Sobhita Dhulipala and Naga Chaitanya began their wedding festivities in late October this year. Since then, we all have been waiting eagerly to get a sneak peek into their traditional Telugu wedding. Sobhita Dhulipala recently shared some photos from her pre-wedding ceremonies, captioning it as “Pelli Kuthuru ♥️.” But do you know what this ritual means?

Related: Sobhita Dhulipala And Naga Chaitanya’s Pre-Wedding Festivities Begin With A Beautiful Ceremony

What is Pelli Kuthuru?

Pelli Kuthuru, also known by Pidakala Sambaralu or Bommala Koluvu, is one of the core pre-wedding ceremonies of South Indian weddings, especially in the Telugu community. Translated as ‘bride’s festival’, the ceremony is celebrated to honour the bride-to-be. Her parents and other relatives come to bless her upcoming married life. This Telugu wedding function is similar to the haldi ceremony observed in North Indian weddings.

What happens in Pelli Kuthuru?

Turmeric is an integral part of the South Indian culture. The bride’s family creates a paste mixed with haldi and rosewater along with other essential ingredients. Relatives and friends apply this paste on the bride. The special paste is believed to cancel out the buri nazar (evil eye) on the bride and wish her a joyous married life. Moreover, the women of the bride’s family perform an aarti to celebrate the bride-to-be.

How is Pelli Kuthuru celebrated in different families?

In some parts of South India, families also arrange a grand display of dolls to showcase their journey of marriage so far, beginning from the engagement day. The dolls are fixed on multiple tiers, each representing different stages of a wedding. The dolls are not removed until the last day of the wedding ceremony.

The arrangement of the dolls is unique, telling various stories of the couple’s wedding journey. The engagement ceremony or Nischitartham is represented by dolls exchanging rings or gifts. Another set of dolls portrays the haldi and mehendi rituals with turmeric and henna on their hands.

Here’s a glimpse of Pelli Kuthuru from Sobhita Dhulipala-Naga Chaitanya’s wedding. The bride-to-be Sobhita opted for a simple yet elegant look for this ceremony. She wore a red buti silk saree, jewelled with a Telugu-style maang tika on her forehead.

Ceremony images via @sobhitad

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