Indian wedding glossary · After the wedding
What is Ukhana?
Also written: Ukhane, उखाणा
An ukhana is a short rhyme in which a Marathi bride or groom says their spouse's name, a custom asked for at the griha pravesh and at many family gatherings after the wedding.
- Who keeps it
- Marathi families.
- When
- At the griha pravesh and at gatherings in the first months after the wedding.
About Ukhana
What should you know about Ukhana?
In many families a wife traditionally did not say her husband's name aloud, so relatives would ask her to say it inside a rhyming couplet. Today both bride and groom are asked for ukhane, and many prepare witty ones in advance.
Relatives often refuse to let the bride into the house until she says one.
In the order of functions
Where does Ukhana come in an Indian wedding?
At the griha pravesh and at gatherings in the first months after 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 Ukhana?
Never printed, though some couples put their ukhane in the wedding programme for fun.
Related words
Words that go with Ukhana
- Griha pravesh
Griha pravesh is the welcome of the new bride into her husband's home, when she gently tips over a kalash of rice with her right foot at the threshold and steps inside.
- Haldi kumkum
Haldi kumkum is a Maharashtrian gathering where married women apply haldi and kumkum to each other's foreheads and exchange small gifts, wishing each other a long married life.
- Antarpat
Antarpat is the silk cloth held between the bride and groom in a Marathi wedding while the mangalashtak verses are sung, lowered at the exact muhurat so they see each other.
- Mangalashtak
Mangalashtak are the eight auspicious verses sung by the priest and relatives in a Marathi wedding just before the muhurat, while the antarpat is held between the couple.
- Sakharpuda
Sakharpuda is the Maharashtrian engagement ceremony, named after the packet of sugar (sakhar puda) that the groom's family gives the bride along with a saree and jewellery.
Questions
Ukhana, answered
What is Ukhana?
An ukhana is a short rhyme in which a Marathi bride or groom says their spouse's name, a custom asked for at the griha pravesh and at many family gatherings after the wedding.
Which families celebrate Ukhana?
Marathi families.
When does Ukhana happen in the order of wedding functions?
At the griha pravesh and at gatherings in the first months after the wedding.
What do families write on the invitation for Ukhana?
Never printed, though some couples put their ukhane in the wedding programme for fun.
Put Ukhana on your invitation with its date, time and venue, and send it on WhatsApp. Two invitation designs are free forever.
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