Page 14 - Seniorstoday November 2021 Issue
P. 14

about the four ashrams (stages) of life –          around the fire and initiation of a new life
         brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha               together and are symbolic of living a life of
         and sanyasaa. Grihasthashram begins with           dharma (duty to make each other happy),
         marriage.                                          arth (earning livelihood based on honesty
                                                            and integrity of purpose), kama (fulfil
                                                            desires keeping the principle of dharma
                                                            in mind) and moksha (‘Self’ knowledge or
                                                            nirvana) to break the circle of life and death.
                                                             The Saptdapadi (the seven steps)
                                                            represents the journey of the bride and
                                                            the groom together and cover important
                                                            aspect of managing life itself – providing
                                                            nourishment, nurturing oneness, efforts
         A typical Kanyadaan ceremony in an Indian wedding  towards success and wellbeing, mutual
          In a typical marriage setup, the mandap           happiness and dedication, healthy progeny,
         per se represents the universe. The four           enjoyment of all seasons and loyalty to
         corners of the mandap represents North,            vows. Maangalyadharanam or mangalsutra
         South, East and West. The four pillars             or the ring is a token of abiding love and
         represent the four parents of the bride and        devotion while sindoor in itself represents
         the groom. Fire denotes the divine light           the blessings of the Divine. Ashirvachan
         and acts as the witness to the union of the        or aashirvadams are blessings bestowed
         bride and the groom. Mangalvadya is a              by the elders and families. Bidaai refers to
         necessary part of the ritual and refers to         the farewell and the bride throwing back
         the soothing percussion instruments that           a fistful of rice behind her symbolises her
         are played in the course of the Swagatam           good wishes to her childhood home for a
         rituals to welcome the families. The earthen       continued prosperity.
         pot, containing curd, honey, grains, etc.           The pity is that the beauty of the
         symbolise the world and the groom breaking         fundamental rationale and deeper meanings
         it represent his capacity to face the world        behind the various marriage ceremonies
         and handle challenges in life. Ganesh              are lost on most of the people and they do
         or Vignaharta puja is done to remove               not bother to understand their respective
         obstacles and give a good start to a new life      cultures or customs or the genesis of it all.
         of togetherness. Antarpat refers to the white      Perhaps, Mohey (a derivative of the word
         curtain between the bride and the groom            ‘moha’ or attraction) was thinking that
         to denote that they are separate before the        marriage is about a transient attraction and
         completion of the ceremonies. Kanyagaman           not a lasting bond between the bride and
         refers to the bride’s uncle escorting her to       the groom based on mutuality and sound
         the mandap and facilitating in removing the        principles.
         antarpat and exchange of garlands between           A recent family wedding culminating
         the bride and the groom. Kandyadaan                with welcoming the bride at home was a
         refers to the parents giving away their            cherished and beautiful experience of these
         daughter’s hand in marriage to the groom.          ceremonies. There was bidaai, there was
         The Mangalpheras refer to the ambulation           daan. But it was all joy, no sorrow.


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