Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Band Baaja Baraat



B for Baraat

North Indian weddings are all about opulence, vibrance and a lot of noise. Baraat, a Bridegrooms wedding procession, in which the Bridegroom with his family and friends (called Baraati) goes to the venue of wedding to wed his bride, wins by great margins when it comes to pomp and show, lights and glow and excitement overflow.

If you happen to be in north India during the peak wedding season, which is mostly from February to April or November – December, and are staying in the vicinity of wedding venues,  do not expect a peaceful sleep in the nights. Every alternate evening you will have Band, Baja & Baraat knocking on your eardrums with loud Bollywood music, flashing lights, fireworks and a group of 35-50 people dancing to Dhol beats. As a kid I still remember how for every passing Baraat I along with my brothers used to rush to the balcony to watch Baraats. It was always fun to see so many people dancing on the streets making funny gestures while shaking legs, and the Band playing some all time hits, some new and some "must play" Baraat songs.

The baraat has a Bridegroom sitting on a well decorated mare, with his turban and sword (almost looks like a kid in a fancy dress) and he is the most sober of the lot. Rest of the Baraatis, totally high on music and dance, walk towards the wedding venue.

One of the song which is played in each Baraat and has always left me wondering, what could be the relevance if a patriotic song to a wedding.:

"Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawaano Ka, Albelo Ka, Mastaano Ka ..Is Desh ka Yaron...Hoyeeee...Kya Kehna"
(This is a patriotic song and means ..This country is of brave young hearts, carefree people ... and this country cant be praised enough"

Have a look . Click Here for the video

Contrast to a Punjabi Baraat, a Rajput Baraat is more royal, regal and silent. They do not have jumping jacks going berserk after each song. They also do not have the female glamour, as only male family members join the procession, all dressed in finery, turbans and carrying a sword. 


I feel the idea behind a Baraat and its high voltage drama is to go all out in expressing the happiness and excitement of welcoming a new member to the family. The marriage is not between the two people, but between to families, and Baraat is the onset of that life long extravaganza.

The procession finally ends with "Milni" where the Baraatis are welcomed by the bride's family with garlands and warm hugs. 




As promised I will feature that one A to Z post each day which connected with me or made me "Ask for more" With such amazing and innumerable posts around, this is a hard task I took upon myself. Everyone has written with passion and most of them struck the chord.

But a promise is promise. So here are my star posts of Day 1 & Day 2. 

Day 1 Star
Does your heart goes out for travel..Well, then  do not miss Eli's A to Z 26 day world tour. In her first post she takes us to Athens to see Acropolis 

Day 2 Star
Has anyone till date cracked the complex puzzle called marriage. Well I still am waiting to meet one. But Shilpa seems to have a great insight . The ease of her words will  surely connect with you. Check her post on Balance in marriage

29 comments:

  1. As a kid, I use to jump into the baarat and dance.. I knew no one but enjoyed that feeling. Nice post :)

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    1. That was so cute and naughty... Thanks for stopping by

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  2. i had attented my friend's wedding in Kanpur and it was at that time did I see the full shor sharaba of baraat. It's fun though :)

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    1. Kanpur is just the right place to get the rael taste of Baraat :D ..Totally over the top

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  3. I am nagging my mom that I want baraat for my wedding!! (we are south indians, tamilians to be precise) My mom says she won't allow but I will somehow want a baraat in my wedding!! Additionally, being a wedding planner I totally love anything related to weddings!! I guess I will be the first real life dulhan to ride horse on my wedding (mere bro ki dulhan - kat ki tarah)

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    1. Wow I like that idea... Do keep me posted if you win this argument with your mom

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  4. Your post took me back to my childhood when we would run to watch the baraat go by. In mumbai they always played Come September!

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    1. Ha Ha... I cant stop laughing imagining punjabis doing Bhangra to "Come September" :D

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  5. Never had a chance to a part of north Indian weddings... but from what I have seen from movies... I love all th enoise and the colors and dance!!

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    1. Oh I was thinking about you when I looked and looked for an apt pic and could not find one..This is the problem of leaving the wedding as soon as it is over..no pics as backup

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  7. OMG . yeh desh hai veer jawaano ka is the most abused song!! And then there's 'Mere yaar ki shaadi hai!!'

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    1. yes that is the second one..but atleast it is still relevant

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  8. Have seen the baraat at my friend's wedding.... the corresponding custom in the tamil weddings is called " mappillai azhaippu", and 'janavasam'.... Nice coverage, Apoorva!

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  9. Loved you post - and learned so much new things today! Love Indian weddings- so much fun, but have never been to a north- Indian yet:-) And aaaawww- thank you so much for your mention:-) I was so happy- so kind of you. Hope you're coming along for the rest of the tour:-) I'll be following you for sure:-)

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  10. Somehow I missed your blog yesterday. Just now read the post from yesterday too. Ascetic Groom - now that's a totally new info for me :) But then I am no encyclopedia on Indian wedding rituals, so what if I have been married for almost 25 years! A fun post on Baraat too! Nice read!

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  11. I remember one such recent baraat :D where we are given these roses too :D *wink wink* do you remember? :D

    Richa

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    1. :) yes i do..but that was only for the beautiful ladies in the baraat

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  12. It even happened in religious stories like that of Shiva's and Vishnu..

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  13. Ah what fun - I've always wanted to be part of a big fat Punjabi wedding - but only from the sidelines! ;)

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  14. Sounds like fun and very festive! ♥ In comparison weddings here in the states are a lot more sedate.

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  15. I remember ,rushing to see the Baraat,Used yo hide behind the curtains and have a peek at them...

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  16. In South India, we used to have a baaraat where the bridegroom came in on an elephant! Think of the fanfare then ;)

    Loving this series of A-Z. So creatively done!

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  17. I love Weddings, Last year I attended so many weddings, enjoyed dancing in Baarat the most :)
    Thanks for bringing memories back :)

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  18. Thanks for sharing this taste of your Indian culture and customs. It's very enjoyable. :)

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  19. I love that song, Yeh desh hai.. :)
    And watching baraats is great fun. I love the energy and the atmosphere they create!

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  20. I love to watch north indian weddings, specially the dance while taking the baraat - very enjoyable moments for the families !

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  21. We would leave our work half done to see the baarat from the terrace...those days were awesome...

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  22. The dance drama of a baraat with the band baaja on the roads is so much fun. We were in Lucknow and our apartment complex had a marriage garden near by, it was fun to watch from our balcony the weird and interesting dances people did on road and the wedding finery was not be missed too!
    Thanks a lot for the mention, Apoorva :) ♥

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