We are having a simple wedding for my brother in Guruvayur. The family vadhyar wanted us to do a vrutham in the house before departing to Guruvayur. He insists that we should do a "Naandi" with 9 vadhyars, and should do daanam. He says the total cost of the ceremony including daanam and vadhyar fees will be Rs. 40,000/-. Food is separate. Is this correct? it seems excessive to me. We are Tamil Iyers, and the vrutham ceremony will be conducted in our home in Chennai. Any help to clarify what vadhyars actually charge for ceremonies is welcome. Also, is a naandi necessary for the vrutham ceremony? Thanks.
1. Yes, naandhi sraardham is done as part of pre-wedding ceremony, both by boy's and girl's parents separately. It is considered to be taking permission from respective ancestors to conduct the wedding ceremony. The daanam in recent times is usually a pair of cotton dhotis each for 8-9 people, whose total cost should be around Rs 3-4K. 2. Priests in India charge whatever the individual family will tolerate, in their estimation. Based on recent experience, 25-30K is charged as fee for the whole 2 days (with daanam as extra), and including the wedding ceremonies. 40K just for vratham + naandhi sounds to be on the higher side, but the market speaks!
