I thought since I went to my first Indian wedding this weekend, it would be something that was blog-worthy. Indian weddings are quite long (they usually last about 3 days) and can be quite extravangant. Rachel (my roommate) and I were extremely excited to be invited to the wedding of a friend of our host parents. Even more exciting is that we got to dress up in beautiful silk sarees and costume jewelry. I borrowed a blue silk saree from the neighbor downstairs and Auntie was able to sew the saree blouse to fit me. They draped and pleated the saree and the look was finished off with gold costume jewelry that I borrowed from Tubu Auntie (my host mother's best friend). This was not my first time wearing a saree but I don't remember the previous time being quite so uncomfortable. As beautiful as they look, I don't think they are that comfortable to walk and sit in. The petticoat must be tied very tightly and high up on your waist, while the saree top does not allow much room to move your arms because it is made to fit snugly. Maybe I'm just too much of a tomboy, used to baggy t-shirts and jeans, but it was not the most comfortable thing I have ever worn. Also, you have to be careful when you walk that you don't step on the bottom of the skirt. I think I will just stick to my Indian kurtis for right now.
It took us 2 hours to drive to the wedding. The drive was literally painful because I could feel every spring in the seat I was sitting in but it was worth it when we got to the wedding and saw the bride and groom. The wedding was held in a marriage hall and the bride and groom each sat in separate rooms. The groom arrived my car first and wore a very extravagant headdress (the name is aluding me right now). The groom's uncle presided over the groom's part of the ceremony (the groom's father is deceased so the uncle then is asked to help with the ceremony) and the groom sat on a raised platform with pillows and decorations. He seemed rather shy when we met him which was not the case when we met the bride.
The bride was very happy to have us and the wedding photographers took our picture with her. Mimi (the bride) wore a beautiful pink saree and had her hands painted with henna. Her father, a good friend of our host parents, works with NGOs and other corporations around the world. In fact, we were not the only foreigners at the wedding. There were a handful of young German volunteers staying with Mimi's family for a year as they worked with a local school to teach the children to speak English. It was quite interesting to see them have conversations in Bengali with the other guests even though they have only been in India for 4 months. I hope that by the time that I leave India I can speak Bengali as well as they can. They were very nice people and liked to talk to us. Rachel and I both hope that they will visit us in Kolkata before we leave and Rachel thought that it was quite funny that one of the German boys was almost as blonde as me (we all have this joke that I am the blondest person in India...and so far, it is true).
The bride and groom were both annointed by the families and the bride was presented with a beautiful gold necklace by the groom's uncle. Afterwards we went to eat dinner under a big tent-like structure. We were served many dishes and desserts and after we ate we left the wedding so we could drive back home (it seemed shorter on the way back). While I was eating I realized something about Indian food. I find lots of Indian food to be very salty while the desserts are extremely sweet. My heart breaks because I love sweets so much but I have yet to find an Indian dessert that I like because they tend to taste like I am eating pure sugar. I guess I never really realized until now how important food is in our lives and I am sorry that I keep talking about food, I guess I just miss some American delicacies. Also surprisingly enough, I have started to drink tea lately mainly because I have a sore throat but I also find the tea here to be better than in America, normally I hate tea because it just tastes nasty. I hope to bring some back for friends and family to try because the Darjeeling tea is very famous in India.
Well this post is getting rather long so I will just say that we had a good time at the wedding and met a lot of interesting people. Both Rachel and I were very thankful to the bride's family for inviting us. My first Indian wedding was a success!
Wow I am impressed. I really like the color of your saree, it really suits you. So was the wedding different from expected or was it what you thought it was? I heard that in some weddings they have to starve, is this true?
ReplyDeleteWell, you know you can come back and eat sweets back in the US like you like them. In the mean time take care of yourself and if you dont want to drink tea, dont. :P
Thank you for the compliment about my saree :)I didn't really think too much about the wedding before I went but I did think that it would be a bit more elaborate and that the bride and groom would not be in separate rooms for the whole ceremony. About the starving, I don't think that is true at all. I read your comment to Rachel and she said if anything Indian people like to eat so starving would be counter-productive.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm thinking of asking my mom to send me a care package full of sweets and food from America so I can have some of my favorite things. Although right now I currently have 3 tubes of Oreos stuffed underneath my bed. The tea that we drink at home is actually really good and I will probably be bringing a lot back with me however, the tea I drank on our excursion was a little blah.
Haha, I think it's funny you don't like tea. I loved the tea from the streets and drank it a lot. How can you not like it though? It's sugar, milk, and tea!
ReplyDeleteI like the tea that we drink at home (it is from Darjeeling). The chai is a hit or miss though. I hated tea before I came to India but I think it is growing on me slightly. My favorite part is one my host parents say, "biscuit with your tea?" Haha, it is sooo British! And yes, I would like a "cookie" with my tea!
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