Mehndi Ki Raat.....

 Mehndi ki raat

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.

Sangeet....

 Ladies sangeet
 

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 a way 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.