The Indian wedding with the Russian bride.

Not so long ago my Russian friend married the Hindu. They got acquainted in Rostov when Pretesh was a student of medical institute, and Dasha the student of the university. They met 6 years. during this time Dasha studied Vedic sciences and Hindi. Term rather big to check the feelings and gravity of intentions. Having gained the diploma, they go home the groom, to India, meet relatives and will organize a wedding. To my friend has the luck to visit quality of the guest at that wedding. It took several pictures and shared the impressions with me.

Prepare for this special celebration long and spend a lot of money. For example, wealthy families spend from 15 to 20 thousand dollars. The invited guests whom can be from 700 people more are provided with housing and entertainments for all week which the wedding lasts. For the period of wedding ceremonies women who prepare every day for numerous guests are specially employed and remove.

A month before the wedding the engagement ceremony is held, according to Vedic traditions during which perform a ritual and put to the groom on a forehead tilak from a saffron. Young people exchange rings and sit down with relatives at a festive entertainment.

Prewedding ceremonies in India rather long, begin they in two weeks prior to a wedding. They are strictly observed and all close relatives from the groom participate in them.
Every day it is devoted to some ritual, and all of them are directed to favoring by gods of the groom and bride and their further life.

Women and one man go to consecrate the earth and bring it gifts.

From this earth to the yard of the house of the groom into which he will bring the wife build an altar for attraction to the house of wellbeing.

The groom's mother / on the right / participates almost in all ceremonies.
Also the ceremony with illumination of water and entering of this water into the house of the groom is carried out.

One of traditions carrying out of a ritual of worship of Ganesh god of wealth and abundance. It was carried out in 15 days yes the beginnings of a wedding.
Mother accompanies the son in the temple Ganesha with the connected hands through all city where ask from god to remove obstacles for holding a wedding and to promote its successful carrying out.

Surely before putting on a wedding sari, it is consecrated in the temple. Women put clay vases on which saris keep within on the head.

The bride is conducted separately to the temple to consecrate a wedding sari.
They are accompanied by guests and musicians. Guests dance all road under music.

Near the temple after all rituals of the woman and man show the joy in dance.
On the way home guests continue to dance to drum music.

Then there is a small, but important ritual under the name "Gayet Holud" which began at the groom at home.
Eulogizing yellow color which symbolizes the sun and means marital fidelity, all participants of a ceremony painted to themselves foreheads with yellow paint, and then sprinkled each other with a turmeric.
Having finished a ceremony at the groom, all procession went to the house of the bride where the obsypaniye turmeric powder repeated.

Before putting young people on a bench to smear with a turmeric, drew a mandala and on it put a bench.

The ceremony reminding the Russian hen party under the name Sangit goes the following preparatory stage. It, perhaps one of the most cheerful and joyful parts in which only women participate. By tradition, women from family of the girl invite to a dinner of women from family of the guy, having hospitably laid a holiday table. During a dinner, wish the bride behind toasts family good luck and wellbeing, have fun, joke, sing and dance.

Obligatory prewedding ritual which is pleasant to all girls is decoration of hands and legs of the bride of a minda. Patterns are drawn by bridesmaids, beginning from palm fingers, on a hand to an elbow.

Try to choose color more dark as it is considered that the color is more dark, the love of the husband is stronger. As a result of drawing, peculiar openwork "gloves" appear.

During painting process adult women talk to the bride and give advice for happy family. As a result, the drawing, the more time is more difficult than it carried out. So, the there are more secrets and councils the bride learned about matrimonial life. Therefore the procedure of drawing drags on till the evening. On completion of drawing, gold jewelry is put on hands.

On Vedic canons, after drawing patterns, the bride should not leave the house till the wedding day. At this time, its dwelling is decorated with bright festive garlands from flowers. One more interesting moment, after the wedding the wife should not perform any housework until patterns do not descend completely.

Obligatory I am drawing up horoscopes of the guy and girl some days before date of a wedding. For the choice of optimum favorable date. As horoscopes were not really favorable, Dasha at first married with a tree to bring correction.

And there came the long-awaited wedding day.
Do you represent? It appears in the wedding day to the groom and the bride it is impossible to eat anything prior to the wedding... I would not sustain...
This day since morning dressed up the bride in her house. The wedding clothes surely have to consist of sixteen elements. Dasha had a wedding sari of classical red color. By the way, ancient Slavs had wedding attires of red color too. And expression "The maiden is red" came from there. White and black colors for weddings are forbidden. Since Vedic times, black color is considered a symbol of darkness, ignorance. And white color symbolizes widowhood and mourning. Red color means innocence, purity, modesty and beauty.
Traditional wedding hairstyle, in Vedic times, the braid meaning piety of the woman is. Dasha has smart long hair which smeared with aromatic oils and braided a braid.

Eye shadow was used a kadzhalom-black eyeliner. Over eyebrows decorated with rhinestones.

Traditionally decorated with earrings with gemstones, a necklace, a ringlet in a nose and silver bracelets with hand bells standing. All noticed that the dress fitted to Dasha.

Who could think that the Russian girl will so harmoniously fit into the Indian culture?

The groom was dressed up in his house. Its wedding dress was beautiful and traditional too. It consists of the long frock coat embroidered by golden drawings and tight trousers. Put on the shoes with the narrow, bent noses decorated with beads legs. On the head the turban decorated with a brooch is put on.
Arrival of the groom which arrived to the darling on a white game was one of the impressive moments. The horse was decorated not less effectively. The dream embodied in reality - the overseas prince on a white game!

As it is necessary, he was met only by men. Women are not allowed to meet.
According to the Veda, for a wedding the small wedding temple was specially built from five bamboo sticks, it Is called "Conduct". In it fire is lit and from above it is covered with an awning. Newlyweds were put near fire, at the same time one end of a sari of the bride was tied to the groom's belt, having symbolically united them forever.

Then the priest/brahman / read a prayer and sang sacred mantras. Young people said an oath then they him tied by a wedding garland from flowers hands, thereby having connected their souls forever, that is on all seven generations. Newlyweds, as the tradition orders, bypassed around fire seven times. After that. as the groom applied red paint on a forehead and the bride's hair parting, he considers her the wife.

Then young people feed each other with sweets. It is the finishing ritual.

After the wedding all guests went to the special room-bozarganu where the wedding festivities with songs and dances lasted till the morning.
For young people the throne decorated bright with flowers and palm leaves was specially built.

Abundance of flowers, fragrance of aromas, beauty of oriental dances and songs impressed the Russian guests. All guests were photographed with newlyweds and ate.

The truth this day was an incredible heat under 40 degrees and humidity under 90 percent. It was necessary to the Russian guests not with pleasure in such unusual conditions. For the second day of newlyweds took away to the house of parents of Pretesh where they were given presents.
About the day before yesterday festivities proceeded for 4 days.