Once I arrived, the first stop was visiting her aunts and uncles on her father’s side for tea and biscuits. Next, we made a quick stop for pearl shopping. Hyderabad is known for its pearls. It’s not because they have an abundance of pearls (as Hyderabad is inland), but it’s because they are experts at drilling the wholes in the pearls. It turns out that Sandhya’s extended family is related 90% of the jewelers in town, so they were able to get me hooked up.
I had the option of staying with Sandhya’s father who lived about 15 minute away, or to stay where all the action was taking place. Sandhya’s cousin on her mother’s side is the groom’s father, who lived in a house right next to his three brothers. She was staying with one of her cousins in the cluster of houses. I opted to stay near the action and the put me up in the penthouse suite. It was beautiful and spacious; I felt like I was royalty staying there compared to my living conditions in Chennai (not that they are bad). As soon as we arrived Sandhya ran me around to the four houses and introduced me to everyone and their brother. Everyone was extremely welcoming and glad to have me there.
With the help of Sandhya’s aunt, I was dressed in a sari and ready to go for the evenings celebrations that were taking place in the cluster of houses. The decorations were amazing and the food was incredible. There was a celebration for the groom with all sorts of rituals performed. The best part was dancing with the band as we worked our way from the house toward the temple with the groom and the younger version of the groom on white horses. I was amazed that the horses were not startled by the noise of the band. I also loved seeing all of the beautiful saris and expensive jewelry. It was a lot to take in. Sandhya warned me that people party all night long. There were several tables of people playing varieties of poker. I opted to pass on playing poker as I lack a poker face (and the money to bet) I was surprised to hear that people were playing cards until 6AM.
I enjoyed a relaxing morning of sleeping in and reading. After breakfast with Sandhya and her family, we went to her cousin’s clothing store that was celebrating its one-year anniversary. They hired a musician and several photographers. I swear some of them were following me around and taking all sorts of snaps while I was looking at the clothing. The clothing was beautiful, but out of my price range for Indian apparel. I spent the afternoon with a daughter-in-law of Sandhya’s father’s brother who showed me around Hyderabad. I really liked that city. It seemed a bit cleaner and less crowded than Chennai.
I was dropped off back at the house with little time to spare. I felt helpless needed someone to dress me again. Sandhya wrapped my sari and we were about to go when one of her aunts looked at it and thought something wasn’t just right, so she adjusted it. Then another aunt tried adjusting it. Another aunt took it off and started over when finally someone realized that the sari was hanging over the wrong shoulder! I’m glad they caught this because I stuck out enough being the only white person at a 1,000 person wedding, I didn’t want to be the only person with the sari off of my right shoulder!
The wedding took place at some sort of civic center. It was fun being on the groom’s side of the wedding as that is where it seemed all of the action was. The groom’s side gathered outside for some socializing and snacks before parading in with the band leading the groom who was atop a white horse. The procession took well over an hour to walk across the parking lot.
Although I didn’t understand all of the rituals that were being performed, I had a great view of the action. Upon entering the building, we were greeted with roses being handed out by the bride’s family. The groom was paraded onto the custom made stage. Next in was the bride, who was carried in on a beautiful platform. She was gorgeous. The exchanged fresh flower garlands and then stood as a 1,000 people took their turn congratulating them. The wedding took place on a very auspicious day, so there were several weddings that same day. I was talking with one young man who had three more weddings to attend that very night.
Again, the decorations were amazing. Even more amazing was the sari's and bling that people were sporting. There was SO much food to sample. Every style of Indian food with fruit and dessert too. We tried just one bite of almost everything. We were invited to join in the special dinner for the groom’s family that is served by the bride’s family. Sandhya and I had just made another round for food, so we not no room to spare for more. They insisted that we dine at the silver plates so we did.
The actual ceremony got started around 2:30 AM and went until 5:00AM. Sandhya’s father insisted that I sit on stage so that I can have a better view of the ceremony. I didn’t understand a lot of what was going on, but I understood the parents giving the bride’s hand to the groom and the tying of the knot. They made seven circles around the alter to complete their marriage. During the recessional the bride, her parents and many family and friends were crying. It is sad that the bride is now leaving her family to start her life with her husband and his family. The final step of the celebration was for the bride to enter into the groom’s home for the first time.
I knew that the wedding ceremonies were long, but this one lasted from 6PM to 6AM. My flight left at 8AM; needles to say, I slept the entire flight home (to Chennai that is).
I am so grateful that Sandhya extended the invitation for me to join in on the wedding celebration. The weekend far exceeded my expectations.
Love the pictures Katie, Indian weddings are exhausting glad you were able to sleep on the plane.
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