Who’s third wheeling the couple at Indian weddings? Talismans and traditions that ward off nazar
If there is an inextricable part of the Indian marriage machinery, it is the meticulous art of repelling Nazar. This full -fledged operation has everyone, from Pandits and Pinky Maasi to your first -year teacher Moonlighting as security guards against the evil eye.
In this area of spiritual defense DIY, even an wandering compliment can be interpreted as an act of aggression. Just a week before my wedding, the designer who created my outfit innocently posted an overview of my bride set on Instagram. The DMS came by flooding: “Give it the deletion immediately!” Cue panic. At the time of my next adjustment, the dress was to be released. That the culprit was the evil eye or the pm bloating remains a mystery to date. But I will tell you this: nothing humans a bride faster than realizing that the universe has teamed up with its size to make a point.
It seems that the desire fuels this cosmic mischief, and nothing attracts the desire as things that were going well. Weddings, of course, are magnets with evil eye – large joy glasses practically begging the poisoned arrow of Nazar to hit them. This is why our ancestors (and their cousins and neighbors) have designed strategies as elaborate as the weddings themselves to keep it from a distance. After all, before any occasion to be auspicious, there is a lot of energy to come, positive or suspect. And if the realization of simple rituals can give you a little peace of mind, then why not? If you could design a first line of defense against bad will, why would you not do it?
Of course, everyone’s talismans take different forms. The Greeks have blue pearls. In the Middle East, it is Hamsa. Italy has the Cornicello. Egypt flashes the eye of Horus to the malicious. The Indians wear the black point or the beaten naza. Turkey and the lower tattoo on my right arm both have the evil eye, which is still so omnipresent. And let me tell you that enemies have no chance.
From fiery nimbo-climchi garlands to the occasional spot of soot on your cheek, nazar rituals are a mixture of ancient wisdom and daily absurdity. But how absurd we are talking about? “My grandmother made me wear a lemon for 15 days, from the day I got engaged, until the last day. This poor lemon went with me everywhere – in my handbag, my laptop bag, my tote when I went to the shopping center, even slipped into my pocket during my evening walks, “says Nikita Desai, 34, a bride Gujarati de Mumbai. Manisha Rai, 29, a Bengali bride, recalls: “I remember a ritual of my Haldi where I was given a small yellow pocket filled with mustard seeds and salt and I said to keep it with me until wedding day. I was also forbidden to go out or be in public. The condition was put on her by her grandmother and designed to keep unwanted eyes away.
