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Attend a Bengali wedding
Know all about the customs, traditions and attire
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A traditional Bengali wedding is a series of elaborate and colourful rituals. The melodious strains of a Shehnai and the blowing of conch shell are the most important characteristic of a Bengali marriage. The purpose is to draw everyone's the attention to the wedding and also to summon the invitees. It is also a kind of social declaration from the family to rest of the society.
Shaaditimes explores all the customs and rituals, traditions and attire of a Bengali wedding.
Day 1: Ai-budo bhaat (Bachelor / Bachelorette party)
The pre-wedding and post wedding rituals stretch for 4 days. The day before the actual wedding is called ai-budo bhaat, or in other words a bachelor or a bachelorette party. The bride and the groom celebrate it individually at their respective homes where they share an afternoon meal with unmarried friends and cousins.
On the same day, vridhi is performed wherein a puja is offered to the ancestors of the bride and the groom.
Day 2: Biye (Marriage)
Dadhi Mangal
The marriage rituals commence before sunrise. Some married women from the bride and groom's family go to the Ganges and formally invite the Gods and seek their blessings. The bride and the groom are then given some food like curd and chuda and after that they are supposed to fast till they are married.
Gae Halud
A relative of the groom arrives at the bride's house with Gae halud tattva (gifts) for the bride. The gifts include sarees, cosmetics, fish, assorted sweets, curd, paan, dhaan and durba. Conch shells are blown and the bearers welcomed with sweets.
The Gae Halud snan takes place in the afternoon. A few married women apply turmeric and oil on the bride / groom. After bathing, the bride and groom must wear the new set of clothes (traditionally a yellow saree for the bride and a white kurta for the groom) that have been presented to them by their in-laws.
Dressing the bride
For the evening, the bride adorns herself in all her bridal finery. Along with all the jewellery she wears red and white bangles (shankha pola). The traditional wedding dress for the bride is a red and golden saree. Her hair is tied into a bun covered with a veil and she wears a mukut over it. After her bridal makeover, a design of the mukut is traced on her face using the chandan paste. The bride must sit with the gaach kouto and kaajal laata for the ceremonies that follow.
Dressing the groom
The groom wears a traditional dhoti kurta. Like the bride a design of chandan paste is also applied on his forehead and he wears a topor on his head.
Welcoming the groom
When the groom and his relatives arrive at the bride's house, they are welcomed with blowing of conch shells, ululation and boron dala. Both, the mother of the bride and of the groom do not attend this ceremony. It is believed that this will protect the couple from the 'evil eye'.
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