It was a busy day. All the wedding ceremonies were packed in one, This is the third wedding and this one was in Indore itself. This time it is JAgdish's sister's daughter ( Mudita) getting married.
I went in the morning to the "marriage garden". These are the places people rent for the weddings. These are large open parks with halls and rooms and people rent the whole thing. The decorators decorate the garden with flowers, statues and lights and make a stage where bride and groom sit. There was food stalls in all the corners for the evening reception.
When i got there the place was deserted and looked very bleak. I was told to be there at 11 and of course no one showed up at 11am except me and my sister. Even the hosts were not there. But, soon the transformation took place and by the evening it turned into a magical marriage garden. But ,before that, there was engagement ceremony and food and some more ceremony. Part of the engagement ceremony was the dowry and we gave our side of the dowry ( as bride's mother's brother and his wife) . In Hindu weddings, mother's brother has a very important role in giving the bride the clothes and other things. We were happy to do that. This wedding had substantial dowry ( including house hold stuff, appliances, . gold , saris and other clothes etc).
It was nice ot be able to see all of nieces at once. Jagdish has four sisters and 9 nieces and three nephews. I spent time with all the sisters ( some of whom came from far away places just for a day) . It was hot and I actually felt tired. My sister in law thought i was strange that i said that ( i guess i am hardly ever tired) so we checked my temp etc but i am fine. Most probably dehydration in the Sun was the issue.
I was told by by young nieces that i need to change into a better sari for reception ....so i did borrow my sister in laws beautiful sari and went back after few hours of rest. The evening was pleasant, the place was big enough to hold 4000 people ONLY 1000 showed up :) There was all sorts of food, Chinese, Italian and of course Indian
We came back home around 11pm but the actual wedding has not started yet. The seven steps and the seven circles around the fire ( a traditional Hindu wedding is done according to the old Vedic rituals. The main ritual being the seven cicles around the holy fire with the priest chanting prayers in Sanskrit. This is when the bride and groom take seven wows and get the blessings of the elders) .
The wedding , has many other rituals that will go on all night. In the morning they will send the girl off to the Groom's parents home and her Mom and Dad will be sad and happy at the same time. They will be happy that their daughter got married and everything went well , at the same time they will be very sad that she has gone away to her husbands home for good and they have "given away" their daughter ( according to traditional Hindu culture)
This is it for today. Tomorrow is the last day in Indore , so lots of packing etc.....looking forward to coming back home...good night
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