Marriages have always been the most important celebration in all the religions, areas, communities, and castes. The essence of the marriage remains the same, with the only difference in the rituals and the customs by which the marriage ceremony is performed. There are many regions, communities and states in the India, and every group has its own way of celebrating their marriage. Kashmir is a place which has been famous for its beauty, with the addition of knowledge and ethnicity in the panits presents their called Kashmiri Pandits.

The marriage in Kashmiri Pandits is decided after matching the horoscopes of the prospective bride and the groom. The caste, standard, backgrounds of the families are also matched to fix a perfect match. The matrimony time and date is then fixed in consultation with the priest, who announces the auspicious date according to best mahurat. The rituals followed in a Kasmiri Pandit marriage are:

Pre- wedding rituals:

Kasamdry: It is the formal engagement of the couple in a temple, after the alliance is fixed by both the kashmiri families. The ceremony is performed in accordance to the date fixed by the kashmiri pandit. Flowers are exchanged between the families, to show the acceptance of the association, whereas the bride and the groom exchanges ring with each other. Kashmiri meal from the bride side is served to the relatives and friends present from both the sides.

Livun: It is any day before the marriage, when the house is cleaned in a traditional way, the whole house id applied with water and mud. The same process takes place at both the houses. The bua or the sister of the bride’s and the groom’s father prepared a special dish called var, and distributes it among the family members and the neighbours, for she is given cash as a form of shagun. Also, the cooking place made of mud and water is also established at the backyard of the house, where the cook prepares traditional dishes for all the ceremonies and functions.

Maenziraat: It is the ritual, where the doors of the house of both the bride and the grooms are decorated by their aunts, after which the bride takes a holy bathe, and is applied with designed heena on her hands and feet. The evening is celebrated with a lot of traditional dances and songs on both the respective houses. The mehandi or the heena is applied on the hand of the kashmiri pandit groom also, as a sign of purity and blessing by the elders.

Yagneopavit: It is the thread ceremony, where the groom is made to wear asacred thread or Janev.

Divagone: This is the ceremony which marks the transformation of the bride and the groom from their brahamcharya life to the grahast life. In this, they worship they idols of gods Shiv and parvati, to seek their blessings for their happy married life. The rituals is practised in the respective homes of the bride and the groom, the customs are performed by the priest. Also, the gifts to be given to the bride in her marriage are placed before the sacred fire. A gold ornament called dejaharu, along with other gold ornaments is gifted to the kahmiri pandit bride, signifying the stage that she is ready for her marriage.

Wedding day rituals:

The bride and the groom dresses in their traditional attire, called Pheran. The groom after getting ready moves with the procession to the wedding venue where he is welcomed by the bride’s family in a grand manner. The mother and the other elder female members of the bride’s family welcome the groom and his relatives with a traditional arti and blowing off the conk shell. The food menu has the traditional veg items, ranging from 21- 25, with no non-veg in or around the marriage hall.

The bride is brought by her maternal uncle to the place of wedding, where both Kashmiri Pandit Bride and the groom sees each other in the mirror, after which they can match eyes. Then the sacred ritual of seven pheras around the goddess fire is taken, the first phera being taken by stepping on the seven one rupee coins. This marks the completion of the marriage, after which the dinner is served.

Post- marriage rituals:

The bride after changing the saree and jewellery, moves towards her husband’s house, where she receives an enormous welcome by her new family. Gar Atchun is a formal reception given after the marriage. By the bride’s family, where the both the bride and the groom are given gifts and sweets, and a vast non- veg meal is prepared for the guests, after which the couple moves towards their house for leading a happy married life.

Few useful links:

http://www.jeevansathi.com/

http://www.jeevansathi.com/matrimonial-matrimony-community-Kashmiri-matrimonials