The Indian wedding scene is changing fast. Infact it has been changing for the last couple of years now. I had been away from India for over a decade so never got to see one. Now in the thick of the marriage season these days, I attended a 'great Indian wedding'. It was truely an eye opener.
Right from the invitations to the baraat, dinner and reception-- everything had been well thought of . First came a set of three invitation cards - one each for sangeet, baraat and reception. The cards are worth keeping for posterity- golden cards with a colour scheme and design to match with. We were from the boy's side attending the Sangeet at one of the halls booked at Delhi's high profile Habitat centre. With a curtain of fresh orchids set as a backdrop against the stage, the to be bride and bridegroom sat on a silver sofa (heavily ornated). The girl looked beautiful in her embroidered golden and green lehenga.The boy in his sherwani was busy smiling and waving at the guests who numbered over 150. Seemed the boy must have bought a couple of sherwanis for every occasion.
The sangeet function had a live punjabi group of women singers who had been hired to make the atmosphere lively and warm. One by one they made all the relatives dance on traditional Punjabi songs and some pop numbers. Then the scene shifted on the other end of the hall where the DJ was trying hard to set the stage on fire with the hot and latest Bollywood numbers. A choreographer had been hired for days to put the final act. To my surprise and delight, the prospective bride and groom danced. In the yesteryears the inlaws of the girl would shudder at the very thought of their daughter in law dancing hand in hand with their son in public just two days before marriage. This whole gala affair was nothing short of a wedding day in opulence and grandeur.
Finally came the D'day and we were all transported into a fairy land type of setting in a farm house on the outskirts of Delhi. The guests were made to feel special. They were pampered with a continuous flow of fresh juices, cocktails, twenty kinds of starters and what have you.....On a chilled wintry night of Delhi, opened to the sky, we felt cosy and warm with gas heaters and a generous service of wine . a spread out of nearly 75 dishes (continental, Chinese, Mongolian, Thai, Kashmiri,Punjabi...), I first fed through my eyes. There were six types of Halwa-Moong dal, gajar, Amritsari, ginger,suji and Raj halwa.Five varieties of kulfi, piping hot jalebis freshly soaked in sugar syrup to top it up with rabri, rasmalai, gulab jamun-a virtual mithai shop.And if you were missing out on some western desserts there were cakes, souffles and icecreams. A shahi pan bhandaar in the end capped the gastronomic paradise like experience.
The baraatees and gharatees were lost in this maze of aromas. And in the process, they forgot the dulhe raja(the bridegroom) who was left standing alone with his face covered with a curtain of flowers on a Mahabharat type stage setting. The dulhan(bride) was still inside one of the rooms being fussed around by her near and dear ones.
As the winter night fog was setting in,the guests had begun to leave this virtual fairyland. And on the other side, the priests were busy preparing for night long wedding ceremonies.
No comments:
Post a Comment