Rajasthan: A wedding with a twist — Bride rides a mare

Jaipur: Not many would be able to recall Rekha and Vinod Mehra starrer 1985 Bollywood film Pyar ki Jeet. In the film, Rekha, riding a mare, leads a marriage procession to Vinod Mehra’s house to force him to marry her.

What seemed a bizarre situation to the cinegores three decades ago is, actually, a common sight in Rajasthan. Brides from Shrimali brahmin community ride mares to the house of bridegroom’s with fanfare as part of a traditional marriage.

The procession, led by the bride on a mare, comprises of family members dancing and singing wedding songs all the way to the groom’s house where the family of the groom performs the ceremony.

On arrival at the bride-groom’s doorstep, the bride’s mother-in-law does an aarti, gives her sweets and paan (beetle leaf) and presents her a lehenga to be worn during the wedding later in the day. The bride is also given gifts including, cash, jewellery and clothes as muh dikhai by her in-laws and their relatives. This ritual is called aarh banola.

Shrimali brahmin is an orthodox community. It is mainly settled in Rajasthan and limited parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. No one exactly knows about the origin of this custom of a bride, instead of the bridegroom, riding a mare.

According to Ashwini Vyas, a community member, in the old times when engagements were fixed without boys and girls getting a chance to see each other, this was the sole opportunity for the bridegroom and his extended family to see and ensure that all was physically well with the bride.

“Till a few years ago, brides opted for cars rather than riding mares. But the ritual is making a comeback again because the young generation thinks it is ‘cool’ and ‘unique’,” said Vijay Lakshmi, a retired government teacher.

In fact, this custom has caught the fancy of brides in other communities as well. In the last wedding season, Sikar Zila Pramukh Aparna Rolan not only rode a mare for her bindori, she also wore sherwani and achkan like a bridegroom. In Bundi, Mekhala, a lecturer in Udaipur, opted for an elephant ride.

Another unique custom followed by Shrimali brahmins is the solemnising of the marriage with the bride and the bridegroom taking eight rounds of the holy fire instead of the seven by all other Hindus.

The bridegroom is also required to take rounds of the holy  fire while carrying his wife. “They are called Asht Mangala and Chaturthi Karmi, respectively,” explained Pandit Jitendra Ojha, adding that the custom is related to Lord Vishnu and goddess Lakhmi’s wedding.

The mothers of the bride and the bridegroom garland each other and walk around the holy fire at the time of their children’s marriage.