Manjal Neerattu Vizha & Langa Voni Invitation Wording

A manjal neerattu vizha, langa voni or half saree function invitation names the ceremony, gives the girl's name with her parents or grandparents, says the elders have fixed the day, prints the date and muhurat, the venue and the lunch, and asks guests to come and bless her. All the samples use Sunday 11 April 2027 at 11 am only to show how a date is written; your purohit fixes the muhurat.

Manjal neerattu vizha invitation in English

1. From the parents

Make this card with your names and date.

An English card keeps the ceremony's name as its title and names her without an honorific; for a langa voni or half saree function card, change only the title. Never write Chi. before her name: English cards print Chi. before a boy's name, so "Chi. Lakshmi" reads as a boy.

2. From the grandparents, with the maternal uncle

Tamil manjal neerattu vizha invitation

3. From the parents

Make this card with your names and date.

What each line means

On the card	What it says
உ	The letter u, written as Ganesha's sign before anything else.
பூப்புனித மஞ்சள் நீராட்டு விழா அழைப்பிதழ்	Invitation to the sacred turmeric-bath ceremony of her coming of age
அன்புடையீர், வணக்கம்.	Dear ones, greetings.
நிகழும் மங்களகரமான பராபவ வருடம் பங்குனி மாதம் 28ஆம் தேதி (11.04.2027) ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை,	In this auspicious Parabhava year, on the 28th of Panguni (11.04.2027), Sunday,
வளர்பிறை பஞ்சமி திதி, ரோகிணி நட்சத்திரம் கூடிய சுபதினத்தில்	on the good day of the waxing-moon Panchami and Rohini nakshatra,
காலை 11 மணிக்கு மேல் 12 மணிக்குள் மிதுன லக்னத்தில்	between 11 and 12 in the morning, in Mithuna lagna,
... ஆகியோரின் பேத்தியும் எங்களது மகளுமான	the granddaughter of Mr Narayanan and Mrs Savitri and our daughter,
திருநிறைச்செல்வி லட்சுமி அவர்கட்கு	for Thiruniraichelvi Lakshmi (the honorific a bride is given too),
... நடத்தப் பெரியோர்களால் நிச்சயிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.	the elders have fixed the ceremony.
அத்தருணம் தாங்கள் தங்கள் குடும்ப சமேதராக வருகை புரிந்து செல்வியை ஆசீர்வதித்து விழாவினைச் சிறப்பிக்குமாறு அன்புடன் அழைக்கின்றோம்.	At that hour, we lovingly invite you to come with your family, bless her and grace the occasion.
இடம் / மதிய விருந்து	Venue / Lunch
இங்ஙனம் தங்கள் நல்வரவை நாடும்	Thus, looking forward to your kind arrival

4. From the grandparents

On a Tamil card, அவர்கட்கு stands apart after her name, as both cards write it. Some family cards run the elders' line on as one sentence, ... நடத்த பெரியோர்கள் நிச்சயித்த வண்ணம் அத்தருணம் ..., and some ask guests to come with relatives and friends: தாங்கள் தங்கள் சுற்றமும் நட்பும் சூழ வருகை தந்து செல்வியை ஆசீர்வதிக்குமாறு அன்புடன் அழைக்கின்றோம். Have an elder read the Tamil before you print, and retype any line copied from an old card that shows ா் for ர் (இவா்களின்).

Telugu langa voni invitation

5. From the parents

Make this card with your names and date.

What each line means

On the card	What it says
॥ ఓం శ్రీ గణేశాయ నమః ॥	Om, salutations to Shri Ganesha.
ఓణీల వేడుక	The voni (half saree) ceremony.
స్వస్తిశ్రీ చాంద్రమాన శ్రీ ప్లవంగ నామ సంవత్సర చైత్ర శుద్ధ పంచమి	Svasti Shri (may all be well): in the lunar year named Plavanga, Chaitra month, bright fortnight, the fifth day,
అనగా తేదీ 11-04-2027 న ఆదివారం ఉదయం గం॥ 11:00 ని॥లకు	that is, on 11-04-2027, Sunday, at 11:00 in the morning (గం॥ hours, ని॥ minutes),
రోహిణి నక్షత్రయుక్త మిథున లగ్నమందు సుముహూర్తమున	in Rohini nakshatra and Mithuna lagna, at the auspicious muhurat,
మా ఏకైక పుత్రిక చి॥ లక్ష్మికి	for our only daughter, Chi. (chiranjeevi, "long-lived") Lakshmi,
ఓణీల వేడుక జరిపించుటకు పెద్దలు నిశ్చయించినారు.	the elders have decided to hold the voni ceremony.
కావున తామెల్లరూ విచ్చేసి చిరంజీవిని ఆశీర్వదించి	So we pray that you all come and bless her,
మా సత్కారము స్వీకరించి మమ్ములను ఆనందింపజేయ ప్రార్థన.	accept the honours we offer and make us happy.
వేదిక / విందు	Venue / Lunch
ఆహ్వానించువారు / బంధుమిత్రుల అభినందనలతో	Those who invite / with the good wishes of relatives and friends.

6. From the grandparents, for the eldest granddaughter

On a Telugu card చి॥ goes before a girl's name too. Spell ప్రార్థన, not ప్రార్ధన, and ఆతిథ్యం, not ఆతిధ్యం. Have an elder read the Telugu before you print, and show the date line to your purohit.

The traditional Telugu rajaswala card

7. From the parents

The first sentence says what traditional Telugu cards say: our only daughter, Chi. Lakshmi, came of age on Friday 02-04-2027. The date line of the function follows it, ending ఈ శుభకార్యము జరుపుటకు పెద్దలు నిశ్చయించినారు ("the elders have fixed this auspicious function"). Some cards write ప్రథమ రజస్వల అయినది instead. If you would rather not print the day, the line is పుష్పవతి అయినది. alone.

What goes on the card

1. A line to Ganesha at the top: ॥ ఓం శ్రీ గణేశాయ నమః ॥ in Telugu, || Shree Ganeshaya Namah || in English. Tamil cards print உ, Ganesha's sign, often with the family deity under it as ஸ்ரீ ___ துணை.
2. The ceremony's name as the title, with அழைப்பிதழ் (invitation) under it on a Tamil card.
3. The date line: the స్వస్తిశ్రీ sentence in Telugu; in Tamil the greeting அன்புடையீர், வணக்கம். and then the நிகழும் sentence; in English the date and "Muhurtam".
4. Who she is to the hosts: our daughter, our eldest daughter, or our granddaughter with her parents named.
5. Her name with its honorific: చి॥ in Telugu, திருநிறைச்செல்வி in Tamil, the name alone in English.
6. One sentence saying the elders have fixed the ceremony, and the request to come and bless her.
7. The venue and the programme: the puja, the ceremony (மஞ்சள் நீராட்டு on a Tamil card) and the lunch (విందు, மதிய விருந்து), with times.
8. The names at the end, under the closing words.

The names of the ceremony

• Ritu kala samskara or ritushuddhi: the formal Sanskrit names for a girl's coming-of-age rite.
• Langa voni (Telugu): the half saree itself, a langa (long skirt) with a voni draped over it. The day is the ఓణీల వేడుక (onila veduka) or లంగా ఓణీ వేడుక. The traditional Telugu card is the రజస్వల ఆహ్వాన పత్రిక, the rajaswala card.
• Pavadai dhavani (Tamil): the same garment. The ceremony is the manjal neerattu vizha, the turmeric bath, printed as மஞ்சள் நீராட்டு விழா, பூப்புனித மஞ்சள் நீராட்டு விழா or பூப்புனித நீராட்டு விழா.
• Langa davani: the Kannada name.
• Half saree function: the English name for all of these.

Two kinds of card

The ceremony is held after a girl's first period, and the invitation is worded in one of two ways.

• The card that names only the ceremony. A half saree function or ఓణీల వేడుక card says what the day is called and nothing more, like any function card. It suits a card that also goes to her friends' parents. Keep it plain: if you want the occasion stated, print the traditional card rather than adding a line to this one.
• The card that says it. The traditional Telugu రజస్వల ఆహ్వాన పత్రిక gives the day she came of age: మా ఏకైక పుత్రిక చి॥ ___ తేదీ 23-11-2019 శనివారం పుష్పవతి అయినది, "our only daughter, Chi. ___, came of age on Saturday 23-11-2019".

Tamil cards do not say it outright; the ceremony's name carries it. பூப்புனித joins பூப்பு, "flowering", the old word for coming of age, with "sacred", as the Telugu పుష్పవతి is "one who has flowered". If you are unsure which to print, ask the grandparents, or do both: the traditional card for the elders and a plain message for her friends.

Who invites

The parents invite, or the grandparents. When the parents invite, a Telugu card says మా కుమార్తె (our daughter) or names her place in the family: జ్యేష్ఠ పుత్రిక (eldest daughter), కనిష్ఠ పుత్రిక (youngest) or ఏకైక పుత్రిక (only daughter). When the grandparents invite, she is మా మనుమరాలు (our granddaughter), with her parents in brackets. A Tamil card often names both generations: the parents call her ... ஆகியோரின் பேத்தியும் எங்களது மகளுமான (granddaughter of ... and our daughter), the grandparents ... ஆகியோரின் மகளும் எங்களது பேத்தியுமான (daughter of ... and our granddaughter).

Telugu cards name a couple with either the husband or the wife first, as శ్రీ శ్రీనివాస్, శ్రీమతి పద్మ; Tamil cards write திரு. ___ - திருமதி. ___. A grandparent who has passed away is కీ.శే. in Telugu and தெய்வத்திரு in Tamil, where the living spouse becomes நலமுடன் ("in good health"): தெய்வத்திரு ___ - நலமுடன் ___. Under the closing words print the couple who invite, then any uncles, aunts and cousins you want named.

In many homes her maternal uncle (మేనమామ, தாய்மாமன்) brings her first saree, and in others her grandparents do; in Tamil homes the uncle's gifts are the தாய்மாமன் சீர். Customs vary, so ask the elders. To name him on a Telugu or Tamil card, add him to the names at the bottom; on an English card, give him a line under her name, as in card 2.

The date line in each language

Telugu and Tamil cards write the date the panchang way: Telugu with one time inside the స్వస్తిశ్రీ sentence, Tamil with a window inside the நிகழும் sentence, as in the cards above for 11 am on Sunday 11 April 2027. English gives the date and "Muhurtam : 11.00 a.m.", with an optional line such as "Plavanga samvatsara · Chaitra Shukla Panchami · Rohini nakshatra · Mithuna lagna". Three things to get right:

• The year names differ in April. The Telugu year changes at Ugadi (7 April 2027), the Tamil year on the first of Chithirai (14 April 2027). So for the same Sunday a Telugu card prints ప్లవంగ and Chaitra, a Tamil card still பராபவ and Panguni. A line copied from a card a week older can carry last year's name.
• Sunrise or muhurat? If the tithi or nakshatra changes between sunrise and the muhurat, cards differ on which to print; our makers print the muhurat's, so ask your purohit. Check the day on our panchang, and see what a muhurat is.
• Before sunrise the languages differ. For 5:30 am on Sunday 11 April, the Telugu line keeps the evening before, తేదీ 10-04-2027 న శనివారం (తెల్లవారితే ఆదివారం) తెల్లవారుజామున ("Saturday, at the dawn of Sunday"); a Tamil card prints 11.04.2027 with அதிகாலை (early morning). In English print the morning guests must come: "Sunday, 11 April 2027, 5.30 a.m. (early morning)".

Show the line to your purohit before you print.

WhatsApp messages to send with the card

8. From the parents

9. A manjal neerattu vizha message in English

10. A reminder the day before

Write the message in the language you use with each relative; the card carries the formal wording.

Making the card

The Telugu langa voni maker writes cards 5 and 6 above, titled ఓణీల వేడుక or లంగా ఓణీ వేడుక, or the రజస్వల ఆహ్వాన పత్రిక of card 7, where the day she came of age is optional; it asks whether she is the eldest, youngest or only daughter, and works out the స్వస్తిశ్రీ line from the date, the muhurat time and the town. The Tamil manjal neerattu vizha maker offers the three Tamil titles and writes the நிகழும் line for a muhurat window, with the Tamil year, month and day, the tithi, nakshatra and lagna. A photo is optional and stays on your phone.

When the date is fixed, you can request a purohit for the ceremony.