Saturday, April 4, 2009

The wedding of my neighbors brother's son.....

Living on a small community as we do, and most of the houses being occupied by Indian families, we are privileged to be invited to join in many events such as weddings that we may otherwise not witness.

Indian families save all their lives to pay for their daughters weddings, and the process usually takes place over a number of days.  There may be an evening for the men, an event for the ladies and then the finale being where all and sundry are invited.

On this occasion we were invited to the wedding of our neighbor's brother's son, in other words our neighbors nephew.

At the bus stop on the morning of the wedding, we were gently reminded that the wedding was taking place that morning, and those of us who were going assured him of our presence.  

The timing of the wedding is dictated by the readings of those in the know (!!).  Today it was 11:00, a civilised time.  (This morning there was a wedding at 6:30am)  A few of us decided to go together otherwise it can be a little overwhelming.  We were greeted by our neighbor who was pleased that we had shown up.  Entering into the wedding venue, the guests are divided into males on one side and females on the other.  We duly proceed to our seats.  Being the only 3 westerners at the event our attendance does not go unnoticed.  We are smiled at in a welcoming manner, children feel comfortable to come to chat with us whereas the parents just look on.

The wedding party are on the stage, a throng of extended family, a group of men banging drums loundly.  Not quite sure of the signifigance of the whole set up.  The bride and groom come onto the stage and at a certain point the guests begin to line up to congratulate the newly weds.  The men lead the way.  A handful of rice is taken from a large bowl and when it is your turn to congratulate the couple, you sprinkle the rice over the heads of the newly weds, who are probably wondering who I am.  They are welcoming, and receive the best wishes gracefully. From this point we are guided to the food hall.  Many faces watch to see if we can stomach the indian spices.  The food is delicious.  I keep a glass of water at hand, as the food is prepared for local tastes and is a tad too spicy for me.  It almost seems we eat and leave, but that is done by many.  We thank our host, and the actual father of the groom before taking our leave.  Another experience of the welcoming culture in which we currently live.

Children love to have their photo taken even though they will never see the photos itself.

A handful of rice, this time with pearls mixed in with it

The Bride and Groom

The chairs for the Bride and Groom

The entourage on the stage

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