The Blessed Event

After much anticipation and planning, Taru's wedding weekend was finally here. This is the first Indian wedding that I feel I've truly seen from it's beginnings to the beautiful end. I observed the early stages of courtship, the engagement, the buying of the trousseau, the logistics and in-laws, and wedding gifts... all of it culminating in festivities the weekend of February 28th.

Carla and Sherry flew up from Hyderabad for the occasion, and Neeta needed a ride, so all four of us girls piled into the Optra with Devindar and headed for Rohtak on Friday afternoon. The first event was the sangeet, which is part mehndi party and part bachelorette. We got to Taru's house just before the start time, and ended up staying there to get ready. The house was packed with family and friends, including all of my Nehas, Divya, Saloni, Neharika, and many more. It was really fun to primp and prep and have tea together, while Taru bummed around in her grubs, shedding mehndi flakes in her wake. We danced and had our mehndi done, and then belatedly realized we couldn't eat with the henna drying on our hands. So the boys fed us our dinner - can you believe it? Gender roles are so complex in India. On the one hand, you may have fewer freedoms; on the other, you're treated by those who know you with a gentleness that is disarming.

Tuckered out by our ladies' evening (plus a few boys, of course), we headed back to the Faculty Club where Taru's family had reserved us rooms, and sacked out. In the morning, we had a breakfast of radish parathas and headed back to Taru's house for the Tel ceremony, where Taru's uncles came to formally present gifts to her mother, and her female relatives performed ritual blessings with chutney, herbs, tumeric and yogurt. After Taru was blessed and washed, the four of us girls excused ourselves as additional guests began to trickle in for the wedding. We headed to the main market to pick up last-minute doo-dads for the wedding - bindis for me and Neeta, jhumkas (bell-shaped earrings) to go with my lehenga, a jewelry set to top off Carla's outfit, and earrings all around. Before we knew it, it was time to go back to the Faculty Club and get ready for the wedding. Neeta and I arrived to no hot water, so we were delayed even beyond the normal Mackh timeline. We were supposed to be at the wedding at 8pm, and I eventually rolled in about 9:30pm. But, it was ok, because the groom didn't arrive until about 11pm, so the whole evening went off at a leisurely pace.

Taru looked like a princess in her lehenga, all red, gold, and rhinestone loveliness. Everyone from work was duded up to the nines and looked amazing in their party wear. I was much more petted than I deserved for my lehenga, which I've decided is not much better at hiding the chubs than a sari - perhaps worse. But, it does stay in place a lot better. After greeting the bride, we waited for the baraat (groom's party) to arrive, had chaat and took lots of pictures. The baraat arrived in style, with fireworks, a Punjabi band, and lots of drunken dancing. Karun was escorted to the stage and Taru came to meet him in all her glory. There shortly followed what I like to call attack-garlanding, as both Taru and Karun collared each other with garlands of jasmine and carnations. Then there were pictures...lots and lots of pictures. With the bharat arriving after 11 and the subsequent picture-fest, the actual wedding ceremony did not get underway until one or two am. We sat in chairs around the stage and listened to the pundit reciting the ritual prayers, sipping coffee and munching jalebes. The party didn't wind down, nor did Taru and Karun get dinner, until about 3:30am (nuts!). Everyone headed home tired and replete with wedding happiness.

I so enjoyed this wedding. It was wonderful to see Taru and Karun begin their lives together, and to see all of the hopes and worries come to happy conclusion. Taru's family treated us with incredible hospitality, and it was so much fun to spend time with all the folks on my team outside of work - I am going to miss them all terribly.