The minute work of beauty for the bride

India is rich in its traditions and cultures. The religions originating in the sub continent of India includes Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and Sikhism. The Hindu wedding which is also known as ‘vivaha’ is giving much importance.

The ceremonies are very colourful and the celebrations extend for a long period of time. The homes of the bride and the groom are decorated with lights, colours and balloons. Each ceremony has got its own importance and value.

The celebrations start from the ‘sangeet’ and ended with ‘vidai’. The mehendi ceremony is one of the most important parts of Indian marriage. It has got some deep rooted significance.

Traditional Rituals

‘Mehendi ki raat’ is not just an evening full of fun and enjoyment but has an intense cultural importance. One of the oldest Indian wedding traditions is the application of mehendi or henna to the bride and the groom few days before the wedding.

This mehendi ceremony entails to the application of mehendi design in details on the bride’s hand as well as feet. Applying a small amount of henna to the groom is a mark of good wishes. Mehendi ceremony is not only celebrated by the Hindu people but it is also popular among Muslims.

Countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal also celebrate this pre wedding ceremony with great enthusiasm. According to the Islamic literature the henna was used as beard dye by Prophet Muhammad. Henna was also used as a medicine for those who were unwell.

Because of such reasons mehendi ceremony is considered as an important ritual in the Indian subcontinent and in many neighbouring Muslim nations.

Importance of Mehendi

Mehendi is considered as a ‘shagun’, as this represents the bond of matrimony. Shagun signifies the love and affection between the bride and the groom. Some believes that are often associated with the tradition are:

1. The love between the new couple is represented by the darkness of the mehendi colour.
2. The love, affection and good relationship between the bride and her mother-in-law is also represented by the mehendi colour
3. It is considered to be a lucky charm if the mehendi lasts for long.
4. Mehendi is also a symbol of fertility.

Apart from this henna have a lot of medicinal purposes and values. Henna gives a cooling effect and protects the body from fever and stress. It also benefits in growing nails. Thus for such reasons both the bride and groom are applied henna for relieving them of the wedding stress.

The Mehendi ceremony

The ceremony is a very colourful and interesting one accompanied by dance and music. The ceremony takes a day before the marriage and sometimes even combined with the ‘sangeet’ ritual. All the females of both the parties get beautiful mehendi designs done on their hands and feet.

The name or the initial of the groom is hidden in the mehendi design of the bride. During the post wedding ceremony in a ritual the groom needs to find the initial or the name on the bride’s hand. This helps to establish some intimacy between the new couple.