Indian wedding - Baraat

There's an Indian wedding taking place at my hotel today, and I just stumbled into it. Or more precisely, I stumbled into the baraat.

There are at least three days worth of celebrations to undertake at a Hindu wedding. The precise details and rituals performed in a wedding ceremony vary from region to region and often take several hours to complete. Here a brief introduction to the stages of a Hindu wedding ceremony:

- The Baraat / The Jaan
- Pokwanu - Welcoming of The Groom
- Ganesh Puja
- Vaarpooja
- Kanya Aagman - The Arrival of the Bride
- Granthibandan and Varmala
- Kanyadan 
- Havan
- Mangal Fera
- Saptapadi - The Seven Steps
- Sindur & Mangal Sutra
- Akhand Saubhagyavati – Blessings From Married Women
- Aashirwad
- Vidaai

The part of the Hindu wedding ritual in which the groom rides a horse (or sometimes in a carriage or on an elephant) to the wedding reception is called "Baraat."

The Baraat is the groom's ceremonial wedding procession to the bride's family. It is a lively and colorful procession with music, dancing, and much joy. It typically goes like this:

Arrival of the groom: The groom traditionally rides a white-decorated horse, wears splendid attire (usually a sherwani and turban), and is accompanied by friends and relatives.

Music and dancing: A live band or DJ accompanies the procession with loud, cheerful music, often Bollywood hits or traditional Indian songs. The guests dance exuberantly in the street in front of the groom.

Welcoming ritual: At the destination – usually the wedding hall or the bride's house – the groom is ceremoniously welcomed by the bride's family. A small ritual takes place, often with an aarti (a lighting ritual), and the bride's mother symbolically feeds the groom or places a tilak (red dot on his forehead).

Groom's Entrance: Afterward, the groom enters the wedding venue.

The duration of a baraat depends on the location and size of the ceremony, but the baraat typically lasts between 30 minutes and 2 hours. Sometimes it is intentionally prolonged because it is a highlight of the wedding.Baca selengkapnya