This is a very important aspect of the marriage where any differences between the families are sorted out. The ceremony traditionally takes place in a temple. The bride’s family brings turmeric, betel leaves, nuts and clothes for the groom. The bride’s brother then garlands the groom, and sugar candy is distributed to all present. The groom is then escorted to a decorated car and the family leaves in a procession for the ‘mandapam’.

Once the procession reaches the marriage venue, the bride is led outside by her close friends to get a glimpse of her future husband! ‘Aarthi’ is performed and a coconut broken to ward off evil. The groom is then led to the ‘medai’ (an elevated place in the ‘mandapam’ where all the ceremonies are performed). Members of both families sit opposite each other and a ‘lagna patrigai’ is written and read aloud by the ‘pujari’. ‘Thamboolams’ (platters of betel nuts, dry fruits, nuts, coconuts, turmeric and ‘kumkumam’) and gifts are exchanged.

The cone shaped ‘parupputhengai’ (a special sweetmeat) is an important part of all these ceremonies.

In this tradition, the bride and the groom are asked to sit on a wooden plank swing, where ladies of the house sing traditional folk songs and celebrated the holiness of the marriage.

This is where the bride and groom are offered a banana dipped in the milk. The tradition is basically to ease their tension of marriage and make them comfortable

The ‘kanyadhanam’ is followed by the ‘mangalyadharanam’. The ‘taali’ or ‘mangalsutra’ is placed on the bride’s head along with a miniature piece of jewellery shaped like a yoke Mangalyadharanam and the groom performs a ‘puja’ with ‘kumkumam’ and flowers. He then ties the first knot of the ‘taali’ around the bride’s neck and his sister ties the other two.

'Nalangu' refers to the fun filled game session that comes immediately after the wedding is over. It is looked forward to as an opportunity for both families to interact in a relaxed manner sharing a sense of bonhomie and camaraderie after the hecticwedding preparations. A lot of music and cheer fills the air with both parties taking sides in supporting the bride and groom in the course of the small games that are conducted.

The bride and groom are seated opposite each other on a mat on the floor and the session starts with a small 'make - up' session where the couple have to apply sandal paste, kumkum, powder and other beautifying elements on each other. This is followed by rolling of the coconut across the floor to each other which is followed by a tug - of - war contest to see who is stronger of the two in retrieving the coconut, exchange of rice & dal, and breaking of the appalams to the accompaniment of loud cheers and shouts.