The next day, mom woke me up to perform the mañgala snānam. Mom asked me to wear a cotton saree for the ritual.

By the time, I went downstairs, everybody was there while preparing everything for the ritual.

Yuktha took me to the lawn and made me sit on a stool. They all smeared my face with Nalugu(a mixture of flours and turmeric powder) and poured the turmeric water on me.

Peddamma asked me to freshen up and take a rest for a while as I had to perform a lot of rituals. I woke up at noon and had my lunch.

They informed me that Arjun's family already reached the wedding venue. Even most of our relatives went to the venue to handle the things there. Remaining, along with me will reach the venue after completing Gauri pūja.

Soon it is time for the pooja, the beauticians did the magic with their hands.

(Daksha's attire for the pooja).

They took me downstairs. Mom did the hārati or Aarti. After that, they guided me to do the pooja.

When I was done with the pooja, we all started to the wedding venue.

When we reached the wedding venue, I was astonished to see the decorations. The place was beautifully decorated with all the rich colorful flowers and mango leaves.

Her father and a young man who seemed to be the same age as mine gave us a grand welcome. I came to know that he is the brother of Daksha. Indra greeted him with a hug as they already knew each other.

Her brother came to me and had a nice chat with me but before going, he warned me to take care of his sister and I agreed gladly to it.

They asked me to take some rest and I agreed to it. I went to the room that is allotted to me and took a small nap.

After a while, they called me for the rituals. I got ready and went towards them.

A priest came there to perform the ritual of Snātakam. It is known as Bath Graduation. It is performed before householder responsibilities are handed over to the groom i.e., me.

This ritual takes place before the muhūrtam...precisely a few hours before the wedding. After chanting some mantras, the priest made me wear the silver thread as a part of the custom.

(Image of the ritual Snatakam)

By the time, the ritual was over, it was evening and it was time for the actual wedding rituals to get started.

I went to change my dress and after that, Indra called me for another ritual. The next ritual's name is kāsī Yātra.

(Image of Kashi yatra ritual)

It was a fun-filled ritual where I had to pretend to go to Kashi and to say that I had discarded the worldly pleasures(like marriage, relations, and properties) and no longer interested in family life.

Both sides are arguing playfully. One side was encouraging me to go to Kashi and the other side was convincing me not to go.

Finally, Aditya(Daksha's brother) came to me. As a part of the ritual, he stopped me and persuaded me to assume the responsibility of the household.

Here in our Telugu states, most of the weddings will usually take place at midnight. So we got some time for the actual muhurtham.

We also give high priority to the food. We served the food to all the guests, which was also the main part of our culture of offering the food to anyone who comes on an auspicious day. It is finally ended with the offering of the sweets after dinner as it is auspicious.

Mom came to me and fed me the food. After that, She told me that Daksha already reached the venue and asked me to get ready as well. After I was ready, I was taken to the mandapam where the wedding is going to take place.

(Arjun's look)

The priest made me perform the Ganēsa and Gauri puja. During this time that Parvara, the ritual of changing the bride's paternal gothram(clan) to that of the grooms was performed.

My mom and Daksha's parents were presented here when I performed that ritual.

We reached our farmhouse where the wedding is going to be done. I was taken into a room. They made me get ready wearing my wedding attire.

They braided my hair and decorated it with flowers as per tradition. Yuktha and Rishu's mothers came to my room and gave me their blessings.

Finally, mom and Sarada aunty came to me and blessed me after kissing my both cheeks. After that, mom tied basikam around my forehead.

(Basikam and Daksha's hairstyle.)

Girls took so many selfies with me and they kept on praising me how beautiful I was looking and Arjun would have a hard time controlling himself, making me blush uncontrollably.

(Daksha's wedding look)

My dad came to us and gave me a forehead kiss with tears in his eyes. Looking at him like that made me quite emotional but I controlled myself and gave him an assured smile.

Soon, my peddananna and my mamayya came to us with a bamboo basket to carry me to the mandapam(wedding pavilion). They made me sit in it and they both lifted me with the help of my Anna and cousins.

Amidst all the teasings, they carried me till the mandapam(wedding pavilion) and they made me sit in front of Arjun with a veil separating us.

Because until the kanyādānam would be over, we were not allowed to look at each other. So they placed that curtain as a partition between us.

It was a ritual where my parents hand over my responsibility to Arjun. As a part of the ritual, My parents washed the Arjun's feet with milk and water, as the groom is considered as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who has come to marry their daughter who is considered as Devi Lakshmi.

The priest asked Arjun to chant the mantra "Dharmēca Arthēca Kamēcha Mokshēca Nāti Carāmi" three times as in assurance to my dad that he would remain my companion in joy and sorrow forever.

The next ritual is panigrahanam which means "holding hands". Arjun held my hand and spoke the mantra that has the meaning: "The Devas have offered you to me so that I may live the life of a householder (Gruhasta); we shall not part from each other."

After the priest recited the ślokaṃs from the Vedas, we were asked to place a paste made from cumin seeds and jaggery on each other’s heads. This custom is referred to as Jīlakarra-Bellamu.

(ritual of jeelakarra bellam)

This ceremony was observed to communicate that our relationship was unbreakable and we were inseparable. This was the actual muhūrtaṃ time.

The ritual (Pravara) of changing my gotram(clan) was once performed again on the marriage dais in the presence of everyone attending the ceremony. Henceforth, I no longer belonged to my father's gotra, but now belonged to Arjun's.

As a part of the Madhuparkam ritual, they took me back and dressed me up in a white sari. Arjun was also asked to wear a white dhoti with a red border because white symbolizes purity and red represents strength.

(Daksha's look)

Ten married women (Sumangaḷi) accompanied me. Six of the ten women held plates containing sacred rice (a mixture of rice and turmeric powder), while the rest of them held small lit lamps on their respective plates. Here rice represents abundance, while the lit lamps symbolize light.

Maṅgaḷasūtra Dhāraṇa means tying Maṅgaḷasūtraṃ (holy thread). To perform the ritual, we were asked to sit beside each other and the partition between us was removed.

We both looked at each other silently admiring each other.

Then Arjun tied the two strings of Maṅgaḷasūtraṃ, each with a golden disc, around my neck while smiling at me gleefully and I too returned it with equal enthusiasm.

The Maṅgaḷasūtraṃ represents the physical, mental, and spiritual union of the couple. In our Telugu wedding, the groom ties three knots of Maṅgaḷasūtraṃ.

When he tied that sacred thread around my neck we were showered with Akshithalu as the blessings. In this ceremony, we both exchanged the garlands.

Married people witnessing this occasion come forward to bless us by sprinkling flower petals and rice coated with turmeric powder which was called Akshithalu.

As a part of the Saptapadi rituals, we walked seven steps together around the holy fire, while taking our oaths of caring, protecting, understanding, loving, and guiding each other, with the pallu (edge of the sari) of my saree was tied to one end of the Arjun's scarf(Kanḍuva).

Sthālīpākaṃ was a ritual wherein Arjun adorned my feet with silver toe rings. It was also believed that the man bends to the woman to claim her as his.

Also to ward off the evil eye, I was adorned by a string of black beads during this ceremony. These beads, along with the silver toe rings, symbolize that I was a married woman.

After this, a kunḍa (decorated silver or terra-cotta vessel) full of water was placed in front of us and a ring was put in it. Arjun had to put his right hand in and I had to use my left hand and we had to fish the ring out.

We had to do this three times and whoever won more rounds was supposed to be the dominant one in this marriage.

This was a time of fun because water splashed everywhere and there were chants and shouts of support for both sides.

Every time Arjun got the ring, he slipped it into my hand but I again pushed it into his hand and so every time we took the ring out together.

After this ritual, we again made to sit opposite each other for thalambralu ritual. It is a ritual where we have to pour sacred rice on each other.