Yellow is said to signify prosperity and fruitfulness. Traditionally it has been equated with a good harvest of wheat and mustard. It is also considered sacred and hence the colour of healing and religion.
Yellow is particularly included in some of the ceremonies in Oriya weddings. In Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, a maternal grandmother gives a
piri i.e. yellow saree to the bride for
lagan while a groom dons a golden yellow
dhoti or a
jama-chola .
A
pitambar i.e. a yellow
odhni or shawl covers his shoulders. For the wedding
puja , the Maharashtrian bride wears a yellow
saree gifted to her by her maternal uncle. In certain castes of Telugu and Tamil cultures, brides wear eight yard
sarees dyed in turmeric during the tying of the
mangalsutra or
tali ceremony. Interestingly the
tali is sometimes a thread dipped in turmeric paste. Gold woven into the bride's dress as embellishments plays a major part in adorning the bride in most communities like the Tamilian, Gujarati, Maharashtrian, Muslim and several others.
The predominant colour in most Indian marriages is red. Red signifies happiness and prosperity. Thus it is present in abundant quantities in its various hues ranging from orange to maroon. Punjabi brides are often seen in orange and Gujarati brides in all shades of red from vermilion, crimson to maroons. In Tamil weddings the bride is adorned in red and gold during the main wedding ceremony. Even in Bengali communities the saree is usually red, and in some cases yellow. Similarly, the Gujarati bride wears a white saree with a red border for the jaimala, while she is resplendent in red for the mangal pheras . In Buddhist marriages the bride wears red or gold. Black is considered an inauspicious colour like in most other cultures across India and abroad. In Pakistani weddings it is mandatory for the bride to wear red and there is also a custom which says that no one else but the bride wears red at the wedding.
