Shaadi-ki-story 3

Anupam Srivastava

Sunday, November 22, 2020

A Celebration to Remember

Imagine you woke up a morning believing it to be an ordinary day but suddenly realised that a momentous change has happened around you and there is a completely new world full of colossal heartfelt feelings, mystic stories carved ceremoniously in love & joy, sworn vows and promises to keep forever.

Our wedding was an arranged one, and after many rounds of initial screening (like a job application), finally, a meeting was fixed with my future soulmate. We thought that the meeting would be finished within half an hour but what started as casual chitchat turned into a two-hour long conversation. It is evident by now that we have something in common, as we loved every titbit of this two hours of emotional ride and contagious laughter.

After two days, our engagement ceremony was arranged, and this was an exciting new chapter in our life. After exchanging few Kittenish banters in the first month, we fostered a deep camaraderie later, where we could discuss anything without the fear of being judged.

Time slipped like the grains of sand in our hands and very soon, the grand celebrations started where all the events and rituals were sprinkled over one full week.

Enriched with electrifying colours, razzle-dazzle, and the house filled with relatives and friends, weddings of Northern India have a distinct tang of their own.

The ceremony of Tilak took place a week before the wedding in which the bride’s father and close relatives visited our place and applied tilak on my forehead as a mark of acceptance and reverence. The next ceremony was Haldi where there were no rules and regulations (Aah...poor me!!) and everyone had maximum fun and giggles from start to end. The next was Sangeet in which all the women of the house sang traditional and filmy songs while playing dholak and thali. There were several performances which I really enjoyed.

And finally, there was the Wedding which started with the ‘baraat’ and the band-baaja which was playing fast-paced music and all family members danced crazily and forgot that they had to reach the venue by 8:00 pm. The 'barat' arrived at the venue by 11:30 pm, where everyone was waiting eagerly for us.

The whole venue was traditionally attired and decorated with a dome-shaped floral mandap with cascades of fresh flowers hanging from the top. Our wedding ceremony took place all night with a series of rituals named 'dwaar pooja', ‘varmala’, 'juta churai' to ‘pheras’, ‘saat vachan’ and ‘Bidai’. The whole night passed like a dream, and it looked like we were in a surreal world.

The entire week of grandeur celebrations was accomplished and we promised to love and care for each other throughout our lives.

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