Trip to India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Trip to India - Essay Example The bride is not allowed to take bath or showers until the wedding day and she remains a bit casual and is not allowed to go outside her house lest the evil spirits make her ill. The young girls encircle the bride, sing songs and perform various types of dances related to their popular culture including qawwali, bhangra, luddi, ghazal-contest and folk dance. The women of the families also join the young girls in their fervor and joys during the dance performance. The ceremony usually starts by the evening and ends within three to four hours. The second day of the whole ceremony is called henna ritual or â€Å"racism-e-mehndi† function. This function is either performed jointly by the families of bridegroom and bride or separately at their residences or ceremony-halls have been built for the same purpose. The function begins late at night and lasts usually until dawn. The ladies from the groom side enter the bride’s house carrying multi-colored candles, the bouquet of re d roses and other flowers, perfumes, multihued sweets in jubilant packing and the dresses and gold jewelry for the bride to be worn on the marriage day. The young girls divide into two groups and commence song contests with music particularly on â€Å"dhol† or drum-beat, which captures the attention of all the participants of the ceremony. Beetle or â€Å"paan† is served with tea before dinner, and the supper usually consists of rice with all pulses, which is called â€Å"daal-channel† in the local language.