Rite 12 · The wedding day
Varmala
The garlands — the first thing they do as a couple, in front of everyone. Lifted onto their families' shoulders amid much teasing, each tries to garland the other first; and in that bright, laughing moment, the two families quietly become one.
The whole weddingVarmala · वरमाला
Rite 12 of 19Known locally as
Varmala
/ var·maa·la / वरमाला
the garlands — the flower garlands the couple exchange — the byoli and the byola made one before all.
What it is
Bride and groom exchange thick garlands of flowers, each accepting the other in front of both families.
Why it's done
The jaimala is consent made visible: by garlanding each other openly, the two choose one another, and the two families signal their blessing in the very same moment.
How it unfolds
Lifted onto their families' shoulders amid much teasing, each tries to garland the other first — laughter, lifting and a little friendly rivalry are all part of it.
Who needs to be there
The couple, with both families pressing in around them.
What's special — and how we keep it
The lightest, happiest moment before the solemn rites begin. We remember who got garlanded first.
Her side, and his
The bride's side
She tries to garland him first — her sisters lifting her high to reach over his head.
The groom's side
He ducks and dodges, his friends hoisting him out of her reach; the lightest contest of the whole day.
Pandit ji, the mantra & the song Draft
Pandit ji's part
The mangalashtak may be chanted as the two are finally brought face to face beneath the canopy.
The mantras
The mangalashtak — the Sanskrit verses sung to invite the bride to the mandap and lift the curtain between them.
The mangal geet
Garland songs, half-teasing, rise from both sides at once.
In photographs
8 frames from this rite, in the order they happened.
Photographs in association with Balaji Photographer — a studio out of Barechhina, on the Almora–Pithoragarh highway.