I have
always heard about crazy Indian weddings and going to one was fairly high up on
my bucket list when I came to India. So naturally I was extremely excited when
Jenny told the group that her host brother would be getting married in early
December. Even though our group only went to two days of the wedding affair
(here, weddings last an entire week), I was still blown away by the opulence of
the affair - all of the food, dancers, DJs, decorations, etc. The group
attended the actual wedding ceremony as well as the wedding reception.
When we went to the wedding ceremony I was impressed by the scale of the event. Before the ceremony we went on a parade through the streets with the groom at the back on a white horse. The parade was contained within two lines of children holding huge light displays on their heads and at the front of the line was a marching band clothed in baby blue suits. Next came a drumline and a few trumpets who provided the dance beat for the guests to dance through the streets. I am sure we really messed up the already awful traffic and during the whole procession we were being assaulted with irritated honks and bell rings from motorcycles, cars, and bicycles passing by us. Once we arrived at the actual wedding location, we found a huge tent with cushioned chairs and small sofas for guests to sit in and a stage decked out with hundreds of flowers and two thrones for the soon-to-be-weds. Bordering the perimeter of the grassy field where the wedding was being held, there was a huge buffet of Indian food and drink. In one corner was a dance floor that lit up and was flanked by huge speakers blasting music. Technically we didn’t even stay for the ceremony (which starts at midnight), but we did get to see the bride and groom exchange garlands and take pictures with them. Perhaps my favorite part of the night (besides the fresh butter naan and cream sauce pasta) was dancing to the latest and greatest Yo Yo Honey Singh songs with the other BYPers and a bunch of the other Indian wedding guests. Even though we had a great time jamming out to Indian pop music, our group really went crazy when Justin Bieber’s “Baby” came on the DJ mix. Here in India, people really like Justin Bieber and Enrique Iglesias and seem to think that everyone in America is obsessed with them too. Whenever people ask me who my favorite American singer is, they always interject that theirs is either Justin Bieber, Enrique Iglesias, or Pitbull (Indians also have a habit of interrupting a lot when you are speaking). In any event, I was blown away by the scale and pomp of the first day, but I had no idea what was to come a few days later for the wedding reception.
The wedding reception was held in Cantonment, a rather wealthy and touristy part of Banaras, in the Hotel Paris. We pulled up in our car to the weddings to find a huge golden Ganesh statue under garlanded arches with a red carpet path. Following the carpet, we were led to an enormous area roughly divided into two sections. One was a place with tables and chairs for guests to sit and watch the goings-on of the stage, the other was an area just dedicated to food. On the table/chair side, there was a stage with hired dancers from Calcutta and a professional singer and next to this an even bigger stage with a kingly couch for the newlyweds. Waiters came around with drinks and hors de vors before the dinner feast was served and we happily munched away while watching the dancers and singer. Then, the announcer spotted us, the sole videshi (foreign) guests, and called us up on the stage to dance. Luckily, the Bens had previously learned a Bollywood dance for Dolly-ji’s birthday and we could perform that without looking too much like total fools, but I’m sure we looked hilarious and I’m glad that both Stephen and my host brother got it on film. Afterwards we each said a simple sentence in Hindi to impress the crowd and then returned to our seats. Once we gave the bride and groom a bouquet of flowers and took pictures, we headed off to see what food was being offered (or more correctly, what food wasn’t being offered). There was a Chinese (spelled Chinees) food tent, a Punjabi food tent, a street food tent, a pasta food tent, a dessert tent, a fruit tent, etc. etc. etc. My goal was to try a little bit of all the food, but I soon found that to be impossible. After going up about three times for plates of food, we were all stuffed and a little cold from the nighttime chill. There was a hookah bar and a paan (chewing tobacco) station that was garnering a lot of attention from the other Indian guests, so we decided to go check it out. I tried sweet paan (one without any tobacco) for the first time and had to spit it out in about three seconds it was still so disgusting (making my host mother laugh considerably). It was about eleven at that point and we all still had work the next day, so after the paan (and then wolfing down some naan to get the bad taste out of my mouth) I left for home still a little giddy from all of the fun.
When we went to the wedding ceremony I was impressed by the scale of the event. Before the ceremony we went on a parade through the streets with the groom at the back on a white horse. The parade was contained within two lines of children holding huge light displays on their heads and at the front of the line was a marching band clothed in baby blue suits. Next came a drumline and a few trumpets who provided the dance beat for the guests to dance through the streets. I am sure we really messed up the already awful traffic and during the whole procession we were being assaulted with irritated honks and bell rings from motorcycles, cars, and bicycles passing by us. Once we arrived at the actual wedding location, we found a huge tent with cushioned chairs and small sofas for guests to sit in and a stage decked out with hundreds of flowers and two thrones for the soon-to-be-weds. Bordering the perimeter of the grassy field where the wedding was being held, there was a huge buffet of Indian food and drink. In one corner was a dance floor that lit up and was flanked by huge speakers blasting music. Technically we didn’t even stay for the ceremony (which starts at midnight), but we did get to see the bride and groom exchange garlands and take pictures with them. Perhaps my favorite part of the night (besides the fresh butter naan and cream sauce pasta) was dancing to the latest and greatest Yo Yo Honey Singh songs with the other BYPers and a bunch of the other Indian wedding guests. Even though we had a great time jamming out to Indian pop music, our group really went crazy when Justin Bieber’s “Baby” came on the DJ mix. Here in India, people really like Justin Bieber and Enrique Iglesias and seem to think that everyone in America is obsessed with them too. Whenever people ask me who my favorite American singer is, they always interject that theirs is either Justin Bieber, Enrique Iglesias, or Pitbull (Indians also have a habit of interrupting a lot when you are speaking). In any event, I was blown away by the scale and pomp of the first day, but I had no idea what was to come a few days later for the wedding reception.
The wedding reception was held in Cantonment, a rather wealthy and touristy part of Banaras, in the Hotel Paris. We pulled up in our car to the weddings to find a huge golden Ganesh statue under garlanded arches with a red carpet path. Following the carpet, we were led to an enormous area roughly divided into two sections. One was a place with tables and chairs for guests to sit and watch the goings-on of the stage, the other was an area just dedicated to food. On the table/chair side, there was a stage with hired dancers from Calcutta and a professional singer and next to this an even bigger stage with a kingly couch for the newlyweds. Waiters came around with drinks and hors de vors before the dinner feast was served and we happily munched away while watching the dancers and singer. Then, the announcer spotted us, the sole videshi (foreign) guests, and called us up on the stage to dance. Luckily, the Bens had previously learned a Bollywood dance for Dolly-ji’s birthday and we could perform that without looking too much like total fools, but I’m sure we looked hilarious and I’m glad that both Stephen and my host brother got it on film. Afterwards we each said a simple sentence in Hindi to impress the crowd and then returned to our seats. Once we gave the bride and groom a bouquet of flowers and took pictures, we headed off to see what food was being offered (or more correctly, what food wasn’t being offered). There was a Chinese (spelled Chinees) food tent, a Punjabi food tent, a street food tent, a pasta food tent, a dessert tent, a fruit tent, etc. etc. etc. My goal was to try a little bit of all the food, but I soon found that to be impossible. After going up about three times for plates of food, we were all stuffed and a little cold from the nighttime chill. There was a hookah bar and a paan (chewing tobacco) station that was garnering a lot of attention from the other Indian guests, so we decided to go check it out. I tried sweet paan (one without any tobacco) for the first time and had to spit it out in about three seconds it was still so disgusting (making my host mother laugh considerably). It was about eleven at that point and we all still had work the next day, so after the paan (and then wolfing down some naan to get the bad taste out of my mouth) I left for home still a little giddy from all of the fun.
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