7 interesting wedding rituals in India

Indian weddings are known for their flamboyance and extravagance, delicious flavours and vibrant colors. While these features put them under one umbrella, they are diverse and unique in their own ways. Every Indian wedding is a new experience, and every experience a new surprise. Here's a list of a few unusual wedding rituals in India that are bound to take you by surprise.

1. Welcoming With Potatoes & Tomatoes
A small community of Uttar Pradesh, called Sarsaul believes that the relationships that begin on a bad note, culminate in love. This popular belief leads to a ritual where the baarat and the groom are greeted with potatoes & tomatoes, followed by a round of abuses, instead of welcoming them with the usual flowers and arati.

2. Marrying A Tree
Astrology, horoscopes and stars have always had a major influence on Hindu weddings, and can be the reason for a lot of unusual wedding rituals. It is believed that a woman born under a certain astrological combination of Mars and Saturn is a manglik and can cause her husband's death. She is thus made to marry a tree before she marries the groom so as to break the curse.

3. Balancing Earthen Pots
This ritual is very popular in certain communities of Bihar. The bride is made to balance earthen pots on her head while she seeks blessings from the elders simultaneously. This symbolizes how well the bride can maintain the balance in the new family and responsibilities of the new life.

4. Releasing Fish
According to a popular belief in Manipur, evil spirits should be released before any new beginning. The bride and the groom have to release a taki fish together in a pond. It's considered to be a good omen for the new couple if the fish move side by side.

5. Keeping The Bride Hidden
This is a very infrequent tradition followed by some tribal communities in the north-eastern part of India. The bride is kept from interacting with anyone for a year after the wedding. The marriage is then approved by the senior members of the community followed by a grand event to celebrate the wedding.

6. Role-Playing A Sanyasi
The Tamil Brahmins believe in enlightening the groom with the pre-requisite knowledge about married life, so as to make him realize the importance of it. The groom plays a sanyasi (mendicancy) and changes his mind a few times before sitting at the altar. The father in law then convinces the groom to take up grahastam (family life), as it's one of the most important phases of life.

7. Breaking Earthen Lamps
The Sindhi community believes in destroying the past to mark the beginning of the new phase of life for the couple tying the knot. An anklet is tied around the right foot of the bride and the groom, followed by pouring of oil on their heads by seven married women. The couple then wears new shoes and breaks an earthen lamp with their feet, symbolizing the destruction of past. The ritual is popularly known as saanth.