‘If an auspicious day is chosen for the wedding ceremony, it will ensure a long-lasting, harmonious and happy relationship with healthy children from the marriage’

Q My daughter is getting married in February 2011. Please suggest some feng shui tips that can be merged with our Indian rituals.

Pragya Chaliha

A: The Chinese, like the Indians, believe that choosing the right day for wedding is of prime importance, as the planets should be in a good position. It is important to carefully choose the day for starting a new business or building a new house or starting a new relationship with marriage, as it influences the new venture or relationship forever. If an auspicious day is chosen for the wedding ceremony, it will ensure a long-lasting, harmonious and happy relationship with healthy children from the marriage.

On the wedding day, the Chinese observe a ritual where the bride and the groom are made to release a pair of doves. The dove is a bird of peace, love, patience and acceptance and indicates that the couple will not try to imprison each other within marriage. Chinese believe that red is the colour of blood and represents life. To give life to the new relationship they lavishly use splashes of red on the bridal dress, decor of the wedding venue. Also, the bride is taken in a red car with the driver sporting a red uniform. If the bride needs to borrow something to wear on the wedding day, she ensures that the item borrowed is from someone who enjoys a happy and a fruitful relationship.

As a parting gift, the bride’s parents gift their daughter a red, small, round or semi-circular fan that ensures a comfortable journey through life for her. There is a very popular Oriental idiom that goes: ‘A daughter who marries is like split water. She cannot look back’. Towards the completion of marriage ceremony, the bride and groom are made to spill two cups of water on the road and then drive away without looking behind. This means that they will never look back and their journey ahead is very comfortable and smooth and will last forever. On the wedding night, the couple is made to place a glass or crystal Chinese zodiac animal correspon-ding to their birth year in the southwest of their bedroom.

They preserve a recorded CD of their wedding day and play it during special occasions like their anniversary to add a special chi essence to their relationship.

Q: In my new house, I have made arrangements for a cupboard in the toilet for storing my wealth, jewellery and investment papers thinking that these will be secure in a place like this. Nobody will ever have a clue as where the valuables are stored. Is this inauspicious, as someone has warned me against financial problems? If yes, then please suggest the right place for my treasure.

Samit Bora

A: Toilets are considered to be the most negative areas in our house. You should not place anything auspicious in the toilets or in their immediate vicinity.

Assets give a sense of financial and emotional security. Placing them in the toilet may bring financial problems in future as they will absorb the toilet’s negative energy.

Moreover, we in India believe that Goddess Lakshmi is the other name for wealth. Do you think it should be kept in the toilet?

Wealth should always be stored in a separate room or in the bedroom. Care should be taken that the cupboard containing possessions is placed in the southwest or southeast of the room facing north. This would ensure stability and prosperity. Make sure that it does not face any outlet.