This week we went to Delhi and Ghaziabad for my cousin Mudit’s wedding. He was getting married to a beautiful girl called Richa. We had to get dressed up and had a lot of fun seeing all my cousins. Here are some photos.
There were many days of celebrations. On the day of the wedding Ro and I spent a lot of time looking at the wedding horse.
We had to dress up – Ro wore a kurta pyjama (top and trousers for men) and I wore a saree which is traditional for women in India. Even the horse was dressed up!
A real white horsey. It was huge!
My cousin Mudit and my nephew Ansh ride on the horse to meet the bride Richa. There are a procession of our family dancing in front of the horse which is called the Bharat. It is a lot of fun.
Here is a photo of me and my cousin Mudit before he has to get on the horse to travel to the wedding.
Some pictures of me, Mummy, Pa and Ro all at my Nani and Nana’s house in Ghaziabad where lots of the wedding celebrations were.
This is everyone dancing in front of Mudit, Ansh and the horse. The music was very loud and there was a lot of people. Hopefully the photos will show you a little of what is was like. I was dancing with my cousin Harshita she is lovely.
My cousin Megha, Mudit’s sister and our very lovely friend Trisha.
My cousin Harshita and Manju Nani one of my Grandpa’s sisters.
My cousin Smriti in the lovely blue saree, me, Mummy, Pa and Roro.
My Babu Masi and Mallika Mami
Aunty Jaya and Baby Amali!
This is what it has all been about – the wedding! The majority of the wedding ceremony took place in a Mandap (the four-pole canopy at centre stage). The sacred fire in the Mandap symbolises not only the illumination of the mind, knowledge and happiness but is also a clean and pure witness to the ceremony as it progresses. In the photos below Mudit and Richa are sitting under the Mandap.
The ceremony itself is a collection of rituals performed by the bride, bridegroom and their respective parents and close relatives. The priest chants “mantras” from the Vedas that were originally written in Sanskrit. He will also use the following in his ceremonies:
- Fresh flowers – to signify beauty;
- Coconut – to signify fertility;
- Rice, jaggery and other grains – to signify the food necessary for sustenance of human life;
- Ghee (purified butter) – to feed the sacred fire;
- Kumkum (vermilion) – red powder used for marking the forehead to signify good luck and to say that your soul (husband) is with you.
During the ceremony the couple walk around the sacred fire seven times (called Sat Phere – seven rounds). Mummy has written below what each time signifies.
Seven pheras
1. In the first round or phera, the couple prays to God for plenty of nourishing and pure food. They pray to God to let them walk together so that they will get food.
2. In the second round, the couple prays to God for a healthy and prosperous life. They ask for the physical, spiritual and mental health from God.
3. In the third Phera the couple prays to God for wealth. They ask God for the strength for both of them so that they can share the happiness and pain together. Also, they pray so that they can walk together to get wealth.
4. In the fourth round the couple prays to God for the increase in love and respect for each other and their respective families.
5. The bride and groom together pray for the beautiful, heroic and noble children from God in the fifth step.
6. In the sixth holy round around the fire, the couple asks for the peaceful long life with each other.
7. In the final seventh round the couple prays to god for companionship, togetherness, loyalty and understanding between themselves. They ask God to make them friends and give the maturity to carry out the friendship for lifetime. The husband says to his new wife that now they have become friends after the Seven Vows/Sat Phere and they will not break their friendship in life.
We had a great time and say congratulations Mudit and Richa from all of us!
anishasindia 