LOVE BLOSSOMS(COMPLETED)

6. The Tam-Brahm Wedding

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                                                          THE TAM-BRAHM WEDDING

Ria's P.O.V.:-

Eversince, I learnt that I was going to get married in our TAM-BRAHM style I was just too excited.

The fact is that I love to explain my traditions to explain to everyone. 

I asked my parents permission to meet Sid and his parents the very next day to our engagement.

I picked up my parents' wedding album along with their wedding C.D.

I rushed to Sid's place while I sent him a message that I'm coming there.

I reached his place and told them the reason of my visit. They were happy instantly while the whole family sat up to listen.

"In olden days the traditional TAM-BRAHM WEDDING took place for at least a week. All the relatives are invited and this auspicious occasion of union of two hearts also acted as a reunion of relatives. But nowadays due to the busy schedule of people the marriage ceremony has been reduced to three days.

Day1- The bride and bridegroom side comes early in the morning to do respective prayers to god praying for the prosperous life of the young hearts. The other relatives join in the evening where first they're welcomed with great delicacies and then comes the notorious event of welcoming the bridegroom side to the wedding hall. The bridegroom along with his family goes to a nearby temple in a car and when he returns the bride's family welcome them with music,dance and a aarti (a lamp is lit kept in a plate and the plate is held by two ladies and twirled in clockwise direction praying that no evil eyes be put on them. This event is called "Janavasam"and is pretty much like the "bharaat"receiving function celebrated in North Indian weddings.They're welcomed and a grand feast is arranged to have as a family.

Day2-This is the most important day. This is the day when actual marriage takes place.

The bride and bridegroom are made to wake up early and they're made to do the first function of the day namely "Nalangu" in their respective allowed rooms. Their head is damped with a massive amount of gingelly oil and massaged well as it's said to relieve them from the stress and getting married and then they're made to take headbath with hot water.

The next event us where they both get ready. The bride wears a normal silk-saree while the bridegroom wears a vesti a.k.a. dhothi(a white cloth draped along his waist with a shirtless look to add on. He's given a towel sort of stuff namely Nalangu"angostram"to draped it along his torso.)

They both are made to fast for that particular day to skip breakfast as they'd be too engrossed in their own wedding with an exception of drinking coffee in between just to keep them brisk.

After they're dressed well they're taken to the stage where a huge fire is lit in a fireplace made of bricks using wooden sticks to fire. The fire is enhanced well by the addition of ghee(clarified butter)along with the chanting of mantras a.k.a prayers being told by priests in Sanskrit(Sanskrit is a sacred language like Latin is to Christians). They're made to sit in an elevated platform that's set just behind or across the fireplace. The priests sits to the right while the family members if bride and bridegroom sit on either side. The next event is "Kasi Yatra" where the bridegroom throws the tantrum that he'd prefer going to Kasi to become a saint rather than marry the bride. He steadily marches away while the bride's father begs him and bribes him with a new slippers and other stuffs like jewellery just so that he marries the bride.The chanting of mantras goes on until the next fun event of mantras"Unjal"(Swinging) comes in. The bridegroom takes the bride by his hands and takes her to the long swing made out of wooden platform attached to steel wires for support. While others carry the wedding jewellery,special sweets made and along with nine yards Saree and dhothi. They're made to sit in the swing while the other relatives gather around them in semi-circles. They all sing various carnatic marriage music songs that they're taught from childhood. The bride's mother along with the bridegeoom's mother goes round the marriage couple on the swing with lamp in hand praying for their prosperity. Then the mother of bridegroom picks a coloured riceball rotates it from clockwise to anticlockwise direction and then throws away. Then she feeds the couple with milk and banana pieces(I showed them my parent's unjal function where dad had refused to sit in a swing so they made them sit in chairs.)The other relatives then take turns according to the seniority. Then the bride's hands are taken over by the bridegroom meaning that he makes a silent promise to take care of  and protect the bride as his wife from then onwards and takes her to the stage.