Indian wedding

Some time ago I was fortunate to attend the Indian Marwari wedding. It was very fun and interesting. The groom in the flower-decked car drove up to the house of the bride. The last hundred yards took more than an hour to cover, because the relatives enjoyed dances to traditional and modern Bollywood music played by guest musicians. The car was accompanied by a man with a huge embroidered umbrella. This umbrella seemed to be quite useless, just a tribute to tradition, I think. If the groom would be riding a horse or an elephant, then this umbrella would have been in place.

When the crowd came closer to the house of the bride, the groom got out of the car. He was immediately "put" under a special canopy, and was surrounded by dancing women. Around there were some guys with torches in traditional turbans and robes. Dancing and music continued. With a snail's pace the whole procession continued its way to the door of the house.

Finally, all entered the house. There has also been music, but in the record, and on the stage, constructed for this purpose, there were professional dancers in national costumes performing. After some time four family members carried in the bride, seated on the chair and all dressed up and very shiny. Her attire was certainly funky. I could not take my eyes off – so amazing dress with zardozi embroidery. Plus beautiful bracelets. In general, all the women were dressed very nicely - sari with embroidery, ornaments wherever possible - on the wrists, forehead, hair, fingers, ears. Probably, the ankles and toes were also decorated, I just somehow had forgotten to look there and check.

The bride came down from the chair. A round playground was prepared in the middle of the hall. She and the groom got up on it. There they exchanged flower garlands (very nice I must say) to the applause of those present. The platform began to rotate, so that everybody could see the happy couple from different sides. I liked this idea because usually if you unlucky to find yourself in the wrong place, then you have to admire "the back view” all the time.

After that, a jet of flower petals went from a special tube, on the principle of a vacuum cleaner, but on the contrary. All of these petals fell on the bride and groom and it looked very nice and romantic. As I was standing near, some of the petals got on my head, too. Petals were fresh and flavorful. So that shower of flowers lasted for at least 5 minutes (I wonder how much petals they had to prepare).

Then the bride and the groom were seated on the chairs, which looked more like thrones, with handles in the form of lions' heads. The guests approached and congratulated them with bouquets of flowers.

After that, the guests went to have dinner and for the young couple and their close family there was wedding ceremony coming up in a special place where a Brahmin was already waiting.

There was ocean of food. And vegetarian (Marwari are vegetarians) only. When I tell my friends in Belarus and Russia that the table at the wedding party can be vegetarian, they twist their noses - "What kind of a treat it is, some vegetables? How much can one make? And vegetarian dished are not tasty” Well, I wish they could see and try – so vary and so tasty was the choice. I must confess that I ate my fill ... everything I wanted to try. First there were snacks - spread by the waiters, as well as there was a corner, where cooking was "live" - dumplings, some cakes, potato pancakes (well, kind of), some pasties.

As the main meal there was rice and different types of roties (kind of bread) and not only vegetables, but also dishes from the local kinds of cheese and mushrooms.

For dessert - 3 different cakes, jelabi, gulab Jamun, angurie rasmalay, candies, ice cream. There was also a separate table with fruit. Well, actually it was impossible not to overeat!