Maharashtrian Wedding Series-Post-Wedding Rituals
Last part for the Maharashtrian Wedding Series is the post-wedding rituals which means after Karmasampati, the following rituals take place for the newly wedded couple.
Manpan
Bride’s mother gifts sarees to groom’s mother, sister and other close relatives. Bride’s father presents gifts to groom’s father, brother and other male relatives. The same ritual is followed by groom’s parents. This is done after the main wedding ceremony gets finished.
Varat
This is the farewell/bidaai of the bride from her parents’ home to her new family. It’s usually a procession that follows the bride till her in-laws’ house. While the bride bids her goodbyes, the groom carries the Parvati idol from Gaurihar Puja. This is an emotional moment after the Kanyadaan ritual where everyone’s eyes are filled up with water as the bid goodbye to the bride.
Grihapravesh
The newlywed head towards groom’s place after the varat the groom’s mother performs Aarti and washes the couple’s feet with milk and water. The bride is then asked to push down a Kalash of rice at the entrance and enter the house. The couple sits and grooms place that silver idol of Goddess Parvati on rice plate and write his wife’s name on it. The mother of groom sits between the couple and see brides face in a mirror, this ritual is known as “soonmukh baghane”. Then the couple gives sugar to everyone present there and seeks their blessings for their new life.
Reception
The final function of the long wedding ceremony is the reception where the bride and the groom are introduced to all the guests of each others family. It is sometimes organized on the night of the wedding or on the day after the wedding. The bride wears saree or any outfit gifted to her by her in-laws and the groom also adorns the outfit gifted to him by his in-laws. The function is proceeded by a feast for all the guests.
Finally, this is the end if the Maharashtrian Wedding Series where we conclude it with the post-wedding rituals. Simple yet graceful; vibrant yet elegant – a Maharashtrian wedding has flavours of culture, traditions as well as fun and playfulness. However, you can have a fusion for your own Marathi wedding by blending traditional and modern values together, also called as Twists in Traditions.
So, all the marathi mulgis, are you all excited to perform all these beautiful rituals after reading and knowing about them? Let us know in the comment section.