Boubhat

After all the wedding rituals are over, the newlyweds go to the groom’s house, where they are warmly welcomed by the groom’s mother. She performs the Badhu Boron aarti, and the bride steps over the threshold by gently kicking a vessel filled with milk and Alta and walking into the home by stepping on a white cloth. In this ritual, the bride is considered the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi and is believed to bring luck and prosperity with her. A day or two after the wedding, the groom’s family hosts the Boubhat ceremony. Literally translating to ‘Bride’s feast’, Boubhat can be a simple affair between the couple’s families or an elaborate function. In its simplest form, the groom’s family invites guests to their home for a grand lunch. Here, the bride is introduced to everyone, and she serves them ghee rice. Some families organise a bigger event that doubles as a reception party. Here, the bride and groom are the guests of honour and are called ‘Kone Jatri’. The bride’s family brings Tatta, or beautifully decorated trays of gifts. Traditional gifts include clothes, jewellery, dry fruits, fish, and sweets. Another post-wedding ritual is the Bhat Kapor ceremony. ‘Bhat’ means food in Bengali and ‘Kapor’ means clothes. In this ritual, the husband gives his wife a gift tray with a new saree, sindoor, and a full plate of food as a promise to take responsibility for her food and clothes from that day forward. The groom’s mother gifts the bride a Loha, an iron bangle to be worn on the left wrist. The last ritual is Phool Sajya, where the groom’s family decorate a bed with flowers for the couple.

Jewellery & Accessories

For the Boubhat, the bride can go for an understated look if it’s a simple ceremony or for the complete Solah Shringar set. According to Vedic texts, the classic Bengali Solah Shringar includes sixteen ornaments a bride must wear. This includes the bindi, necklaces, earrings, flowers in the hair, rings, Sankha Pola bangles, armbands, waistbands, anklets, kajal, toe-rings, henna, perfume, sandalwood paste, blouse and saree or lehenga. Each of the jewellery or accessories of the Solah Shringar holds meaning. For instance, the bindi represents the third eye, which offers spiritual sight. Together, they bring the bride good fortune — along with one showstopping look. 

As part of her bridal set, the Bengali bride wears certain traditional jewellery pieces such as a Tikli matha patti, a Nath nose ring, and Ananta armbands. For her earrings, she can pick from a Dul ear cuff, dangling Kaan Balas, or Kaan Pasha stud earrings. She often layers 2-3 heavy gold necklaces, starting with the Chik, a gold choker. This pairs well with a Saat Noli Haar, a traditional seven-layered neckpiece that is often been passed down through generations in her family. The five-layered version is called Paanch Noli Haar. Another popular long necklace is the Sita Haar, which is made up of a large pendant with floral designs.