Doodh Pilaye

Doodh pilai is a ceremony completed during the Baraat event. Sister(s) and friends of the bride offer a glass of milk to the groom. After fun filled banter between both bride and groom sides, the groom drinks the milk. In return, he presents the sister(s)of the bride money.

For my Doodh Pilai, I wanted the glass of milk to hold meaning to me. There are beautiful options in the market, but I knew it would be more significant if it was hand made. I trusted my Mami in Karachi to do this for me as she is the most creative person I know of.

I told her my vision: pink flowers and a transparent glass. In my opinion, a transparent glass would showcase the milk a lot better than a closed off one. My Mami went straight to the craft store and picked up small dull gold beads and tiny, pink, foam flowers. She then hot glued the flowers one by one onto the transparent glass in a diagonal shape curving around the glass. She set a tray with a candle and decorated the holder with the same flowers. Because my dress was pink with pearls, she added a touch of small pearls to the pink flowers, and left some loose on the tray.

I remember her telling me her process via video call and asking what suits best. At the end, I was grateful to have designated this task to her as she had completed a unique and beautiful glass and tray.