Hindu people have arranged marriages. They are very happy, festive occasions steeped in ritual. Hindu weddings bring not only two people together but two families together.
This photograph shows the mendap under which the marriage ceremony takes place. It is decorated with the sign of the swastika and pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses. The marriage ceremony is conducted by the hindu priest who reads the ceremonial mantras from the holy book or the "Vedas".
The wedding gown is usually red and white. White for purity and red for fertility and wealth.
At the start of the wedding there are various welcoming rituals. After these a ritual washing of the bride's feet with milk is performed before the ceremony of "HASTA MELAP" (the joining of hands.) Next comes the "KANYADAN" when twenty four threads of cotton are wound round the shoulders of the bride and groom binding them for life.
During the ceremony the bride's hands and feet are decorated in mendi patterns with drops of henna.
The actual ceremony takes two or three hours but the whole event is about two days long. It used to be three or four days long but in western society is has proved very difficult to have weddings lasting that long so they have become shorter.