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Friday 31 May 2013

The Red Petals

These  red rose petals have  revived  old memories



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The year was 1989.The year in which our darling daughter was to get married. The  preparations had started many days before . There were  many ceremonies  Starting with the Engagement , Sangeet and Mehendi , all the ceremonies were  vivid, colourful and distinctive. The mehandi looked exquisite. The whole atmosphere was surcharged with gaiety. There was merriment, jollity, cheerfulness and liveliness  all around. Her friends were singing, dancing and merry making.  There were several guests in the house, many of whom had come from out stations. The ceremonies started with applying turmeric   paste on the body of the bride to be. This paste is made with turmeric, sandalwood flakes , oil, scents and rose water. Every one applied this paste on her . After this the bride-to -be had to take   bath. The water for the bath was brought in a pitcher by the sis-in law of the bride. My DIL, accompanied by young girls,  brought water in a mud pitcher from a neighbour's house. This ceremony is called Gharoli.  The girl  then took bath. After the ceremonial bath  another ritual  was performed. This is  called Chura. Chura consists of seven or multiples of seven red and white ivory bangles. It is customary that these bangles are brought by the girl's maternal uncle. Before the  bride wears the chura it is circulated  among every body present there. They touch the chura and pray for the happy married life  of the couple. Along with the Chura the  bride's friends and young girls of the family tied Kaliras. Kaliras are made of gold,silver or silver lining  with ringlets hanging  on  the sides. They are tied to the bangle.  Lunch was served after the ceremonies. Now was the time to move. The actual marriage ceremony was scheduled to be held at a club. My husband, who is a stickler for  time started hurrying up. We had to reach the venue in time  to welcome the baraat. After great persuasion every one was dressed to leave. We left in ten cars, which were decked with roses. . Most of the guests had already reached  The whole place was tastefully decorated with red rose and petals.  Our Son-in -law ,is a perfectionist. The Baraat reached on the dot.  On the entrance there was another ceremony called "Milni". The close relatives of the boy and the girl were introduced.They weregiven a red carpet welcome.The boy and the girl were  led to the altar. It was tastefully illuminated and decorated with red roses.A priest was already present. He recited mantras  from holy scriptures . The groom and the bride took  seven rounds of the holy fire.(Pheras). After the Pheras Kanyadaan ceremony was performed The priest explained the significance of all the rituals.  On the conclusion of the marriage, dinner was served. It was time for the departure(bidai) of the baraat with the bride. This is an emotional, solemn and  sober occasion., when the girl leaves her parental  home.  From the Pandaal up to the  car, the passage was  decorated with red roses  All the relatives were given red petals. As the the bride and groom moved towards the car, they were showered with red petals.
My daughter is a very lovable and emotional child. Till today she has safely preserved the red petals.           




Write Tribe Prompt


 Write Tribe is an initiative for the Motivation and Support for Writers and Bloggers

 This post has been written as part of the write tribe initiative. #4



Pic courtesy:  http://sarabbit.openphoto.net/gallery/ )





























23 comments:

  1. such fond memories these!

    reminds me of my own wedding...where my sister and her gang stood on the sides and showered rose petals just as the mangalsutra was being tied....

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    1. Thanks Princess.Happy that your memory took you back to your great DAY. God bless you.

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  2. So glad that the picture brought back such happy memories for you and thanks for sharing them with us, Mrs Menon.

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    1. So sweet of you Cornne to go through my post. The moment I saw the topic for the prompt,the memories of that day flashed in my mind. I just could not write anything else.

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  3. Beautiful. What a lovely way of going back and describing your daughter's wedding ceremony.

    God Bless.

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  4. Welcome Ava to my site. Today when I told her she too was very excited.

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  5. Such sweet memories only become more priceless with passage of time...Beautifully described ma'am :)

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  6. Thanks a lot Reshmafor your lovely comments.

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  7. That was good reminiscence. The red rose petals!

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    1. Thanks a lot Anil.Such occasions are unforgettable.

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  8. What a beautiful memory and so beautifully narrated. thanks for sharing this with us.
    Dropping by from the Write Tribe Rose linkup

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    1. and btw, I love the name of your blog.

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    2. Welcome to my post Suzy. I am so happy that you liked the post. Such precious moments one can never forget. They always remain foremost in ones memory.
      Thanks Suzy for liking the name of my blog. You are the first one to appreciate it!

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  9. Such lovely memories. Thank you for sharing them with us.

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    1. Welcome Jyothi to my site..Glad you liked it. This was a marriage as per Punjabi customs. My Son's wedding was performed in Kerala according to Malyali customs. Kindly make it convenient to read it.

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  10. An overview of your lovely daughter's wedding...nicely written...well received...Thanks for sharing.

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  11. Welcome Shelly.Thanks for dropping by. Thank you for your words of appreciation.

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  12. Such lovely and emotional memories for a mother. It reminded me of my marriage.

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    1. Thank you Saru for such beautiful comments. I am glad that you remembered your marriage. Which year?

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  13. Very beautifully written, it was really nice to know about all the rituals, nice post.

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  14. Thanks Kislaya for your the apprecative comments.

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  15. Ceremony beautifully clad in sweet memories and sugary experience,madam.

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  16. Sarala thank you for such nice comments.

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