TILAK CEREMONY

Indian wedding is a grand and elaborate affair. The wedding celebrations begin days before the actual wedding day and last weeks after that. In between the wedding day and the formal finalization of marriage, several pre-wedding ceremonies take place. These pre-wedding rituals are actuallytraditional customs that are considered to be auspicious for the forth coming wedding as well as the married life of the would-be couple. 

They are also a way to mentally and emotionally prepare the bride, groom and their families for the marriage and develop familiarity between both the families involved. These pre-wedding rituals include several ceremonies like Roka, Sagaai, Saga, Sangeet and Tilak.

Among the pre wedding functions the ceremony of Tilak holds an important position. The Tilak ceremony is performed in most of the family according to their personal family tradition and culture. The ceremony is held in different styles according to different culture and caste. Mostly the ceremony is held at the groom's residence or at any temple. 

In Sikh religion, the ceremony is performed by a preacher or bhaiji from the Gurudwara who first recites the hymn and after that offers the groom a date and applies the tilak or tika on his forehead, marking the engagement. That's why it is known as a tilak ceremony. However, in most of the communities of Hindu religion, the Tilak is applied by the bride�s brother on the groom�s forehead.

In some caste it is called the Chenkai Ceremony. Traditionally, the bride and her mother do not attend this ceremony; mostly the male family members and relatives of the bride attend the function. In many families, the tilak and engagement ceremony is celebrated together. 

Traditionally, the bride'sfather looks after all the ceremonial activities. The ceremony of tilak brings together both the families where the elders of both the families. In fact, the actual motive behind its celebration is to enhance the bonding between the two families.

The Tilak ceremony begins from a pooja or havan where the bride and the groom�s family pray for a happy and auspicious future of the would-be couple. After the pooja rituals the bride's father offers gifts to the groom and his family members. 

The gifts include clothes, sweets and fruits and other items for the groom and his family members. Following the ceremony, the groom's father sends gifts of sugar, coconut, rice, clothes, jewelry and henna to the bride. Friends and relatives from the groom's family carry those gifts for the bride and her family members.

SANGEET PARTY

Indian Wedding is not only about serious rituals and customs rather it is also full of several fun filled rituals and frothy moments. Though people in India regard marriage more as a religious affair, the elements of fun and frolic are also added into it, to make this emotional affair, somewhat light and amusing. 


In fact, most of the pre-wedding rituals are designed in away that there is a scope of entertainment. Be it haldi, mehendi or sangeet, all the pre-wedding ceremonies are full of light and amusing moments; however among all the pre wedding celebrations sangeet party is the most enjoyable one.

The sangeet ceremony is also known as �gaun�. This custom heightens the excitement of wedding festivities. In the earlier days the custom of gaun used to last for ten days but with the passage of time, as people didn't have more time to spend due to demanding work schedules, the custom has usually reduced to a one night function. 

At the bride's home women relatives and friends play the dholki and sing suhaag, which is a traditional folk song. Songs include 'jokes' about the in-laws, and would be husband how to have a successful marriage like and songs about the bride leaving her parents home. Similarly the women at the groom's home sing songs called ghoriya. Traditionally only the women celebrated this ceremony but nowadays the concept has changed as both men and women participate to celebrate this occasion.

In most of the families, the sangeet party is celebrated on an elaborate scale and is a very grand affair. However, in some families, it is also celebrated along with the mehendi function. It is generally done to save time. 

The sangeet party may be celebrated both as a separate or a joint event in both the families. However people generally prefer to make it a joint affair nowadays to make it more interesting and amusing. As a joint affair before the marriage ceremony, it also becomes a platform developing familiarity of the bride and groom with each others family.

Though sangeet function is an important pre-wedding function of all north Indian weddings, it is most popular trend among Gujaratis and Punjabis. Among the Gujaratis Garba dance is a favored alternative. They are mostly held in a big hall, which are beautifully decorated where people come dressed in ethnic Gujarati wear. 

The sangeet party mainly involves traditional dance, which is known as Garba, and dandia raas, which is dancing with sticks. The Raas Garba usually ends with a light supper for all those attending. In Punjabis, the Giddha nad Bhangra are the popular dance forms for the Sangeet night ceremony.

MEHENDI CELEBRATION

Weddings in India are considered to be a sacred and sanctified ritual. They are long ritualistic and elaborate affair with lots of pre-wedding, wedding, post wedding ritual. The occasion of Mehendi is one of the most important pre-wedding rituals. It is fun a filled ritual, which is celebrated mainly by the bride's family. 


Different regions of the country celebrate the ritual in a different way according to their own marriage customs, rituals, and culture. The celebrations also depend on the wealth and status of the people. The bride's family celebrates Mehendi party for gathering bride�s friends and relatives for blessing the bride as well as for amusement.

The ceremony is mostly held at bride's place or sometimes in a banquet hall on the eve of the marriage ceremony or few days before the marriage. On this occasion a professional henna designer or some relative applies mehendi to the bride�s hands and feet. There are few places in India where it is a ritual that the first motif of henna or mehendi is applied by the bride�s sister-in-law whereas there are some places where the first mehendi motif is said to be auspicious if applied by bride�s mother.

The Mehendi or henna motif is not only the adoration of the bride rather it epitomizes her transformation from a virgin girl to a temptress for her husband. As per Kama Sutra, henna is one of the sixty four arts of women. Popular motifs of the bridal mehendi are conchshell, flowers, Kalash, peacock, doli and baraat patterns. 

The intricate motifs of the bridal henna also hide the husband�s name. It is said that the husband�s name in the intricate henna motifs is made for the groom who has to find out his name in his bride�s mehendi as an evidence of his sharp eyes and active brain to impress his girl.

Mehendi function is usually organized with the sangeet function. So, it has a festive feel to it with the women dancing and singing traditional songs on the mehendi ritual. The bride is dressed in light color clothes with light jewelry. According to the custom the bride must not step out of the house after the mehendi ritual until the wedding day. 

It is believed that the darker and deeper the henna stains the more the husband and the in-laws will love her bride. The ritual of mehendi signifies the strength and power of love in a marriage so it is regarded good omen for the would-be bride. It is said that the long the bride retains the mehendi, the more auspicious would be her future.

ENGAGEMENT CEREMONY

Marriage is regarded as the most important social as well as religious event in Indian culture. The concept of marriage can be traced back to Vedic times. Even now, it is considered to be the most sacred and vital affair in one�s life. An Indian wedding, as known to everybody, is extremely elaborate and intricate affair. 

The wedding related rituals begin days before the wedding ceremony in forms of pre-wedding rituals. One of the most important pre-wedding rituals amongst them is the Engagement Ritual. Though most of the people believe that this trend of �engagement ceremony� came from the west but if you look deep in to the Indian traditions, the engagement ceremonies exist in one form or the other in different communities of India from a long time. It is known as misri, ring ceremony, aashirwad, and mangni in different Indian communities.

Engagement ceremony is almost celebrated in the same manner in almost all the religions except for certain variations according to their community and family rituals. Generally, the engagement ceremony is organized at the bride�s place or some banquet hall. 

The family and relative of bride and groom gather to celebrate the first formal party of the forth coming wedding ceremony. Both the families exchange gifts, sweets and good wishes. A formal ring ceremony is then done to solemnize the engagement ceremony. The prospective bride and groom are then introduced to each other�s family. A lunch or a dinner (depending up on the time of function) is organized for all the family members and guests present at the ceremony.

Different Kinds of Engagement Ceremonies in India

• In Gujarati customs, the engagement function is called Sagaai. In a Sagaai, the bride's family arrives with �Matli', a steel container full of sweets and gifts for the groom and his family.
• In Christians, the engagement ceremony is very much like a social gathering and formal announcement of marriage where the would-be groom and bride exchange engagement rings.
• In most of the North Indian states, the ceremony is held as soon as the marriage details are finalized. Along with the ring ceremony, the ritual of �Tilak' i.e. greeting the groom with auspicious vermilion paste and rice is performed by bride's brother. Then the exchange of baskets of fruits, dry fruits and sweets takes place between both the families. The bride is also gifted with some traditional family Jewelry from the groom's parents.
• In the South Indian families, the engagement ceremony is quite different from those of North Indian families; you will be surprised to know that the presence of the groom and bride is not compulsory on the engagement function. The engagement ceremony in South India is more like a commitment between both the families of the would-be bride and groom. The most important ritual in the south Indian engagement function is the exchange of 'tattu' i.e. 'engagement plate' which consists of coconut, flowers, turmeric, beetle nuts and beetle leaves.