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February 16, 2012

LOCAL VOICE FROM AROUND THE GLOBE: Weddings are big affairs in India

BY ANNA KRAMER

Weddings in India are legendary. These elaborate affairs last between three to seven (or more) days, and are as important and integral to the Indian culture as religion and language.

By living here, with Indian families and friends, I have been able to see the excitement, preparations and celebrations of Indian weddings in a close and often involved manner. During the wedding seasons, I go with my host families to often four or more weddings per week, and not irregularly two or more in a single night. Thanks to a close relationship with my host club president and his daughter, who had a close family member being married this past weekend, I was able to be more involved in the wedding functions, and to have a close view of the ceremonies.

What I have seen, across the various weddings and functions that I have attended, is a great love to celebrate. Although many of the various functions in a single wedding do have a religious significance, often a large purpose of each function is for the families and friends to enjoy the time together and celebrate the marriage. Food is everywhere, as are lights, music, colorful clothes and dancing. Throughout the wedding seasons, in the evening and night you can hear the loud music and laughter coming from the varghodos: the wild parades of the groom to the marriage hall. These processions are great fun for the family and friends of the groom, who dance through the streets and set off fireworks as they lead the groom to the wedding ceremony.

One of the stunning characteristics of Indian weddings is their size. A small wedding will have around three hundred guests, and larger celebrations exceed a thousand guests. Usually, most of these guests will attend only the wedding ceremony or the reception; it is the closer family and friends that will be involved in the ceremonial functions preceding the wedding day.

On the one occasion when I knew the groom well, I was invited to sit next to the bride and groom as they went through the rituals of becoming a wedded couple. The ceremony was elaborate, and the pujaree (priest) directed the couple through the rituals intended to promote a happy and healthy marriage, and to please the gods. The bride was heavily ornamented with jewelry, and in an embroidered red saree.

The groom wore a long, white, decorative shirt and pants. Atop his head sat a bejeweled turban. The families threw flowers and rice at the couple as they proceeded slowly around the havan, or sacred fire, giving promises to care for and love one another.

Books could be (and are) written about Indian weddings, for they are as complex, elaborate and varied as the culture they are set in. Yet, across all of the weddings I have seen, the constant themes are color and humanity. The people of India love to celebrate, and the weddings are no exception to India’s incredible way of life. For more stories about Indian weddings, and my adventures in India, visit my blog at www. sojourninsurat.wordpress.com.

ANNA KRAMER is a Cooperstown Rotary Youth Exchange student in India.

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