Maharashtra and Bengali Blend

The wedding day arrived and found Augie and Nancy ill and confined to bed. Augie is still down some three days later. Yikes! This left Sophie and I to represent. And represent we did! Before we'd left the States Dolly requested our measurements so that she could have traditional clothing made for the occasion. We represented in style!

The wedding was really interesting. The groom takes his place seated in an arched mandap at the front of the hall with the priest and close relatives looking on. After quite awhile the bride is lifted by her relatives and carried up to the front. She is holding her hands in front of her face and the groom has not seen her for some 12 days before this moment. He is lifted up by his relatives and the couple meets while seemingly floating on air. (this is all really apropos as they are both airline pilots) This is really no easy feat with a groom who tops out at 111 kilos. For the next hour or so the couple remain seated under the mandap with a Brahmin priest giving advice to the couple from the ancient traditions. The couple then make offerings and walk around the fire in the center seven times. Once this is done, they are official. The whole zeitgeist is really different from a western wedding. Most of the time the several hundred attendees aren't focused on the ceremony. They're milling about, socializing, and even getting a head start at the banquet table. Photos of the wedding can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kCmZHJFUJ5c19AJD7

In the evening Johan and Mirtha were the first of our crew to head back to the hotel as Mirtha was also feeling a bit ill. Sophie and I sent them back with some electrolyte fluids and bananas for Augie and Nancy. Unfortunately we spent our last rupees on the food and forgot about having to secure a taxi back for ourselves. Fortunately a couple of guys from the bride's side noticed our predicament and went out of their way to deliver us safely back. The next morning Varsha commented, "It's India. This is how things are done here." Lovely.Read more