Indian wedding glossary · Before the wedding
What is Paka dekha?
Also written: Pakka dekha, Bengali engagement
Paka dekha is the Bengali ceremony where both families formally confirm the match and fix the wedding date, usually in the presence of a priest.
- Who keeps it
- Bengali Hindu families in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and the Bengali diaspora.
- When
- Weeks or months before the wedding.
About Paka dekha
What should you know about Paka dekha?
Paka means firm and dekha means seeing. The families meet, often at the bride's home, exchange gifts and sweets, and the priest reads out the date and time of the wedding. It turns an agreed match into a settled one.
Many families follow it with ashirbad, when the elders of each side bless the bride and groom.
In the order of functions
Where does Paka dekha come in an Indian wedding?
Weeks or months before the wedding.
- Before the weddingFixing the match, the engagement, the date and the card.
- The functionsPujas, haldi, mehndi, sangeet and the family days before the wedding.
- Wedding day ritualsFrom the baraat to the pheras, nikah and anand karaj.
- After the weddingVidaai, the new home, the reception and the first visits.
Planning your own days? The free wedding function order planner puts your functions in a sensible order with dates.
On the card
What do families write on the invitation for Paka dekha?
Paka dekha of Riya and Arjun, Sunday, 12 January, 11 am, at our residence in Salt Lake.
Related words
Words that go with Paka dekha
- Ashirbad
Ashirbad is the Bengali blessing ceremony where elders of the groom's family bless the bride, and elders of the bride's family bless the groom, with paddy and durba grass.
- Aiburobhat
Aiburobhat is the Bengali custom of a final feast for the bride or groom as an unmarried person, cooked by the family with their favourite dishes.
- Gaye holud
Gaye holud is the Bengali turmeric ceremony, where the paste is first applied to the groom at his home and the same turmeric is sent to the bride's home for her ceremony.
- Shubho drishti
Shubho drishti is the Bengali ritual of the auspicious first look, when the bride, carried on a wooden seat, lowers the betel leaves covering her face and she and the groom look at each other.
- Sagai
Sagai is the Hindi word for the engagement ceremony, where the bride and groom exchange rings in front of both families and the wedding is formally announced.
Questions
Paka dekha, answered
What is Paka dekha?
Paka dekha is the Bengali ceremony where both families formally confirm the match and fix the wedding date, usually in the presence of a priest.
Which families celebrate Paka dekha?
Bengali Hindu families in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and the Bengali diaspora.
When does Paka dekha happen in the order of wedding functions?
Weeks or months before the wedding.
What do families write on the invitation for Paka dekha?
Paka dekha of Riya and Arjun, Sunday, 12 January, 11 am, at our residence in Salt Lake.
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