What is a mosalu-maameru ceremony? Inside Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's glamorous celebration
The idea behind the Gujarati ceremony is so meaningful.
The Ambanis are taking the concept of ‘The great Indian wedding’ to a whole new level, with Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant gearing up to tie the knot this month. The internet came to a standstill with their lavish pre-wedding festivities as Indian and international celebrities gathered to celebrate the couple. These festivities convinced us that their wedding, that will take place at the family-owned Jio World Convention Centre on July 12-14, is going to be grander in every possible way.
The Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant wedding festivities began with a ritual called mosalu-maameru. In the videos, we can see the groom’s mother, Nita Ambani along with her family members Purnima Dalal and Mamta Dalal offering their blessings to the bride. While it’s a popular Gujarati ceremony, many people from other backgrounds were introduced to it, through the Ambanis.
So if you were wondering what is a mosalu-maameru ceremony all about, here’s us decoding it for you.
Mosalu is a Gujarati ceremony where the groom’s mother and her family shower the couple with gifts to symbolise their blessings. The maternal uncles give gifts to the couple tying the knot, in this case, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. These gifts can include jewellery, traditional clothing, sweets, dry fruits and more. The meaning behind this ceremony is for the groom’s family to show their love and support to the couple starting on an auspicious journey. It is a way to offer respect to the bride’s family, too. This ceremony is like a way of the groom’s maternal side assuring the bride’s family that she will be treated with love, respect, and abundance.
The Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant Mosalu-Maameru ceremony took place in Antilla. Radhika Merchant looked pretty as a bride-to-be in a rani pink bandhani lehenga by Manish Malhotra. The lehenga featured rai bandhej on a Banarasi brocade and gold taar zardozi embroidery. What set it apart was the Durga Maa shloka embroidered on the border. She completed the look with her mom’s jewellery.
Lead image: Prodip Guha/Contributor, Getty Images
Also read: Manish Malhotra's glamorous pre-wedding ensembles for Radhika Merchant