Saturday, November 11, 2006

Pre-Engagement


Guess what? Me and him are getting Pre-engaged. It is traditional to have that in your culture. It is next week. So many things to do. Decide what to wear, shoes, and jewelry.....My parents are going to meet his relatives for the first time. It will be a good experience, I am sure.

Today was such a beautiful day. The weather was too good to be true for November 11. almost 80C. Me and him played some tennis. We have lost our touch. It has been a long time since we both played. Of course I feel so out of shape. I have to hit the GYM soon. No more ifs and buts for my health. I am so guilty of eating fattening foods over the past 2 weeks. Studying for exams was not easy so I would eat almost anything to get me going. I am coming back to my normal eating habits.

-Roka Ceremony (Pre-Engagement)
Roka ceremony is basically carried out to secure the commitment of both the parties. It is a small function involving the family members and close relatives of both the prospective bride and groom. The families involved exchange gifts, sweets, fruits and dry fruits.

-Let me give you guys a heads up on the engagement ceremony in my culture:
Marriage is regarded as the most important social event in Indian culture. The concept of marriage can be traced back to Vedic times. Mostly Hindu marriage ceremonies are elaborate one and they lasts for days or even weeks. Although the main wedding ceremony is a one-day affair but there are different ceremonies that are held on separate days preceding the main wedding ceremony. According to Hindu religion out of sixteen ceremonies in a person's lifetime marriage is considered to be the thirteenth one. In our Indian society we mostly have arranged marriages where the parents of both the girl and boy decides about the wedding. They only decide whom to marry. Once they choose the girl and boy they were allowed to meet and see other.NOT IN MY CASE!!! It is all about LOVING someone. Once they like each other the date of the engagement and marriage is decided. There are various pre wedding functions and rituals out of which engagement ceremony is the most important since it marks the beginning of the wedding ceremony. Months before the wedding an engagement ceremony is conducted. It is known by different names in different regions of the country. Like it is known as Misri, ring ceremony, aashirwad, and mangni.On the day of the engagement the family members, friends and relatives of both the groom and bride's meets. They meet to bless the couple and wish them a happily married life. The would-be bride and groom are given gifts of jewelry and clothes by their new family. The engagement or the ring ceremony is held to exchange the gold wedding rings(not necessarily gold). The couple after exchanging their ring they offer sweets welcome each other with garlands. Than sweets and good wishes are exchanged between the two families. Than all the guests gathers for the dinner party where the family and friends have dinner and enjoy. Trays of gifts are offered to both the families. In Gujarati (mine) customs the bride's family gifts the groom's family 'matli', which consists of snacks and Indian sweets. Engagement is an important wedding celebration and it holds a lot of significance in the Indian wedding traditions.

Hope it was interesting.........Have a great weekend.