India is a land of diversity. Among the 1.37 billion Indians, one can find thousands of communities and even more traditions and rituals followed uniquely by the members of each community. While one can view these rituals in a number of festivities and functions, one of the biggest function that sees most of the rituals and traditions of different communities is a wedding. One of the biggest communities in Indian society is that of the Kayastha people and the rituals followed in a Kayastha matrimony are worth witnessing.
Whether one is visiting a big fat wedding of Kayastha brides and grooms or a very low-key Kayastha wedding, it is their unique rituals that make these weddings stand out. Like all other weddings, there are a number of rituals that are followed by the families of the bride and groom days before the wedding (pre-wedding rituals), on the wedding day and once the wedding is over (post-wedding rituals). If you are also interested in knowing the beautiful and unique rituals followed in a Kayastha matrimony, keep reading along.
Lagan Ceremony
This is one of the most beautiful wedding ritual done after the matchmaking of the bride and groom is done. In this ceremony, the families of the to be husband and wife send out an invitation to each other in the form of lagan patrika. Along with the patrika, there are silver-coated coconut, gold-covered barley, and betel nuts are sent to the families. Many Kayastha families also send clothes and sweets for the families with the lagan patrika.
Farisht
Once the lagan sagai is done, there is a very unique ritual that takes place. This takes place when the date of the wedding is finalized. The groom’s family is then required to list down all their relatives that would be present at the wedding along with the names of the Gods and Goddesses their family worships. They need to send this list to the bride’s family. Farisht is this list as it has to be written in a poetic manner and not in plain language.
Bhat Nyotna
Bhat Nyotna is an age-old tradition celebrated in most of the Hindu marriages. This tradition takes place only a few days before the wedding. In this beautiful and playful ritual, the bride’s, as well as the groom’s mothers, go to their respective parent’s houses. They take an invite with them to ask her parents to come to their maternal grandchildren’s wedding. This is supposedly the first invite after the invite given to gods and goddesses.
Haldi Kutai
Generally known as the haldi ceremony, in a Kayastha shaadi, it is called haldi kutaai. However, the haldi kutaai is performed at the groom’s place instead of the bride’s. This ritual is the preparation of the haldi that would be sent to the life partner of the groom. The women of the groom’s side get ready with their nath, tikka, and chunri to blend a fine powder of turmeric. Then they send this powder to the bride for her haldli ceremony at her home.
Mandapchadan
Whether you have found your Kayastha beloved through offline means or found their profile on online matchmaking sites, enjoying all the ceremonies would definitely be on the cards if you are marrying into a Kayastha family. This ritual is performed by the males present in the groom’s family. They take four bamboo posts, mango leaves, and banana stumps, and make a mandap out of it that has hey roof. A harish of wood is established that is done by five elder males of the groom who are already married. This is the mandap where majority of other rituals of the wedding are performed.
Imli Ghutna
While a Bengali wedding, an Oriya wedding, south Indian wedding, or any other wedding has its own unique wedding rituals, a Kayastha wedding has this very different ritual called Imli Ghutna. This ritual involves the maternal uncle and aunt of the groom. They come together and shower blessings on the groom to ensure that there is no bad omen for the wedding.
Paricchavan
Another beautiful ritual of the Kayastha wedding is when the mother of the groom comes forward to take away all the bad nazar from her son. She gives her blessings, performs an aarti to ensure the baraat reaches the bride’s venue safely.
Tani Khulai
In a Kayastha wedding, the bride and groom have the best day of their lives as their wedding day, the celebrations do not stop even once the wedding is completed. A very special ritual is the Tani Khulai. In this ritual, people can see the groom opening a piece of sacred cloth that has a tight knot on it. This is the tani khulai. Once the knot is opened, the bride’s parents gift the groom some gifts and cash as well.
Whether the couple has met through browsing several matrimonial profiles on online matrimony sites or through a known person, a Kayastha marriage is something that one would certainly enjoy. The rituals before the wedding, on the wedding day, as well as after the wedding is completed keep the friends, family, and other guests glued to the wedding venue. While the English people in western countries follow the same traditions through all the weddings, weddings in India are unique in their own ways due to the beautiful rituals specifically connected to them.
Nice information’s. Thanks for sharing useful info.
ReplyDelete