The Kundu Family Prepare for the Wedding with Prayers

In Hindu weddings, it is very important that the whole family helps to prepare the Bride and Groom for their Marriage. This involves many prayers to the gods and to their ancestors for blessing on the marriage. Each region of India has slightly different customs for the pre-wedding and wedding events.

The Kundus (Arunav's family) are from Calcutta (now called Kolkata) the capital of the Indian state West Bengal which lies on the East Coast at the Northern tip of the Bay of Bengal. One of the interesting Bengali traditions is to blow the conch shell like a horn during prayers (see below).

The Mattoos (Rohini's family) are from Kashmir in the North of India which borders Pakistan. For example, it is a Kashmiri tradition that the Bride participates in a ceremony in which she has her hands and body painted with henna, a non-permanent tattoo. She also has her upper ear lobes pierced to show she is a married woman.

We were very lucky to attend some of the prayer ceremonies. The pictures below are from the day before the wedding and show some of the prayers done by the Kundu Family to prepare Arunav.

The pictures below show :

• Arunav's parents praying to the last 7 generations of ancestors for their blessings on the Marriage. As you can see in the pictures, this includes giving the ancestors a meal of fruit, sweets, and rice.
• A Ceremony in which Arunav's mother and other married women pray and put turmeric paste on his face.