"New, strange, uncharacteristic experience, coming at the needed moment, is sometimes as necessary in a person's life as a plow in a field." -Katharine Butler Hathaway
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Wedding - Day Four Part Two - Orange Turbans and Marigolds
Yes, this is who our Indian friends have dubbed "Maharaja Rob Pratap Singh" and "Princess."
The reception was supposed to start at 10pm. Yes. 10pm. Because we were told to meet in the lobby at 9, we arrived at 9:30 wearing my new ghagra choli and Rob wearing Naresh's jacket from a few days before. No one from our group was there. This might normally strike terror in our hearts, thinking we'd missed the bus to the ceremony. But since we'd seen so many of our friends in their sweats and jeans in the hallway on our way down to the lobby, we weren't concerned.
Soon Naresh, father of the bride, arrived with a large stack of bright orange folded cloth. He pulled up a chair and handed one of the cloths to a Sikh man who mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. And we watched in wonder as the Sikh man carefully and methodically wrapped Naresh in a turban. Little did we know who was next in line to be wrapped.
I'm not sure if I can convey how much of a shock it was to see Rob's head wrapped in orange by the Sikh man. I videotaped the entire process and will upload portions as soon as Rob has time to edit the footage. It was an amazing thing to witness. And the results speak for themselves.
All of the male relatives of the bride (and Rob) got orange turbans. The groom's side wore red turbans. So it was easy to find our group in the reception crowd, which grew to at least two thousand guests. Really. Two thousand.
This is the way it started. There weren't many people when we arrived. The fireworks in the photo above are announcing the groom's arrival. He comes on horseback with a brass band and a lot of drumming. The families line up to greet him. You can see the orange-turbaned group on the right above. And below.
Fireworks and tubas and drums are, I have to admit, a pretty exciting way to announce the groom. Below are two brief videos which show a little of the energy and pageantry. The groom is there somewhere amidst the frenzy.
And here are some more photos of the procession. See how easy it is to spot the bride's family (including Maharaja Rob) in the crowd.
The next part of the ceremony involved garlands and men lifting each other up and then posing for photos together. One man from the bride's side meets one from the groom's side. They exchange long white flower garlands and then each of them take turns lifting the other up to great applause and cheering.
This is about the time I asked Maharaja Rob if he was going to go up on stage to lift and be lifted. And he said, of course not. The Maharaja was wrong.
Below we see Rob on stage lifting up someone from the groom's family. I was in such a state of shock to see him up there that I entirely missed the part where he was lifted up by the other guy. Frankly, if I didn't have this photo, I still wouldn't believe it.
Even Namit's son, Artun, had a turban and participated in the lifting ritual. I love his tennies. (Be sure to see the detail on his mother's outfit at left. It is exquisite.)
Below is the Marahaja Rob with friend and co-worker, Anshul. Behind them, you can get a little sense of the scale of the event, and the thousands of people who began to arrive there. It is now MIDNIGHT.
The bride joins the groom, along with her family. Notice all of the things that she is required to wear, including a pretty amazing nose ring. Many of these things are part of the 16 adornments of the bride, and each has a special significance.
Here we are trying to keep warm while waiting for the actual wedding ceremony. It is not yet 1 AM which is way past our bedtime. By then, most all of the two thousand guests have left. Only the hard-core group stay for the wedding itself. I guess that means that we're hard-core.
Here, I'm pretending to take a photo of Rob, but really I just liked the combination of Rob, wedding videographer, Sikh man with big gun, near the cappuccino booth.
It was Rochi's job to make sure Rob didn't fall asleep during the ceremony. The ceremony began at 1 AM and went until 3 AM. Apparently, in Indian wedding videos, it's common to see guests and family falling asleep during the ceremony. Even the bride's mother fell asleep - on stage.
Below was the scene for the wedding. It was on another stage, covered in hundreds and hundreds of strands of real marigold garlands, with a portable heater in the middle. This is what's called a "fire" ceremony so there is a fire there but you can't see it in the pictures. I thought the portable heater was a good stand in for actual fire, but I guess they needed the real thing. The two holy men from the bangles ceremony presided over this ceremony as well.
Here is the beginnings of many walks around the fire. As you can see, it's a small space and it was not easy for the bride and her gown to avoid getting something burned in the process. There were not a few close calls that evening.
Here the bride receives the red sindoor mark on the front part of her hair that is another symbol of her marital status. She is also given a maangtika of gold and semiprecious stones, which is worn in the center of her part. She also is given a bindi on her forehead. The earrings that she wears are so heavy that they are supported by the gold band across her head. The rest of the 16 adornments involve special eyeshadow, flowers, armlets, rings, anklets, and fragrance.
And finally, the ceremony is complete and the exhausted newlyweds pose for one more photo.
It is now 3:30 in the morning. Fortunately, Shilpa and Susheel asked us if we were ready to go back to the hotel. Since A.) we were freezing cold, B.) Rob was having a hard time staying awake, C.) his turban was starting to hurt his ears, and D.) it was now time for the newlyweds to eat dinner and then say their goodbyes which was estimated to last until at least 5 AM, we thought that we could head home now.
We pinched ourselves to make sure it was all real.
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