I have been travelling a lot these days. In fact this whole month was a marriage tour for me to north India. Last week I was in a town called Sirsa in Haryana attending a wedding ceremony in the family. A week before that I was in Delhi where my colleague from TCS took the nuptial vows and it gave me an opportunity to visit Agra and the Taj. It has been a great experience to see the north Indian style weddings which are quite different (read lavish) from the other parts of India.
The ceremony that kicked off in Haryana was different in more ways than one. The muhurat or the auspicious time for the pheras was (hold your breath) at 1:40 am in the morning. Naturally only a handful “close” set of people sat through the whole process in the chilly winter night. Most of them tucked in their rajai or blankets often sipping tea and trying to be as close to the fire as they could be. An open verandah in an outhouse with a mandap in the center with the bridegroom along with the family elders and of course the priest chanting the vows, surrounded by close friends and family. The sky was bright with moonlight and covered with myriad stars. It was freezing and to add to the aura of this night — there was no electricity. We strategically parked a car such that the booklet containing the Sanskrit chants could be read under its headlights. This was innovation happening at its most undesirable moment. Miraculously the lights came back just when the priest formalised the wedding and the group got up to proceed to the house!
Here in the north, the reception ceremony takes place first, even before the actual marriage has happened. At the entrance of the venue, beautiful Saree-clad women especially the bride’s sister and close friends challenge the groom when he’s ready to enter. He was given a Da Vinci Code like plastic cask containing a pair of scissor to cut the ribbon and pass through. The box had to be opened skillfully and the ribbon was to be cut with the tool inside; without breaking the box. I have never seen such an example of product design before but here it was. We struggled initially and frustration was quite visible on the groom’s happy face and soon all the baratas took turns in lending a hand to break the code. The garlanding ceremony of the couple happened on the stage itself unlike in the western parts of the country where it happens at the gates of the venue. The groom managed himself while the bride was raised up in the air by relatives in mocking attempt to dissuade the action. It’s a tradition to make fun and provide some entertainment for all. While the guests munched on pure amritsari delicacy and desserts that included gajar halwa and jalebis around in the cold night. The town had surely come to life that night.
