This ceremony is the inaugural ritual of a Muslim wedding, wherein the female relatives of the would-be bride or a professional mehndiwaali applies mehndi to the palms and feet of the girl. Also, the female relatives of the girl anoint the girl with haldi or turmeric paste. As the tradition has it, the girl hereafter is forbidden to step out of her home until she gets married.
Common to all wedding ceremonies, the groom arrives with his baraat and a group of musicians at the wedding venue. The groom then takes a glass of sherbet with his would-be brother-in-law. Throughout the ceremony, the bride's sisters tease the guests from the groom's side good-humouredly.
Nikaah symbolizes the actual wedding ceremony, the venue for which can be groom's house or the bride's, as per convenience. The ceremony is directed by a Maulavi (priest), who reads quatrains from Holy Quraan. Prior to this, the consent from both the would-be life mates is seeked by reading aloud a document called Nikaahnama, which embodies the terms and conditions of marriage. The boy and the girl convey their consent, and the Nikaahnama is subsequently signed by both of them.
This is followed by the Maulavi reading the verses from "Agadh-a-Nikaah" which symbolizes the grant of religious approval to the wedding. The boy and the girl are hereafter deemed as "married" to each other.
This is followed by the Maulavi reading the verses from "Agadh-a-Nikaah" which symbolizes the grant of religious approval to the wedding. The boy and the girl are hereafter deemed as "married" to each other.
The cardinal ceremony of Nikaah being over, a festive dinner is served, which is very prodigal and extravagant. Thereafter, the bride's relatives bid her a goodbye as she now leaves her parents and her home for a new home and a new life. The bride and her relatives are moved to tears at the prospect of parting and the whole ambience of festivity suddenly turns into a milieu of anguish.
The bride is taken a few yards in a palanquin as a token of an old tradition, after which she makes her way to her new home in a car.
At the groom's home, the groom carries his bride over the threshold of the house in his arms.
A reception is hosted from the groom's side, which is again an extravagant repast. Special "biryaani" and various other scrumptious non-veg dishes are served.
