My earlier posts on my wedding description were Day 1, Day 2 morning, Day 2 evening-mehandi, Day 3 early morning , Day 3 morning-engagement and Day 3 evening - sangeet. Wow, looks like I've written a lot already !
It was finally D-day. I woke up early and then left to the Mandap by 6am. I had decided to get ready in the Mandap. We hired a lady to do the the bridal make-up. I was very worried that she would put too much make-up and make me look like a ghost. My deadline to get ready was 8am. I had refused to wear pure gold and instead chose to wear fashion jewellery with stones. I was almost ready and looked at myself in the mirror and the reaction was - ' OMG who is this girl' . I could not recognize myself !!!
I looked like a bride indeed !! I hoped Vikram would recognize me !!
By then my friends, Archana, Prasanna and my cousins, Anu and others came to see me. They could not recognize me either. By then the clock was ticking and I was a nervous wreak. I don't know why. I was so nervous, I even forgot how hungry I was ( you guessed it - no breakfast for the bride Grrrr). I hoped I would not faint with hunger in front of everyone.
Vikram and I come from different backgrounds and so choosing the style of marriage was not an easy task. My mother suggested a 'Arya Samaj' style after she attended one such marriage. The popular notion is that Hindu couples who elope have this style of marriage. I guess there are many variants of its style too. When I heard about its style, I knew it was the wedding that I wanted. I was NOT keen in having a wedding where the 'Pandits' just chant Sanskrit slokas that make no sense to the couple getting married. I feel it is a trauma to sit in the smoke for hours and not understand what is going on.
Our marriage was conducted in Hindu Vedic Style by Mrs. Sharma ( yes a lady ) and a Pandit. We had all the elements of the usual weddings. We had mantras too. The only difference was that Mrs. Sharma explained the meaning and significance of all the Sanskrit mantras in English as we chanted them. She has conducted more than 1000 marriages all over India and was a very learned person. Before she started the wedding, she asked everyone in the mandap to maintain silence to give respect to the ceremony. She also said that for the mantras to have their effect, it was vital to have silence and not disturbances from other people chatting. Believe it or not, people maintained silence for the complete wedding !
The wedding lasted for slightly more than an hour. It was perfect ! I finally understood the meaning of the rituals and all the promises made while chanting the mantras. I was overwhelmed with an urge to cry ! I had told Vikram that I would not make a scene and so controlled myself. When, I looked at my friends and family, almost everyone was so touched by the wedding that they all seemed to be crying !
And finally, Vikram and I got married. We were blessed by all . We went to the Guruvayoor temple attached to the Mandap and took blessings.
After that, everyone came to wish us. I was tired of standing and smiling. My head and back was aching thanks to the hairstyle. I was hungry. By the time I ate lunch, it was past 1 in the afternoon ! Then, we went to Vikram's house for my 'grehapravesh'. After that, we went to take blessings from our Swamiji at Dayanand Ashram. It was past 3 pm when I came back to my house. I was so exhausted that all I wanted to do was chop my hair and goto sleep. I took more than 3 people to help me get rid of the 'jadai' ( the long traditional plait). By the time I was out of the bridal clothes, it was time to go back to the Mandap and get ready for the reception !!!
It was finally D-day. I woke up early and then left to the Mandap by 6am. I had decided to get ready in the Mandap. We hired a lady to do the the bridal make-up. I was very worried that she would put too much make-up and make me look like a ghost. My deadline to get ready was 8am. I had refused to wear pure gold and instead chose to wear fashion jewellery with stones. I was almost ready and looked at myself in the mirror and the reaction was - ' OMG who is this girl' . I could not recognize myself !!!
I looked like a bride indeed !! I hoped Vikram would recognize me !!
By then my friends, Archana, Prasanna and my cousins, Anu and others came to see me. They could not recognize me either. By then the clock was ticking and I was a nervous wreak. I don't know why. I was so nervous, I even forgot how hungry I was ( you guessed it - no breakfast for the bride Grrrr). I hoped I would not faint with hunger in front of everyone.
Vikram and I come from different backgrounds and so choosing the style of marriage was not an easy task. My mother suggested a 'Arya Samaj' style after she attended one such marriage. The popular notion is that Hindu couples who elope have this style of marriage. I guess there are many variants of its style too. When I heard about its style, I knew it was the wedding that I wanted. I was NOT keen in having a wedding where the 'Pandits' just chant Sanskrit slokas that make no sense to the couple getting married. I feel it is a trauma to sit in the smoke for hours and not understand what is going on.
Our marriage was conducted in Hindu Vedic Style by Mrs. Sharma ( yes a lady ) and a Pandit. We had all the elements of the usual weddings. We had mantras too. The only difference was that Mrs. Sharma explained the meaning and significance of all the Sanskrit mantras in English as we chanted them. She has conducted more than 1000 marriages all over India and was a very learned person. Before she started the wedding, she asked everyone in the mandap to maintain silence to give respect to the ceremony. She also said that for the mantras to have their effect, it was vital to have silence and not disturbances from other people chatting. Believe it or not, people maintained silence for the complete wedding !
The wedding lasted for slightly more than an hour. It was perfect ! I finally understood the meaning of the rituals and all the promises made while chanting the mantras. I was overwhelmed with an urge to cry ! I had told Vikram that I would not make a scene and so controlled myself. When, I looked at my friends and family, almost everyone was so touched by the wedding that they all seemed to be crying !
And finally, Vikram and I got married. We were blessed by all . We went to the Guruvayoor temple attached to the Mandap and took blessings.
After that, everyone came to wish us. I was tired of standing and smiling. My head and back was aching thanks to the hairstyle. I was hungry. By the time I ate lunch, it was past 1 in the afternoon ! Then, we went to Vikram's house for my 'grehapravesh'. After that, we went to take blessings from our Swamiji at Dayanand Ashram. It was past 3 pm when I came back to my house. I was so exhausted that all I wanted to do was chop my hair and goto sleep. I took more than 3 people to help me get rid of the 'jadai' ( the long traditional plait). By the time I was out of the bridal clothes, it was time to go back to the Mandap and get ready for the reception !!!
11 comments:
Arya samaj style..that is what has been suggested from my gf side too, I havent been able to convince my parents yet of that..:-)
Goody..letz see how it works..
Very interesting.. Never heard of this be4. Considering how exhausting the weddings usually r in our community, this seems better.. loved the Maintain Silence part otherwise the chatram is like flea market with maamis and paatis chatting away.. haha.. It took u so much time to put up the rest of the posts.. U must be remembering it like it was yday I guess.. Oh Its been ages since I attended a wedding.. its always so colorful.. sigh!!
Finally continuing with wedding series - cool :-))! Yeah, I simply loved the wedding ceremony!
:-) Interesting to know people were quiet during the mantras. :-)
And recognising yourself on wedding, Ha! The evening of my wedding I was to be picked by two of my very close friends from where I got dressed. They came in and walked past me. I had to wave and shout to tell them "Hey its me" :-).
I kept smiling all through till the end, but hey, I did burst into crying during the last few moments. Its the people who make you cry. :-(
Ginkgo,
Thats awesome ! Good luck for convincing ur parents...I heard that this style is becoming quite popular these days !
Vivek,
You are rigth...I can remember it quite well..after all it was just 6 months back :-) Weddings are always fun :-))
Archu,
Yup...finally decided to continue the series and end it soon...only 2 more posts :-)
Archana,
I know what u mean ! Its very hard to recognize people in the bridal dress !
The crying part..I did not cry during the wedding...somehow managed to control...but something triggered it and I was crying during lunch ! ( luckily no one took the video)
Yeh the wedding series continues :--) Nice account Shilpa, and you guys look really nice.
And you cried after the wedding? I think I cried like 4 days after the wedding when I was formally sent out of my home to their home :--((
And LOL@ 'OMG who is this girl' That was one thing I was very much afraid of and made sure everybody knew it was me K was getting married to :-D
SK,
Thanks !
u cried after 4 days ? hmm its weird to be sent away na ? I mean, even now I only relate to *my parents house* as my house !
Nice writeup!
No gold, non-traditional way of getting married - you seem to be a trendsetter :)
hmmm, its the reception part that scares me, where u have to nod and smile for like 300-400 photographs...
and ya, dont make us wait months for the next part.
how do u manage to look different in each snap?!?!
nice write-up!!
Prabhu,
Yes...reception is the worst torture ever !
And I will write about it next :-)
Kutti,
I don't know ! As I mentioned...even I could not recognize myself in the bridal dress !!!
Hello, I love reading through your blog, I wanted to leave a little comment to support you and wish you a good continuation. Wish you best of luck for all your best efforts. Arya Samaj Delhi, Arya Samaj Wedding.
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