Day 9 - Wedding Part 1

That was quite a day. I confess to feeling a bit like James Bond as I stepped out of my guest house at 1030 and onto the dirt street, passing stray dogs, rubbish, & general mess in my 3-piece linen suit and tie, to find an idle Tuc-tuc! On the ride to the venue, people who saw me waved excitedly, and like a visiting ‘dignitary’, I naturally reciprocated…😊. In Octopussy, Roger Moore was chased around Udaipur in a Tuc Tuc, similarly attired….👍🏻

The hotel is only 3-years old, and I’m sure was purpose built for the wedding market. The only guest in a pale linen suit, and one of only 3 non-Indians, I tried to circulate casually for breakfast but clearly stood out like a….? the hotel staff were numerous and hyper-attentive.

https://www.anantahotels.com/classic-sapphire-a…

The wedding has 4 phases, this day had 2 of them, Bhaat & Sangeet, pause for lunch, then Baarat Procession, Varmala & Phere with a vast buffet dinner throughout. The Bhaat is an exchange of gifts between the bride’s and groom’s families, like jewellery, cash, clothes and the like. The Sangeet is a vibrant pre-wedding celebration of dancing & music, some individuals did some traditional dances, while parties from both family sides performed Bollywood-style pop coordinated routines. All good fun and colourful.

We emerged from the basement ball room to catch the day’s final sunshine for a buffet lunch at 5pm, expecting phase 2 to start at 6pm, but it was clear that the hotel was still building the stage and resetting the outdoor space from a previous event; it looked more like the morning after a summer ball, rather than the ‘before’, with leftovers and mess everywhere.

In the waiting period, men from the 2 sides (groom / bride) had turbans ‘fitted’ of 2 colours, groom-side in red and bride-side in less attractive pastels - and I had a little time with my colleague Neh (the groom) and his family & friends. By about 9, it finally began.

The Baraat Procession sees the groom ride a decorated white horse, with his party & family, to the bride’s house where he is welcomed. At this hotel, they effectively used the ‘in / out’ driveway to serve that purpose. The Varmala is then the exchange of flower garlands between the groom and bride, which took place on the hotel steps, and is the formal making of the marriage. The Phere is the slow, peaceful Hindu religious ceremony, led by the priest, where they make declarations with family & parents part of it, and it can last 3-4 hrs. I confess that I left at 0130 for my hotel in town with the blessing of the groom; have no idea what time that bit ended!

Similar to the Anglican tradition, where the bride casts her bouquet of flowers, and the catcher might be the lucky one to marry next, the man who mounts the groom’s horse after the groom dismounts, is also said to have that same luck. Neh’s brother did just that, and seemed delighted by the achievement!

Tomorrow sees Part 2 - when I’ll get to wear my Kurta Pyjama…. 😊.Read more