Author: Shakuntala Varma
Pavan K Verma/
Publisher: Roli Books
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 179
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8174363572
Description
The twenty-first century may have dawned, but a wedding in the family is today as much as it was centuries ago, an occasion for joy, celebration-and song. In Hindu families of UP and Bihar, there is a song for every occasion, starting with an invocation to Devi, the Mother Goddess, to bless the forthcoming nuptials, to Vidai, songs of farewell, as the bride leaves her father’s home.
This treasure trove of songs, representing an intangible heritage that is in serious danger of being lost to succeeding generations, has been reproduced here for the first time in the original Devanagiri script with an English translation by Shakuntala Varma, as she takes the reader through each step of a traditional wedding in the Gangetic Plains. There are songs to introduce the Banna (groom) and Banni (bride), songs for the Sehra or ceremony of the flower veil, songs for the Ghori or mare, and songs for Kanya Daan, the giving away of the bride. Songs mark the Saptpadi, the seven rounds of the fire, the Suhag Raat or wedding night, and beyond-to the birth of the firstborn, the lilting songs of Sohar.
This is a book to cherish, for it takes us back to our roots and preserves for future generations our rich cultural and social heritage which, if we are not careful, we may lose forever.
Contents
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
Devi - Prayer to Mother Goddess
Tilak
Banna-The Bridegroom
Banni-The Bride
Haldi-Turmetic Ceremony
Sehra-The Flower Veil
Ghori-the Mare
Dwar Char-Welcoming the Groom
Mandap-the Wedding Canopy
Indian Wedding
Kanya Daan - Giving Away the Daughter
Shaptpadi - Seven Rounds of the Fire
Sindoor Daan
Suhag
Vidai - Departure of the Bride
Sohar - A Child is Born
Glossary