Kelvan ceremony in marathi weddings: A Marathi ritual that serves as a token of love and respect between the two families
Kelvan meaning in marathi is a pre-wedding auspicious function that happens 2 to 3 days before the wedding day. Kelvan in marathi weddings is one of the important marriage traditions followed in Marathi weddings. The kelvan ceremony happens after the marathi style engagement ceremony or the otherwise famously known ‘sakharpuda’ has officially happened. It is like a maharashtrian bridal shower with a major focus on food.
In this ceremony the parents of the soon to be bride and the groom invite each other’s family for a meal and in kelvan, gifts are given as a token of love.The relatives of each other’s family are also invited to the bride and the groom place and close relatives give wedding gifts to the bride and similar function is organised at the groom place. This is one of the important traditions that shows love, respect and bond between the families.
This day is a special day as on this occasion, both the parents of the bride and the groom offer prayers to their family deity; kuldevta. Kuldevta/ devi means the god(dess) of the kul or family lineage. In the past, it was very common for the families to live in remote villages and hence they chose a temple somewhat nearby their place of residence and would continue to worship the gods and goddess and then they essentially continued to remain their family deities.
So, without further delaying your doubts, let us assure you that you haven’t made any mistake, and choosing Pune for your pre-wedding shoot is a good decision. But why should you put your faith in us when it comes to making this choice? well if not in us, you can always trust a city’s historic relevance to the state’s history that it belong.
This tradition has been followed in Marathi weddings for years and still continues to strengthen the bond between both the families.The Kelvan ceremony ends with a sweet note and both the families return to their home.
Kelvan meaning in English – It means gifts, which in hindi can also be called uphaar or tohfa . Clothes, flowers, jewellery and other expensive items are exchanged between the bride and the groom’s family. Nowadays there is a wide variety of ideas to choose from.
Some of the kelvan gift ideas for bride and groom might include customised hampers , photo lamps or photo frames of the couple
● Marathi wedding –
A wedding is a beautiful symbol of love and commitment and is a start to building a home. This love is officiated by a ceremony known as a wedding. A marriage is therefore significant as it ties two people in a lifetime commitment with each other.
With diverse Indian cultures, comes diverse customs and traditions. Marathi weddings are a simple yet vibrant ceremony. The wedding is all about having fun with a lot of love and following the traditional blend of rituals of the marathi culture. Most of their functions take place in the daytime.
● Marathi wedding Rituals –
The marathi wedding rituals are a combination of various vows and pujas. There are some similarities between south indian and marathi wedding rituals like kanyadaaw and saptapadi but there still remains differences in some of the marathi wedding ceremonies and rituals. Some of them are:
❖ Ganpati puja, dev devak and Gaurihar puja- Like many other auspicious Maharashtrian occasions, the wedding day commences with the worship of Lord Ganesha. Ganpati Puja is performed for a bright future of the couple. The family deity is then invited at the wedding Mandap by Devdevak. In Gaurihar Puja, the bride, all dressed up in her wedding attire, worships the goddess Parvati for her prosperous life. The maternal uncle of the bride gives her some rice which she then offers to the Goddess.
❖ Punyavachanam and seemant puja- The bride’s parents take her to the wedding venue and ask everyone to bless their daughter on Punyavachanam. In Seemant Puja, on the groom’s arrival, the bride’s
mother receives him with Aarti and sweets. She washes the groom’s feet and applies Tilak on his forehead.
❖ Antarpat- A white Swastik-marked cloth or Antarpat is placed between the Marathi bride and groom restricting them from seeing each other. The cloth is held up while the priest recites the Mangalashtakam, and once the recitation is over, the cloth is removed and the couple is showered with coloured rice while the music (usually shehnai) plays in the background.
❖ Sankalp and lajahoma-The bride then enters the Mandap and the priest chants Mangalashtakam or sacred vows accompanied by musicians. On an auspicious moment, the Antarpat is removed and the couple exchange jaimala. That’s when everyone showers them with Akshata or whole rice.
Laja Homa For the final Marathi marriage rituals to commence, a sacred fire is ignited and the bride offers grains to the fire chanting three mantras repeated by the groom. The fourth mantra, however, is uttered silently only by the bride
❖ Saptapadi and karma samapti- Saying out loud the seven wedding vows, the couple together encircles the holy fire seven times while performing the Marathi marriage ritual of Saptapadi. The couple performs the Laxmi Pujan and worships until the fire is put out. The groom then gives the bride a new name. Finally, the brother of the bride teasingly twists the groom’s ear to remind him of his marital duties and the couple takes everyone’s blessings in the end.
All in all, marathi weddings are like marathi people; simple and elegant but also fun at the same time as they have so many pre-wedding and post-wedding ceremonies.
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