Kankotri

 

 

 

 

Hete lakhiye re Kankotri re lol, avsar aviyo che rudo anganey re lol..
Amara Akash na kaka kaki ,mama mami,  veera bhabhi, beni, faiba, masi, saga  sambandhi, sau vela avjo re lol, hete lakhiye re kankotri re lol….and so the preparations for my son Akash’s wedding have begunManu and I have great respect for tradition so we even made the supda for the moong vidhi.  We want to embrace this occassion with attention to detail and this even included the moong bhat lapsi that were cooked on the day.

We have many family and friends around the globe and so the invites have to be sent earlier to give guests a chance to book their flights and plan their visit and of course their wedding wardrobe. It also allows us to plan the seating arrangements, catering, transport to and from airports etc.

With the wedding date set Manu, I and the Vithlani family will now send out the Kankotri (wedding invitations) to our near and dear.  This is a huge task and there is of course a ritual / ceremony for the writing of the Kankotri.

Kanku chanti kankotri mokaljo, kesar chanti kankotri mokaljo ema lakhjo Shree Ganeshji na naam, Ganeshji vehla avsho….this has lately become my favourite song.

The kankotri was traditionally written on a piece of paper with the details of the ceremonies and times for the mandap ropan and hasta melap.  Then this kankotri would be sprinkled with kanku (red powder colour), kesar (saffron) chokha (rice grains) and we carry on this tradition albeit that the kankotri is now in the form of a heavily embossed card.

The ritual:
It  starts with invoking and inviting Lord Ganesha and his consorts  Riddhi ,Siddhi, Kul devi, and our beloved Jalaram Bapa.  The very first kankotri is issued to the Lord and the temple (temple being our in house shrine) then, grand parents (in our case our sister in law Manju bhabhi, Akash’s in laws and maternal uncles/aunts, close relatives and then the rest of the invitees.   The first dignitaries should receive kankotri’s by hand and the names of the guests always written in red ink, red being an auspicious colour.

Each member of the family has their name mentioned in the traditional song “kanku chanti” as to stress the importance that the marriage is more than just the union of the bride and the groom. It brings together all the family in a very happy way.  Akash is the youngest boy in our family and very much adored! I am told that his cousins have already begun planning their wedding outfits and are looking forward to the big day.  My brothers, sisters in law and sister send me regular messages and clips of lagna geet.

I have posted these pictures so our non gujarati friends can get some insight into the ceremony.. Its true that Gujarati weddings go on for several days!!!