Vedic Tales (Marriage) - Part 3
Almost every Bollywood movie, that contains a marriage scene, has explicitly showcased a ritual that is very common and unique to this part of the world - the ritual of applying Haldi to the bride and the groom.
Now, if you go and tell any Indian bride that Haldi or Turmeric is described in Wikipedia as "Rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family", she will probably gallop away and never get married, but if you tell her that 'it gives you an extra glow and keeps away harmful bacteria from your skin', she will probably apply an extra layer and that is exactly why it has been included as an important ritual in every Hindu marriage; GSBs not be left out.
However, in our marriages in order to save some time, the wise bhatjis have devised an innovative way to perform the same. Here, the bride and the groom are made to separately sit on the ground. Two leaves, from a mango tree, are chosen for this task. One end is dipped into some turmeric water and the ladies of the household have to, one-by-one, hold the two leaves and touch this end to 4 places on the bride/grooms body - forehead, arms, legs and feet. This is done twice by every lady in the house.
This according to the bhatji signifies that haldi has been appropriately applied. The best part, however, follows next. The bhatji after a while, comes near the bride/groom, with some water which has tulsi dipped in it, sprinkles a few droplets on all sides of the bride/groom, who are sitting on the floor and slowly declares that the 'bathing' ritual is also done with.......wow!
When this happened, only one thought ran through my mind. If taking a bath was this easy, I would actually consider taking a bath, daily.
Now, if you go and tell any Indian bride that Haldi or Turmeric is described in Wikipedia as "Rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family", she will probably gallop away and never get married, but if you tell her that 'it gives you an extra glow and keeps away harmful bacteria from your skin', she will probably apply an extra layer and that is exactly why it has been included as an important ritual in every Hindu marriage; GSBs not be left out.
However, in our marriages in order to save some time, the wise bhatjis have devised an innovative way to perform the same. Here, the bride and the groom are made to separately sit on the ground. Two leaves, from a mango tree, are chosen for this task. One end is dipped into some turmeric water and the ladies of the household have to, one-by-one, hold the two leaves and touch this end to 4 places on the bride/grooms body - forehead, arms, legs and feet. This is done twice by every lady in the house.
This according to the bhatji signifies that haldi has been appropriately applied. The best part, however, follows next. The bhatji after a while, comes near the bride/groom, with some water which has tulsi dipped in it, sprinkles a few droplets on all sides of the bride/groom, who are sitting on the floor and slowly declares that the 'bathing' ritual is also done with.......wow!
When this happened, only one thought ran through my mind. If taking a bath was this easy, I would actually consider taking a bath, daily.
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