Schedule

সঙ্গীত (Sangeet)

6:30 pm - 10:30 pm

A celebration of music, dance and mingling. Friends and family perform to entertain the bride and groom. Dancing and singing competitions are held for fun and bringing the families together before the wedding.

দধি মঙ্গল (Dodhi Mongol)

5:30 am - 6:30 am

An early-morning tradition in which the bride and the groom are served yogurt with puffed rice/khoi/flattened rice. The bride and the groom are only allowed to consume fruit, sweets, milk and water the rest of the day until the end of the wedding ceremony.

নান্দী মুখ (Nandi Mukh)

8:30 am - 11:00 am

This ritual involves paying homage and respect to the forefathers of the families of the bride and the groom. The couple sit with the eldest member of their families and a priest to perform this Vedic ritual. Holy spirits are invoked to shower their blessings on the bride and the groom. After this pooja, a fun factor comes into play.

গায়ে হলুদ এবং শাঁখা পরানো (Gaye Holud & Sankha Porano)

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Gaye Holud takes place prior to the religious and legal Bengali wedding ceremony. It is somewhat equivalent to a bridal shower and is celebrated in both the households of the bride and the groom where the elders apply turmeric paste to the hands and faces of the couple. A bowl of haldi paste is among the most important Tattva, or gifts, that are delivered to the bride's home. The bride will now be given the same paste that was used on the groom before. Together with the haldi paste, the tattva contains additional presents including a saree for the bride's haldi ceremony, a fish decorated with sindoor, sarees for other rituals, sweets, and jewelry. After the Gaye Holud ceremony, the bride wears sankha & pola bangles that have been dipped in turmeric water during the sankha porano ritual.

আশীর্বাদ (Ashirbad)

4:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Before the wedding ceremony begins, the parents and families will bless the bride and the groom.

বর বরণ (Bor Boron)

5:30 pm - 5:45 pm

This ritual is conducted by the bride’s mother who will bless the groom and welcome him by lighting a lamp on a bamboo winnow or kula. She performs an 'Aarti' and feeds him sweets & water.

পট্ট বস্ত্র (Potto Bostro)

5:45 pm - 6:00 pm

The main Bengali wedding rituals take place under the Chadnatola or wedding mandap. Before the ritual begins, the groom changes into the specific attire for this event, provided by an elder member of the bride's family, called Potto Bostro which includes a dhoti and a long piece of cloth that is wrapped around the torso.

সাত পাক এবং শুভ দৃষ্টি (Saat Paak & Subho Drishti)

6:00 pm - 6:15 pm

The Bengali wedding rituals begin as the bride is carried to the Chadnatola on a low wooden stool held by her brothers. She is taken around the groom seven times in circles while she covers her face with a betel leaf. After the completion of ‘Saat Paak’ circles, the bride and groom are brought face to face for ‘Subho Drishti’. During this ritual the bride slowly lowers the betel leaves and gazes at her groom's face for the first time on their wedding day. This tender moment of love is celebrated with a grand cheer from their family amidst the blowing of the conch shells and ululation.

মালা বদল এবং কন্যা সম্প্রদান (Mala Bodol & Kanya Sampradan)

6:15 pm - 6:30 pm

The quintessential ‘Varmala’ (garland) ceremony is where the bride and groom exchange beautiful floral garlands. In Bengali weddings, the garlands are exchanged three times. A fun custom performed at this time is when friends lift the bride up to tease the groom when she is out of reach for him to put the garland around her neck. One of the most auspicious rituals of the ceremony, the ‘Somprodan’ marks the moment where the bride’s father, or a senior member of the family, officially gives her away to the groom. He ties their hands with a holy thread to the symphony of the Vedic chants, and this thread remains tied for the rest of the wedding.

হোম এবং অঞ্জলি (Homa & Anjoli)

6:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Now the bride and the groom will sit next to each other while the priest will help them perform the yagna in front of the sacred fire. The ritual of a Bengali wedding is performed to make the God of Fire (Agni) a witness to the sacred union. The bride and groom offer their gratitude in tribute to the Holy Fire with puffed rice. The bride’s brother hands over the puffed rice to the couple as the groom stands behind the bride and holds her hands, while she tips the rice on a chaff into the yagna fire.

শিলা রোহন এবং সপ্তপদী (Shila Rohan & Saptapodi)

7:00 pm - 7:15 pm

For this ritual the bride places her right foot on a rock while the groom encourages her to be as firm and strong as that rock, during any hardships they might share. Before this ritual the bride’s saree Pallu is tied to the Potto Bostro of the groom. This tie-up is called 'Gatchhora'. As the priest chants Vedic verses in front of the Holy Fire, the bride and the groom walk seven circles around it on foot, thereby solemnizing their union.

সিঁদুর দান (Sindoor Daan)

7:15 pm - 7:30 pm

To mark the end of the wedding rituals and the beginning of their new life as man and wife, the groom smears ‘sindoor’ (vermillion) on the bride’s hair part with a ring and covers her head with a red veil, generally a saree called ‘Lajja Bostro’, gifted by the groom’s family.

Reception & Dinner

7:30 pm