Significance of Engagement Ceremony in Indian Weddings
Marriage is a sacred thread which unites two different souls through marital bliss. Promising to stand by each other through all the happiness and sorrows of life, the couple starts a new journey steeping into a vast arena of marital relationship. According to the Indian custom, the newly mushrooming relationship of the two souls together must also be reinforced by the absolute blessings of the Almighty. Those rings that are exchanged during an engagement ceremony denote a sacred bondage that require great amount of commitment and loyalty. This Engagement Ceremony is followed by Marriage and so is considered as a blessed omen of connubial relationship and marital bliss.
The Engagement Ceremony basically deals with the exchange of rings between the bride and the groom. The ceremony is conducted by a Pujari.
Parents of the prospective bride and groom mainly conduct engagement or Sagaai ceremony to fix the matrimonial date. All the merriment and entertainment to their best extent is seen to get actually started from the occasion of engagement. An engagement ceremony is the main attraction of all kinds of Indian weddings. It symbolizes the spirit of Indian customs and traditions. As Indian Hindu marriages are extremely ritualistic, they still follow the Vedic rites and Purana Philosophy.
In a few parts of South Indian States, the Engagement Ceremony or Sagaai existed as a regulation; but it was earlier not performed in North India or East India. Eventually, this custom spread far and wide and people began to think using the same ideas in their family marriages as well. Now, the Punjabis and Marathis religiously follow this tradition with enthusiasm and style.
Engagement ceremony has different names in different parts of India. It is called Misri, Ring Ceremony, or even Ashirbad. In some of the parts of the country, the name is Mangni. Like all other pre-wedding ceremonies, the engagement emblematizes the matrimonial relationship that is sustained by religious faith and understanding. Indian matrimony mean much more than just presentation, engagements, gifts and fineries. This institution unifies two different families and two different souls. Engagement Ceremony is just the beginning of the one of the important Ceremonies in India.
The Engagement Ceremony is one of the most important pre wedding ceremonies in the Indian society. This event marks the beginning of the wedding ceremonies. An Engagement Ceremony is generally held few months before the wedding ceremony. In different regions of the country, it is known by different names in different regions like misri, Ashirbad, mangni or ring ceremony. In case of an Ashirbad, it is held just a few hours before the wedding time or "lagna".
During the engagement ceremony, the family members, relatives and friends of both the would-be bride and the groom come face to face. The bride as well as the groom are gifted with various items like jewellery and clothes from each other`s family. Besides that, they also receive gifts from the other guests. Usually the family of the bride bears the expenses of the ceremony. The groom`s side receives gifts from the family and relatives of the bride for the important family members, like the mother father, brother and sister of the groom.
The significant ritual of the Engagement Ceremony is when the would-be bride and the groom come close and exchange their rings. These rings are particularly chosen according to the choice of the bride and the groom and are made of precious metal like gold or else platinum. After exchanging the rings, the elders of both the families bless the would-be bride and groom and offer them sweets and gifts. In many communities, the would-be bride and groom are supposed to exchange garlands after the exchange of rings. After the rings have been exchanged, all the relatives and friends come and attend the dinner party. In many a cases, the propitious date of marriage is also fixed by a `pandit` on the day of the Engagement Ceremony.
Some Special Features of engagement ceremony
These days; people also have royal arrangements of music and dance at the Engagement Ceremony floor. Bands and DJs are also arranged to play different kinds of music that will entertain the guests and the entire crowd dance and enjoy the evening to tunes being played. To celebrate the event, there are some people who cut the cake too..
Sukhpreet Kaur writes on behalf of Jeevansathi.com, which is India’s fastest growing matrimonial website, provides online Indian matrimonial classified services. Jeevansathi.com enables users to create a online matrimony profile on the website and allow prospective grooms and brides to contact each other. Users can search for profiles through advanced search options on the website. Users can avail free registration and make initial contact with each other through services available on Jeevansathi.com via Chat, SMS, and e-mail.