The diverse shades of customs, religion and beliefs in the wedding ceremonies of India, overwhelms the attendees. The term "marriage" is called Panigrahana in Sanskrit and Vivah in Hindi; though the terms the different the customs are more or less similar. In Indian culture, marriage is considered to be a merger of two souls. It is believed that marriage broaden beyond a single lifetime and continues up to seven lives. The auspicious ceremony of marriage is taken to be 13th out of a total of 16 ceremonies in an individual`s life.

Indian marriages are solemnized according to the principles in the Vedas. Most of these Indian wedding rituals have regional customs as their base. However, the common tie amongst all these wedding rituals is the fun as well as the excitement that forms an essential part. One of the important post wedding ceremonies in India is the Vidai Ceremony.

The Vidai ceremony is denoted as a sad event of marriage. After the marriage rituals are completed and blessings of the elders are taken, the Vidai ceremony takes place. This is the ceremony where the groom takes away the bride to his household. The newly wedded couple is asked to stand on the beautifully decorated vyog. Then the eldest female member of the family comes forward and offers some prasad to the couple three times. After that, she kisses them on the forehead. The bride then takes her seat in the doli or palanquin. The friends and relatives of the bride bid her tearful good bye, as she leaves her father`s house to start a new journey with her life partner. This ritual is considered to be a major one in the Kashmiri weddings. However, all the other kinds of weddings follow this custom in some different way.

Indian Vidai Ceremony symbolizes reaching the concluding part of the marriage. Vidai Ceremony in India is an event where emotions are on the highest zenith. It is very common to find the bride`s family members become pretty sentimental along with her friends as well as the relatives. Vidai Ceremony of India symbolizes a new journey for the bride as she departs from her parents` house to go with her husband. A new life is started with new hopes and dreams beckon her. Vidai Ceremony in India is a matter of both joy and sorrow for the bride. During Indian Vidai Ceremony, the bride`s father officially gives away his daughter to her husband and asks him to protect and take care of his loving and adoring daughter.

The funny side of the Vidai Ceremony in India is that it brings treasure for certain people like the sister in-laws. A part of the Indian wedding ceremony is hiding the groom`s shoes successive to the marriage ceremony. Generally, the responsibility of this task lays with the sister in-laws. The sister in-laws, also called saalis, get a range of gifts like kalichari, a ring made of gold or silver, cash or some other kinds of gifts in kind in exchange of returning the groom`s shoes.

Nevertheless, the main attraction of Indian Vidai Ceremony is on the bride. As she leaves the treasured home of her parents, she hugs her parents, friends and some of the family members. The couple receives blessings of the elders by touching the feet of the elderly; this ritual is one of the most vital activities of the Vidai. As the bride steps out of the entrance of her house, she throws back a few handfuls of rice over the head as a sign of richness and wealth. This custom depicts that she is paying her parents back all the wealth they have given her all these years. At the same time, she is also praying for the success and prosperity in this house, which was her abode since birth.

In the final stages of the Indian Vidai Ceremony, the newly wed couple sits in the car. The brothers and cousins of the brides come and push the car. It signifies the fact that they have given their sister a shove ahead in her advancing life. Once the last car of the convoy starts, the bride`s family and friends throw few coins on the road where the cars move on to thrust aside the evil. In many cases, the younger sister or brother goes along with the bride to her new house and give her moral support. In South India, the Vidaai Ceremony is called by the term of Kshemadandulu.

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