The next event in our lovely couple’s wedding festivities was Anjali’s Chunni Chadana! Traditionally during the occasion of Chunni Chadana, the grooms parents and close relatives visit the brides house. The groom’s family presents the soon to be bride with a red sari, as a token of acceptance into their family. The soon to be bride then changes into the red sari and continues on with the festivities. The main ritual of the ceremony occurs when the soon to be mother-in-law places a red chunni on the soon to be bride’s head and gives her traditional jewelry and feeds her sweets.
Davinder’s family stayed true to the traditional customs of the Chunni, bringing boxes of gifts, clothing and food. As Anjali came down to meet her guests, she was jokingly interrogated by Davinder’s Aunts as they fed her sweets and wished her a happy married life. The glow on Anjali’s face was intoxicating as everyone laughed, ate and spoke about the future. After the traditional Chunni ceremony came to an end and Anjali’s guests left, Anjali’s immediate family started the Mendhi festivities.
Mendhi is a ceremonial art form that originated in India and is typically applied to brides before their wedding date. Folklore states that the darker the color of the henna the deeper their bond. Anjali’s Mendhi was an intricate six hour process of applying Mendhi to her hands, arms and legs. The process took over six hours (we were only able to stay for the beginning)! More images of the completed Mendhi will be on the blog soon (and yes the color of her henna was DARK, these two are perfect for each other).
