back. yet again. and how.

Hello, all ye faithful can-count-on-fingers-of-one-hand readers :) How you doin'?

Great! Me? I'm doing good, y'know, just been a bit busy, what with the marriage that I had to attend - MINE!! :-o

Yes I went to Delhi and got married, to an absolutely adorable man - the love of my life, the apple of my eye, etc etc :) I'll stop at these many adjectives, because sometimes, just sometimes, it causes him to get elevated to levels above general humility, and its a hard pull back down to earth.

Marriage, by any standards, is a life-changing event. And then for an utterly spoilt-to-the-bone-as-a-kid person like me, who hardly ever lived by herself, it is a different level altogether. Add to that, marriage into an entirely different culture, and you enter another dimension.

From the wedding ceremonies in Delhi (we did it their way) to the way I should address relatives, everything was and is different. Thank the lord for small mercies like television, globalization, and well, Ekta Kapoor, that I was vaguely familiar with much of it. And yet, that's not enough; I'm learning every single day.

The big fat North Indian wedding I had was much more than I have ever dreamed of. It was magical and in fact, something like a dream! Lights, colours, music, flowers, all you can imagine, it was all there! The only thing I missed on was, understandably, the food ;) I was so immersed in the ceremonies and meeting the new people of my life, that I don't even recall where the food was.

Decked up in a red and green lehenga with intricate and elaborate work on it, I waited at the venue for the baaraat to show up. Well, that was the intention anyway ;) I ended up reaching the venue after the baaraat did ! Me, my sis-in-law and friends were discretely moving around in a car right behind them :) I actually had to hide myself in another cloth so that no one could see me. Then we had to slip in through the side entrance :) Thankfully we had a little South Indian reception for the groom at the entrance, so that bought me some time. After that sis-in-law went to the stage for another welcoming aarti, and only after that did I have to make my entrance.

When I stepped out on to the ground, I was welcomed by the sight of a palki or a palanquin. All my brothers had to carry the palanquin (with me sitting in it!) to the stage where I would wed Ashish, who was waiting for me in a cream and red sherwani, turban in place, like my prince in shining .. apparel.

We had an almost magical garland exchange ceremony, where each of us entered a small circular stage from either end step by step, and put the wedding garlands on each other while flowers were thrown on us. And the then the stage began rotating!! At that moment, I was in a different zone altogether. The lights, the colours, the music, the flowers pouring on us, adoring friends and relatives, us rotating, it all made me feel like I was a princess from a fairy tale!

Right after that we were taken to our seats on-stage where we met relatives and friends, posed for photographs with them, and then posed some more. It was well after 1 pm when it was time for the rituals and the pooja/prayers. Then Ashish and I did the saat pheras or the seven rotations signifying our matrimonial unison :) (heh, I just wanted to say that - applause!!)

Guess what happened next in the great big Indian wedding at around 4 am in the morning in the open ground? We played games!! :D Traditionally meant to break the ice between two families that get related by the wedding, these games are fun, and invite a lot of merriment and fun chatter between the two parties. The first of the games was prepared for the previous day, each of us had a sacred thread on our wrists, tied with seven knots. We had to untie the other's thread, knot by knot, with only one hand. Of course, in a situation like this, the rules were relaxed soon enough, especially given the fact that it was early in the morning, cold, and everyone was sleepy! :) The next game was the one we see quite often on television. Search for the ring among the rose petals in water. We had seven rounds of this as well. The last was a game of each of us tightly holding the ring in our hand, while the other tries hard to pry it out of our hands. No prizes for guessing who won this one :) Oh and we also had the whole bride's side stealing the groom shoes part!

I'll skip the emotional content of my bidaai :( I'll just tell you all that it involved a little bit of tears, some hugs, and then some more tears :( Then we got into the car and went to my sasuraal (in-law's house). There we had a small prayer and (surprise, surprise) another game :) where my devar was to sit on my lap and demand a gift in return for his getting up. :D My devar was thankfully so kind and barely bent down, before he got up saying he was done :)

Thus ended a looooong day, one I couldn't possibly forget in all my life. So tiring, and yet so enjoyable. It was really an amazing night. My whole family (including my new extended family now), did so much for me and Ashish, we've been made to feel nothing short of prince and princess.

We love you guys, we do :)

PS. I decided against posting any photos here. Mail me if you wanna see some!