Wedding's not on the Ground Floor?!

I have attended 2 weddings this season where the function was held at the top floor and the 1st floor. While having a terrace wedding or a closed banquet wedding has a charm of its own I felt that both of them lacked one thing :

The Grand Entry of the Baraat.

The whole visual looks great when the Baraat comes to the venue and they are dancing on the gate, the Bride's family is waiting impatiently for them to come in already! And then someone from the grooms side pulls someone from the Bride's side to dance and within minutes everyone is dancing! That feeling of pure joy and happiness is one of the great moments of a wedding.

Let us help the boys!

The most difficult part of Mehendi/Sangeet is trying to get the guys to do choreographed routines! Most of them don't want to do it, the ones that do have zero choreography sense, and since the boys decided on the very last minute that they would perform the official choreographer is long gone. So now what?!

Well we girls can whip up a quick and easy dance routine for girls or coed dances in a blink of an eye, but thinking of dance moves for a group of rowdy guys who only know how to do 'Dabang Dabang' on the stage is super difficult!

I found these group of guys doing great routines on Mehendi's and the dance moves are easy enough (after a few alterations) So just go ahead watch and teach your brothers/friends/uncles and have a great Sangeet!

Must Read for Grooms :Shout out to Another Bridal Blogger

A must Read for all Groom-to-be
(well actually a must for all brides-to-be to get there respective 'boys' to read it)

The Indian Grooms Dilemma : To Propose or Not to Propose
https://thedelhibride.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/the-indian-grooms-dilemma-to-propose-or-not-to-propose/

Guest Post By Ankur Vohra

When I got Married!

It was June of 2010, I had just returned home that summer after completing my MBA from abroad and was working in Delhi.I was single,happy chilling out with friends and flirting with girls.I had no intentions to marry or did I?, I was about to know!

Pop came one day,A Friend Request on Facebook,from a girl, whom I had known way back in School,she was the daughter of one of our teachers in school and used to sit with me on bench,a punishment which my class teacher gave me for not being among the bright students in the class,we were both the opposite in school, as far as I can remember, she was bright,extrovert and confident while I was shy, dull and reserved.I do not have much memories from that time but one thing I am sure was that, she was one of my crushes in School. She had to leave the school and shift city as her father got transferred, and that was the last I had heard from her(Almost 15 Years Back!) before that Facebook request came.

Gladly, I accepted her on Facebook, and got down on researching (read:going through her photographs) about her through her profile, I found out, she was now back in my city,living just two blocks away from me and was working as a School Teacher in one of the schools, I messaged her, how glad I was to hear from her, and she messaged me back reciprocating the same, this process went on for couple of days before we exchanged mobile numbers.In the back of my heart, I was really happy to find her but did not know, if she felt the same, wanted to meet her but didn't have the courage to ask her out.Sample this, I thought 10 times before even messaging her, it was July, If i remember correctly when I first sent her an SMS in the evening, it was a general message, saying, "Hi, how are you doing?" but In my language that meant, I am interested in you, can we graduate to talking on mobile phones now?, I don't remember what her reply was exactly but surely, It was not motivating and it came pretty late,It was normal for her but what I interpreted from that, was, that she was simply not interested.

Now, came in the male eqo and I simply decided to ignore her, No Messages!, No Facebook!, I cut off all interactions with her, but, as I was to know later, that meant even more agony for me, I did a bit more research and found out that her family was looking for a groom for her to get married and settled down.It was september now, and she always was at the back of my mind, whenever I did Facebook, I inadvertently landed on her profile or some of her news feed. It was maddening and that is when I decided, I had to meet her once,only how was the question?

I devised out a plan in the first week of October, I sent her a invite on Facebook for apparently a  School Get together,which was nothing but my idea of getting a chance to meet her. She did not reply for couple of days, on 3rd day, came her response, that she would be happy to come but would only be able to confirm by Friday, Saturday was the day for the supposed meet.I waited for her message whole of Friday but  none came,my desperation to see her was crossing its limits,I decided to SMS her in night and to my relief  after some agonizing minutes came her reply, in which she cribbed about the location of the supposed meet but in short it meant a Yes!:-)

An instant smile crossed my face and I reaffirmed my belief in God!:-)

To be continued...

About Ankur Vohra:
 He is a Communications and Social Media enthusiast, who has done his MBA from IMT Dubai, currently working in Delhi, loves reading books and blogging about the lighter side of life.
 You can reach him through his blog https://stayinginsane.wordpress.com 

Hindu Wedding Rituals

Just had to share it!!

Hindu believes in the sixteen sanskaras (sacraments) that make the life of the individual noble and prosperous, with the most important sanskara being 'vivaha' (marriage). It's a ceremony whereby two souls are brought into union spiritually, mentally and physically in the scared bond of matrimony. 

As per the shastras, the groom is considered to be Mahavishnu Svarupaya Varahaya ie The great Vishnu himself and the bride is believed to be Godess Lakshmi.

The marriage ceremony always begins with 'Ganesh Puja' with the belief that Lord Ganesha dispels the darkness of ignorance and removes obstacles.

 This is followed by 'Navgrah Shanti Puja' performed separately by parents of the bride and the groom. 

Pre-wedding rituals require the bride to tie a holy thread on her wrist which is meant to ward off all evil spirits, symbolizing a kind of a protective armor for the bride. 

For the groom, the holy thread comprises of the various Gods .. 'Indra', 'Soma', 'Chandra' and 'Agni'. From there on, the groom prepares himself for a new chapter in his life as a householder or 'Grihasta'. 

The holy thread is usually more fancier than this, and mostly red...but could not find another picture

The ceremony also involves the bride and groom being anointed with a fragrant paste made out of turmeric powder, curd, sandal-wood and scented water in their respective houses.

 'Mandap Ropan'or 'Vedi' formation takes place at the bride's house where four pillars (made out of bamboo) are erected at four corners and are blessed. It is under thismandap that the agni parikrama takes place.

On the day of the wedding, the groom is welcomed by the bride's parents to their house with 'arti' after washing his right foot (or just the toe) with five substances considered holy (viz milk, curd, ghee, sugar and honey). At an auspicious hour, the bride is ushered in by her mother or maternal uncle as per the tradition for 'Kanya Daan' which symbolizes 'parents giving away their daughter to the groom and his family along with the consent for the marriage ceremonies to begin'.

After the 'Kanya Daan' ritual, the parents of the bride proffer her hand to the groom and officially request him to accept her as his bride, also known as 'Pani Grah'. In return the groom usually offers clothes and jewelry to welcome her in his life.

'Agni' or the sacred fire, central to all Hindu religious ceremony, is invoked and offerings of wood, grains and ghee are poured in. Agniis considered to be the "mouth of the Gods" and the Gods obtain our offering through this medium. Agni Parikrama the central part of the Hindu marriage ceremony requires bride and groom circumbulate the sacred fire seven times depending upon the various communities.

Meaning of Saat Phere

1. Nourishment

With our first step together we pray to God to provide us with pure and nourishing food. Together we will live our lives with honour and respect for each other.

2. Strength

With our second step together we pledge to grow in physical, mental and spiritual strengths. Together we will share happiness and enjoy life.

3. Prosperity

With our third step we promise each other to earn and increase wealth by righteous way and provide comfort to the family. Together we will share all our sorrows and joys.

4. Family

With our forth step together we pledge not to forget our parents and elders. Together we will maintain and strengthen the family bonds.

5. Progeny

With our fifth step together we pray to God to bless us with beautiful, kind and brave children.  Together as responsible parents, we shall provide them with good education and values of life. 

6. Health

With our sixth step together, we pray to God for a healthy and disease free life for us and our families. Together we will live a balanced and harmonious life.

7. Friendship and love

With our seventh step together, we promise to be a loyal companion. Together we will live a life of mutual trust, love and friendship.

Then the groom fills the parting right above the forehead with 'sindur' (vermilion) and places a dot of the red powder on her forehead as a symbol of declaring her to be his wife. At this time, he also ties a sacred thread around her neck -Mangalsutra - to signify their marriage. Usually this thread is covered with gold and black glass beads, though in essence, it can be made of anything auspicious including cotton and silk depending upon the customs in various parts of India.

The priest blesses the couple and the guests shower the couple with their blessings.

The bride leaves her parents and friends to commence a new life with her husband. She throws rice over her head , to indicate that even if she is leaving her parents home, she wishes it will be filled with happiness and prosperity. 

She is given a warm welcome into her new home and is believed to have brought along with her prosperity and good fortune into the house. She is blessed by all the elders in the family and is introduced to everybody. Depending upon the customs and traditions, a number of small ceremonies continue happening within family and close friends in order to acquaint the bride to her new family and to make the entire affair a happy and lively experience for the newly wedded.

PS : Some Text and picture's have been taken from various sources via Google (Maata), if anyone finds it offeneding let me knw will remove :)