Gcc Exchange Baniyas Timings

[Senaqua Hildreth]

Popularby several names such as Baniya, Agrawal, Kayasth, Vaishya, and many others, this community comprises all money-minded persons like Bankers, businesspeople, moneylenders, traders, shopkeepers, etc. Therefore, it is quite obvious to witness grand and lavish celebrations during the Baniya wedding events midst of Baniya /Agarwal wedding rituals.

Composing a large section of the Indian population, Baniya weddings leave no stone unturned in dazzling the eyes of attendees with the extensive flow of cash, gifts, jewelry, expensive & flamboyant clothes and lip-smacking food items in a wide variety.

Though the Baniya community is dispersed in the diverse states of India and follows some unique traditions based on their region, many rituals are found common in this community. You might have seen weddings in Uttar Pradesh, Destination weddings in Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand, and weddings in Rajasthan. All of the main wedding-centric rituals are categorized among Pre-wedding, during the wedding and post-wedding rituals categories.

Like in other Hindu religious sects, the Baniya community follows the path of traditional matchmaking ritual at the beginning of the Wedding. The families of the boy and girl analyze their Kundali ( Horoscopes) with the help of an experienced priest. If the priest finds the couple compatible according to the information of Matchmaking, the families fix the wedding in a close or intimate meeting. After finalizing the wedding, the auspicious date of the marriage is also decided with the help of a competent priest. Now at the end, the families discuss the amount of expenditure they want to do for the wedding and the range of gifts that will be exchanged in various wedding ceremonies.

Now when the wedding is finalized between two families and they have accepted each other along with the couple, it is time to decide the auspicious timing of the wedding which is called Muhurat of the wedding. The hired priest assesses the astrological readings and gives options regarding several auspicious timings and dates. The families pick anyone among them according to their wishes and convenience.

This pre-wedding ritual is celebrated in both families. The families invite the maternal uncle and his entire family. The maternal uncle of the bride and groom visits their home respectively and brings a lot of expensive gifts, clothes, jewelry, sweets, fruits, dry fruits and cash. They offer it before the wedding day to the bride and groom and bless them for the best-married life ahead. The families of the bride and groom also give them a warm welcome in return for their valuable gesture.

After welcoming the baraat and making them comfortable with sitting, soon the bride enhances the glow of ambiance with her beautiful entry. Her close friends and siblings escort her to the main stage where the groom waits for her. After stepping on the stage the bride stands in front of the groom. Both of them exchange the floral garlands and the family members shower petals of flowers on them as a blessing. It depicts the initial acceptance of the couple for each other in the wedding ceremony. Some families make this ritual fun frolic by lifting the bride/groom higher and making it difficult for them to put the garland on each other.

Here all the main wedding-centric rituals come to an end and the matrimonial ceremony is considered concluded. But so many rituals are still pending in the Baniya community weddings from which we can learn a lot about their culture.

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