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India is a land of distinguished and diversified cultures, and among a number of communities living in the country, residents of Maharashtra follow the simplest form of marriage ceremonial celebrations. Culture of Maharashtra is a beautiful mix of the Aryan and Dravidian culture, and thus the influence of both north Indian and the south Indian cultures can be seen in the wedding rituals. Marathi matrimony ceremony involves traditions, called as Samskaras. Alliances in Marathi community are mainly fixed within the community and the Marathi people do not promote or appreciate inter-caste marriages. The community believes in arranged marriages, where the parents or the elders of the family look for perfect partners for their children. However, the parents ask for the consent of their children before finalizing any alliance. Nowadays, the marriages are also fixed through online matrimonial sites, making it easy for the parents to sort out the suitable profiles, contact them and finalize the suitable alliance. In the Indian context, marriage is a sacred institution that binds the bride and groom together for life. Not only the bride and the groom, the matrimonial alliance brings two families together and strengthens the relationship between the families. The society and its members are believed to progress with such alliances. Celebration of matrimonial is the best time for uniting together with the family and relatives, and it also gives people a chance to get ready in their traditional dresses and showcase their colorful culture. Invitees and guests are beautifully dressed to celebrate the new beginning of the newly married couple. A special attention is given on the attire of the bride and groom who are made to look their best at the time of the wedding. Wedding Attire of the Brides Green prevails in the ceremonies of Marathi matrimonial. Generally, the bride wears traditional Paithni saris in dark green. She is a true depiction of the Indian beauty. The nine-yard Paithni sari has a thick border, particularly the golden embroidery and is draped in a Marathi style. Hair of the bride is tightly tied to form a bun which is decorated with a bunch of jasmine flowers. The strands of other white flowers can also be tied in case of unavailability of the jasmine flowers. Brides in Maharashtra not only wear heavy gold jewelry but are also adorned in pearl jewelry. The bride is made to wear a pearl chain on her forehead, known as mundavalya and the forehead is decorated with a crescent moon shaped bindi. Earrings with seven pearls each and a nose ring incorporating nine pearls are also worn by the bride as a part of her wedding trousseau. Maharashtrian brides wear green glass bangles known as chuda, paired with pearls bangles. A gold waistband and a silver toe ring are also a part of the bridal accessories. Traditionally, Marathi grooms wear dhotis and phetas, but now due to fast paced life and changing fashion, guys have also started to don Indo-western clothes for their weddings. Impact of western world is evident in the dressing sense of the people these days. However, the respect of people towards their culture is also evident. Weddings in Marathi community take place in the morning as the daytime is believed to be the most sacred and auspicious time for conducting the matrimonial ceremony. To learn about the Maharashtrian culture, no other occasion rather than wedding could be perfect. The Marathi matrimony involves the simplest forms of rituals. The customs and traditions followed at a wedding is the best description of a culture of a clan. To understand the culture of community, the best way is to attend the wedding ceremony, and observe the rituals being followed at the time of wedding!
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Marathi matrimony, Marathi matrimonial, matrimonials,
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