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| Mrinalini & Anoop |
Since we already described the welcome reception (remember Ian dancing with the aunties?) we’ll move right into the main events. The wedding took place over three days. The first night was a ceremony called the Sangeet, which involved a series of singing and dancing performances from both the bride and groom’s side. One guest told us that they were competing to entertain the bride and groom. The event was scheduled to begin at 9:00 pm in one of the Trident ballrooms. Since we had taken Felipe’s walking tour of Mumbai earlier in the day, we napped (somewhat unexpectedly) until about 10:30 pm. We woke up and hurried to put on our kurtas and head downstairs. We arrived at 11:00 pm and the performances had just begun! We grabbed a glass of wine and sat down with Grace, one of our new friends from New York, to watch the action.
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| Entrance to the hall - those are flowers! |
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| More flowers! |
The MC for the evening was a “Bollywood handsome” friend of the groom. He led several skits, dance performances and speeches on a stage, which had been erected at the front of the room – the backdrop was (almost) entirely flowers! There was a fair amount of roasting the groom – his lack of fashion sense, his love of real estate, his refusal to buy a proper bed, etc. Then the bride’s family took over and led several dances, songs, and speeches. The bride and her best friend danced, which was amazing. Of course, there was roasting of the bride too – her love of “Bollywood” actor Shaka Khan, her picky eating, her only-child ways, etc. When all of the performances were finished, an elaborate dinner was served (well after midnight). This was followed by more drinking, dancing, and conversation. It was definitely an amazing evening.
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Bollywood-style dancing to entertain the bride and groom
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Groomsman
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Felipe and Mrinalini
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The next night was the Mehendi – a more low-key evening during which the women could have their hands painted with henna. This event was held at the Taj Hotel in the Crystal Ballroom. The setting certainly lived up to it’s name – the walls were lined with crystal, the chandeliers were crystal, it was stunning. The night began with cocktails (of course) and a selection of Indian “chat” (street food) that was safe for Western stomachs. After a couple hours of mingling, guests were asked to sit for more serious speeches about the bride and groom and a special performance of classical Indian music by celebrity singer, Talat Aziz. The music was beautiful. Mr. Aziz played a “shruti box”, an accordianlike instrument, and was accompanied by a violin, flute, keyboard, and drummer. Following the dance performance there was another full dinner, which featured both Indian and Italian food.
The actual wedding ceremony was on Tuesday. At 10:00 am (the earliest start yet) the groom’s family and friends were invited to watch his processional to meet the bride. Being on the bride’s side, we skipped this part of the event, but heard the drumming from our window. We heard that the groom rode through the streets on a horse-drawn carriage and was showered with words of luck both from wedding guests and passersby. We were instructed to be in the Trident’s rooftop ballroom at 12:00 pm. Felipe insisted we arrive on time and we were (of course) the first people there. The entrance to the room was breathtaking (literally breathtaking) – pink and white roses were arranged above the doorway and lining the entrance hall to the room. After entering, we saw the wedding canopy – made entirely of roses and jasmine flowers and backed by a wall bearing the symbol for Ganesha (the Hindu god known for removing obstacles and bringing good fortune) also made entirely of flowers. It was SO beautiful.
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| Ganesha in flowers |
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Wedding canopy
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Other guests began arriving around 12:30. Each person who entered the room had a scarf draped over his or her shoulders. We settled into our chairs and waited for the arrival of the bride and groom. About an hour later Anoop and Mrinalini arrived under a canopy held by the groom’s friends, who were all wearing red turbans. The groom wore a green turban and cream colored suit; the bride wore an incredibly elaborate multicolored gown, huge diamond earrings, and a spectacular diamond necklace. On her wrists were gold bangles that were put together by her family the night before. The tradition is that people (girls) who have the bangles shaken over their head will have good luck in romance (get married). Mrnalini shook the bangles over Felipe’s head after the wedding.
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| The bride and groom arrive |
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| Bangle shaking |
As the bride and groom approached the stage over which the canopy hung one of the groom’s friends grabbed the shoes right off the groom’s feet! This is another Indian tradition – the bride’s family tries to get the shoes from the groom during the ceremony and then holds them ransom. The groom’s family must pay money to retrieve the shoes (and his honor). Apparently, the groom’s friend stole the shoes as a preventative measure, much to the bride’s friend’s chagrin. There were many behind the scene negotiations for the bride’s friends to get the shoes (and the ransom money from his family). The ceremony was presided over by two priests – one from the bride’s side and one from the groom’s side. One of the guests told us that the priests try to outdo each other in the grandeur of their speeches. If this was the case, the bride’s priest definitely won.
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| Priest 1, bride, groom, priest 2 |
The Indian ceremony consists of many rituals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_wedding), most of which were lost on us. The ceremony actually seemed to be a very private event between the two families – it was just as much about the bride and groom’s parents as about the bride and groom. About halfway through the ceremony food was served in another room and guests had the option of taking a lunch break. Felipe and I decided this was a good plan. The food served at the wedding was completely Gudjrati food, which is all vegetarian and less spicy and oily than some other Indian food. It was delicious! After eating, we returned to the ceremony, which was still going on. When it was finally over, we got a chance to congratulate the bride and groom and have our picture taken. Then we went downstairs for a nap before the reception.
The wedding reception was held in the Taj Hotel’s Gold Room – another grand space in this historic hotel. This was a more informal, western style party. Felipe and I didn’t get the memo that men wear suits instead of kurta, which made us stand out a little. There were cocktails and hors d’oeuvres followed by dinner and dancing. At this point in the wedding, we were pretty thoroughly exhausted. That didn’t stop us from eating the made-to-order Chinese food and elaborate desserts (French macarones!). In the middle of the reception we had the opportunity to chat a bit with the bride and groom, who looked exhausted. Together with the other guests we danced late into the night to Western and Indian music.
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| Entrance to the Taj Hotel |
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| Mrinalini, Anoop, Felipe, Ian |
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