Tuesday, April 12, 2011

My Indian Wedding - Ganesh Pooja

While I was getting ready Anil was already "on the stage" and first prayers were taking place. Typically, Indian wedding ceremonies begin with the worship of Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles and the provider of good luck. Ganesha's presence is invoked to insure the successful completion of the wedding ceremony. Other poojas (pujas/prayers) are also performed to invoke the presence of other forms of God to preside over the wedding ceremony.

This part of the wedding ceremony was point number 1 on our wedding program:
Ganapathy (Ganesh) Pooja = Prayer to Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles


At the very beginning of the ceremony only the groom and the pandit (priest) are present:

Just before the entrance of the bride, the groom is hidden behind a curtain:

Then the bride joins the ceremony:

The groom and the bride are still separated by a curtain, and can not see each other: