~* FUN FACTS *~

• Grooms among Tamil Brahmins performs a ritual enactment of asceticism. The groom pretend to suddenly be disillusioned and wanting to renounce the world.

• Marriage by abduction can be classified as a norm in indian culture. The young man must carry his bride on his back in, keep her hidden for a year and then have a normal ceremony.

• An indian bride applies henna or mehndi to her hand and feet before the wedding. the belief is that, the deeper the colour, the more she will be loved by her husband and also mother in law. She is also forbidden from doing any housework as to maintain the colour of the mehndi, making the longevity of the henna more desirable.

• After the Hindu wedding ceremony, the bride arrives to her husband's home and is ceremonially ushered by her mother in law. The bride must enter the threshold with her right foot first which she uses to gently knock  over a vessel filled to the brim with rice that has been placed there strategically in order to ensure good luck for her new family.

• In punjabi, it is required for young girls related to the bride to play a prank on the groom using his shoes. The groom is asked to pay a ransom or 'fee' for the shoes. The grooms comes prepared for this and offers cash or traditional trinkets, called kalicharis, gold for the bride's sister and silver for her cousins.

• A light-hearted ritual called aeki beki among Gujurati Hindus follows the arrival of the newly wed couple at their home. A ring and a few coins are put into a silver dish filled with milk and vermilion and the bride and groom are asked to dip their hands into the bowl to search for the ring. The one who finds the ring four out of seven times is predicted most likely to rule the roost.

• A pre-wedding ritual in Gujurat has the groom arriving at the house of the bride to seek the blessings of his mother-in-law. She blesses him and performs a ritual to ward off the evil eye. She also tries to catch his nose, playfully reminding him of his responsibility as a son-in-law.

• In Gujarati custom the groom's mother-in-law tries to catch his nose on arrival of the baraat, as a reminder of the fact that he is taking away their daughter and is now responsible for her happiness.