wherein the married women of the family apply oil and turmeric on the hands and feet of the bride. Harisna is followed by the bangle ceremony, where the married women as well as the bride wear the new bangles.

The bride is then bathed with the ceremonial water and various other rituals are continued for the whole night. On the wedding day, the groom wears dhoti and carries an umbrella while visiting the temple. This ritual is called as kashiyatra. The parents of the bride meet the groom at the temple and they wash the groom’s feet, on a silver plate. After a number of the pre-wedding rituals, the groom moves to the marriage hall for sacred thread tying ritual, surprisingly called as mangalsutra, which is for the married women in Northern India.

Mangalsutra marks the end of bachelorhood of the groom and a start of the married life. A grand lunch is arranged for all the invitees. After all the wedding rituals a reception is thrown in honour of the bride and the bridegroom, where the invites give their blessings to the newlyweds.

Author: Rashmi Karan

Wedding - An Awesome Event to Enjoy Your Passion of Photography

Wedding Photograph

Recently one of my friends got married, which was a traditional Assamese matrimony that lasted for one night and two days. There were presence of so many relatives and friends, all counting for more than 500 guests. The bridegroom arrived at 11.30 pm, and by the time everything was over, it was the next day morning.

All of my friends were enjoying there but I was busy in clicking photographs. My complete focus was on capturing all the beautiful moments that was being experienced there during the Assamese Matrimony. I went to see my friend who was being dressed up as a bride, she looked mesmerizing in that golden and off white bridal Mekhla Chadar. Her hands and feet were colored with alta, of which I took a close shot. I also captured her blushing eyes, which were looking astonishing with the touch of kohl.

 I was trying hard to have a glimpse of the groom who was surrounded by his in-laws and busy in various rituals. I got enough stuff to capture there, beautiful diyas, rangoli and colorful decorations; oh there was so many things that was so beautiful and eye catchy.

The gate was decorated traditionally with two banana plants on its both sides; such plants represent auspicious beginning and good luck. The gate was constructed very neatly, which compelled me to take some shots of that place.

I got some awesome shots of the wedding rituals, like saptapadi, sindoordan, kanyadan, and many other rituals of Assamese matrimony. Some interesting and auspicious things were available at the place of wedding, which served as great photogenic elements.

As far as my conception, a wedding is the best place to capture artistic shots, all you need to do is to forget who is watching you and go for the best possible shots with complete dedication and accuracy.

Author: Rashmi Karan

Divine Beauty of the Bengali Bride

I have never seen such a beautiful Bengali bride till I met Sutapa. The first time I saw her, her beauty mesmerized me. It was the morning of her Gaye Hulud, a Bengali wedding ritual where the turmeric paste is applied all over the body of the bride. According to belief, the application of turmeric will give the bride a glowing skin. Nevertheless, looking at Sutapa, I wondered whether she actually requires the application.  Her beautiful peach complexion does not require anything.  Draped in a crisp cotton sari, she sat for the rituals. Relatives and friends smeared her with the turmeric paste on all face, hands and legs. Sitting quietly, she was enjoying her every moment.

After a bath, she was made to sit for some more rituals. For the Bengali bride, the morning of her wedding is a busy day with rituals thrown in one after another. Sutapa came out wearing another set of clothes, this time in pure silk. She was made to wear the ‘sankha-pola’, the traditional white and red Bengali bangles which are worn by any Bengali married women. Alta, a red liquid was applied on her hand and feet, however, many Bengali brides also apply henna on hands nowadays.  After a small puja, she was given sweets to eat.

The evening of the wedding day is the time when all Bengali brides are dressed in their traditional attire. Sutapa did the same. She wore a tomato red sari with heavy brocade work, draped in the Bengali way.  The hair was neatly tied in a bun with red roses covering it. The sandalwood pattern drawn on her forehead centering on her big red bindi made her look very beautiful. Decked in gold jewelry from head to toe, she was looking like a million dollar beauty.

Looking at Sutapa, I am sure that most of the Bengali bride will look beautiful. The simplicity of rituals, the traditional attire and the gold jewelry make any bride of Bengal attractive and angelic.

Not only the bride and groom, Bengal Matrimony demands the active presence of other close relatives also, who are the part of this event.

Author:  Shipra Sinha

Bridal Trousseau of the Marathi Bride

Marathi community is very simple and the people believe in very less showoffs during the wedding ceremony. The impact of both north Indian and south Indian culture can be seen in the Marathi samskaras or sacraments and rituals. Morning or afternoon is considered as the most auspicious time for conducting rituals in Maratha matrimony

One has to look exceptional in his/her wedding attire and be a center of attraction. The Marathi bride and groom dress up very traditionally for the wedding rituals, and you can easily identify a Marathi bride by her wedding attire. A bottle green sari having a length of nine-yards, draped in a typical Marathi style distinguishes a Marathi bride from others. In Marathi matrimony, green is considered as the symbol of luck and prosperity.

Sari worn by the Marathi bride is green Banarasi or kanjivaram, having rich golden embroidered borders. The hair locks are properly tied on the back to form a bun, and is decorated by a bunch of white flowers, also known as gajra. The hairstyle of a bride is very simple, yet gives a very elegant look. Hands and feet of the bride are decorated with beautiful mehendi designs.

Gold jewellery is the preferred choice for the Marathi brides, but they also like to be decorated in pearls. Green sari, accessorize with a bindi, pearl set, a seven pearl earring and a nose ring made up of nine pearls add to the beauty of the Marathi bride. The most important bridal sign of the Marathi bride, according to Marathi matrimonial, is green glass bangles, also known as chuda, are worn with pearls bangles, which give a very bright and contrasting looks. A waistband made up of gold, a silver anklet and a toe ring are important part of the jewellery of a Marathi bride.

Author: Rashmi Karan

Devanga Matrimony - A Bond of a Lifetime

The Devanga migrated from the Northern Karnataka originally. People belonging to this caste are found in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra as well. Referred to as Deva-Brahmin, Devanga communities were also named as Prakrut Brahmins. The rituals followed in Devanga matrimonies are very much similar to those followed in the other communities of the Hindu religion. Barring few subtle differences, the Devanga matrimony and Hindu matrimony have many common customs and traditions.

A unique feature of the Devanga marriage is that the brides as well as groom do not wear clothes made from silk during wedding ceremonies. The reason behind this custom is unknown still the tradition is still followed with great respect. Some religious gurus offer an explanation and say that silk is not worn as it is made from silk worms.

In Devanga matrimony, there are marriage consultants or mediators who help the families of marriageable boys and girls to look for prospective bride and groom. The families can choose suitable boys and girls from a long list of candidates maintained by these mediators. Usually, Devanga matrimonies are arranged marriages. Like any other Hindu Matrimony, elders of the community or parents look for the suitable matches based on several factors, like age, education, family background, appearance, status, income etc.

In Devanga matrimony, the first step towards arranging marriages is the “kundli milan” in which horoscopes of the bride and groom are matched by either the family “pandit” or any astrologer. The families meet along with the boy and girl after their horoscopes are matched. Since marriage is a very auspicious occasion meant for lifetime, it is very important that both the girl as well as the boy feel satisfied with the match.

After both the girl and the boy are ready for the match, the families meet with each other and decide the date of the engagement and wedding after consulting a priest. After the engagement ceremony, the couple seeks blessings from their elders. They are showered with gifts and best wishes as well.

Marriages are generally held at ‘choultries’ popularly known as marriage halls. Lasting 2-3 days, the Devanga matrimony is an elaborate ceremony. The bride reaches the marriage hall a day prior to the ceremony where she prays to the divine deity and seeks their blessings. “Harisna” is the first ritual after the prayers wherein the hands and feet of the bride are massaged with turmeric mixed with oil. The married women carry out this ritual.

Next ceremony is the bangle ceremony wherein a bangle woman comes to the marriage hall and all women buy new bangles. Several other rituals continue whole night and the next day, the groom goes to a temple to seek blessings from the deities. On his way to the temple, the parents of the bride intercept him and they wash his feet on a silver plate.

After this ceremony, the groom comes back to the marriage hall where the sacred thread tying ritual takes place. This indicates the culmination of bachelorhood and beginning of married life in the Devanga matrimony. A grand reception is held in the evening followed by elaborate dinner after which the newlyweds are offered best wishes for their happy married life.

Sonali writes on behalf of Jeevansathi.com, which is India’s fastest growing Matrimonial website.