Agarwal Wedding Traditions

The Agarwal weddings are one lavish affair. The preparations begin many months in advance and the wedding celebrations go on for 5 to 6 days. This community spends a lot in their weddings. Their weddings are an absolute treat to watch. Here are the normal traditions that are followed in a typical Agarwal wedding.

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1. Sagai:
In Agarwal wedding, once both the families agree to get their children married, then the first ceremony is the engagement ceremony which is called again. In this only the male members will visit the groom’s house. The bride’s brotherwill apply tilak to the groom’s forehead. He will give the groom sword and sweets.

2. Ganpati sthapana:
This ritual is performed separately at the bride and the groom’s home. An idol of Ganpati is taken and its puja is done in order to get the blessings of Lord Ganesha so that the wedding takes place without any obstacles.

3. Graha Shanti:
A havan is done to appease the planets so that there are no problems during the marriage.

4. Tel baan:
This is the haldi ceremony and it will take place at the bride and the groom’s place. A mixture of haldi, sandalwood, and rosewater is applied to the bride and the groom. This paste is applied by married women. Once the pithi dastoor is done then the bride and the groom cannot venture out of the house.

5. Mehfil:
The ladies and gents mehfils are held separately. In the ladies ceremony, the traditional ghoomar dance is performed. In the gents mehfil also there is lots of dancing and singing.

6. Janeu:
This ceremony is held at the groom’s home one day prior to the wedding. Here the priest will give the groom the sacred thread or Janeu. It basically marks the journey of the groom from bachelorhood to married life.

7. Palla dastoor:
In this, the groom’s family will visit the bride’s house. They will give the bride the clothes and jewelry that the bride has to adorn on the day of her wedding.

8. The wedding attire:
The Agarwal groom will wear sherwanis and turban and will carry a sword. The bride has heavy ghagra choli and dupatta. She will wear lots of gold jewelry.

9. Mahira custom:
For this ritual the maternal uncle is important. This ceremony will take place separately at the groom and the bride’s place. The respective mama’s of the bride and the groom will give them gifts like clothes, jewelry, sweets etc.

10. Niksai:
The groom’s sister’s husband will tie a sehera on the groom’s head. His sister in law or bhabhi will apply a spot of kajal on the groom’s head in order to ward off any evil influences.

11. Barat:
The groom along with only the male members will go the wedding venue.

12. Barat swagat:
At the entrance of the venue, a toran is tied which the groom has to touch with a neem stick and he has to enter the venue entrance. This is to ward off evil. At the entrance, the bride’s mother will do the traditional art of the groom and the Barat is invited inside the venue.

13. Varmala:
The bride and the groom are brought to the mandap and both of them will place flower garland in each other’s neck.

14. Bandhan ceremony:
The ends of the attire of the bride and the groom are tied together. This is called as Bandhan or granthi Bandhan ceremony.

15. Neem had:
In this ceremony, the bride’s sister will sprinkle some water on the groom with a neem stick. This is to protect the groom from evil forces. The groom will give the bride’s sister a gift.

16. Kanyadaan:
This is the ritual where the bride’s father will tell the groom to take all the responsibility of his daughter. The groom will vow to take the responsibility and promises to treat her with respect.

17. Panigrahan:
The bride’s father will perform the panigrahna ritual by tying a sacred thread around the hands of the couple.

18. Pheras:
The bride and the groom will take the seven pheras around the holy fire. While taking the pheras they will take the seven sacred vows of marriage. For the first 3 pheras, the groom is behind the bride. For the next four pheras, the groom will be in the front of the bride.

19. Sindoor and ganthbandhan:
After the pheras, the groom will apply the vermillion or sindoor to the bride. He will also tie the mangalsutra.

20. Joota chupai:
The bride’s sisters will hide the shoes of the groom and they will return it to the groom only when he pays them some money for the same.

21. Vidaai:
The groom is given gifts and the bride will get ready to leave her parents home. This farewell is a rather tearful one.

22. Griha Pravesh:
The couple is welcomed by the groom’s mother in their home. An art is done The bride has to step into kumkum and milk mixture and take few steps and then enter by knocking down a pot of rice.

23. Moon dikhai:
A senior female member will raise the veil of the bride so that everyone can see the bride. The bride is given blessings and many gifts.

24. Chooda ceremony:
The bride is gifted a chooda by her mother in law. It is mandatory for the bride to wear this chooda for at least one year. She has to make sure that the chooda does not get damaged as it is considered as inauspicious.

Agarwals give a lot of importance to traditions and rituals which is clear from their weddings. But since they are mainly a business community they also have good spending power which is evident from the way they have their weddings. You will find that in Agarwal weddings the women adorn the best jewelry and the most expensive clothes. Even the men wear the most expensive clothes. Their wedding food is absolutely mind blowing and they have a huge variety of vegetarian delicacies in their wedding menu.