Antarpaat

The first time the bride and groom stand face to face in the mandap is still a moment of separation as a decorated curtain called the `antarpaat' divides them, preventing them from seeing each other. Then the priest recites the `mangalashtaka' or the invitation to various gods to witness the marriage. Each of these recitations ends with `shubha mangala savdhan’, which alerts everyone that the moment of the muhurt is approaching.

Kanyadaan
After this, the couple sits down to perform various ceremonies. The bride is ritually entrusted to the groom who promises to look after her in a ceremony called the `kanyadaan'. The husband and wife circumambulate the holy fire, which is the ultimate witness to their union. Then the husband guides his wife as she steps on seven little mounds of rice, promising her his friendship, love, togetherness, and respect forever thereafter. The bride is vested with the several symbols of marriage like the `angostura' on her neck and the `Jodi' on her toes. The couple performs the 'lajahome' with the bride's brothers, where sacrificial cereal and ghee are offered to the sacred fire.
They are blessed by their elders, congratulated by their friends and presented with gifts to start their new life and make a home together.

Traditional Wedding Feast
A Hindu wedding feast is worth waiting for. After the marriage is solemnised, guests sit down to a traditional meal served on a banana leaf. Most muhurts being in the morning, the meal is usually a lunch. The wholly vegetarian meal created without any onion or garlic consists of a selection of vegetables in coconut gravy, green mango chutney, cucumber and peanut salad, rice, puris, golden dal called `varan' and a sweet dish like jalebi, creamy basundi or saffron-scented shrikhand. `Taak' or coriander-flavoured, salted buttermilk complements the meal, which ends with a sweet `paan’.
After the sumptuous banquet, the bridal couple leaves for the groom's house accompanied by both the families. The bride's relatives see her to her new home where she is welcomed as the `Lakshmi' of the house and the newly-weds start their married life showered with blessings of trust, understanding, love and longevity.

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