An Indian wedding weekend
Day 1 Mehndi
Two nights before the wedding, the bride’s arms and feet were painted with a henna paste (pictured) that dries and after several hours is scraped off, leaving a reddish temporary tattoo. The designs are symbolic of a person’s inner and outer sun. In her tattoos, Heda included the letters of the groom’s first name, along with a programming code (they’re engineers, after all) and the date of the wedding, a process that took four hours to complete. Other female guests had their palms or the backs of their hands decorated with simpler designs achieved in less than 10 minutes. The groom had his palm painted with the couple’s nickname — Pricha — a combination of their first names, which represents unity.
Day 2 Sangeet
After a day filled with breakfasts and lunches, the big event of the evening was the sangeet. The festivity had both sides of the family performing musical skits, comedy routines and dances for the bridal couple, who sat in glittering attire in a swing at one end of the dance floor, like a king and queen observing their court. Many sangeets feature a handful of acts, but this wedding’s talented guests performed more than two dozen numbers during a fourhour event that included a one-hour break for a buffet dinner. Among the endearing sights and sounds: relatives dancing flashmob style to Bollywood hits; a young female relative singing Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” in English and Hindi; and two tween-age brothers tooting clarinets to the melody of One Direction’s 2013 hit single “Best Song Ever.”
Day 3 Wedding Day with 11 rituals from Baraat to Nalangu to Western-style reception
Baraat (Northern) The 16-hour wedding day began at 8 a.m. with the baraat. The groom typically arrives on the back of a horse or elephant to greet his bride and her family. Mukundan’s Silicon Valley take on things had him slowly chauffeured in a red Ferrari convertible (400 horsepower) as his family danced in a procession alongside led by a man beating a drum in syncopated rhythms. Maalai maatral (Southern) and Varmala (Northern) The maalai maatral and varmala called for the bride to place a red and white floral garland around the groom’s neck. The two were hoisted on their maternal uncles’ shoulders to symbolize continuing support for the mothers of the bride and groom. The bride and groom exchanged garlands three more times to symbolize their union as one soul in two bodies. Oonjal (Southern) The couple then sat in an oonjal, or decorated swing. The chains of the swing signify the karmic link with the Almighty, and the swinging motion the waves of life and the couple moving in harmony. Female relatives smeared a bit of milk on the couple’s feet, and then small gifts were presented to ward off negative energy. Kanyaadhaan (Northern and Southern) The father of the bride offered his daughter to the groom with chants, and the groom assured the father he would remain her companion in joy and sorrow. A yoke symbolizes that just as a cart cannot be pulled without two oxen, a marriage needs both bride and groom shouldering responsibility together. Mangalsutra (Both) The bride sat on her father’s lap looking eastward as the groom, facing westward, tied a thiru mangalyam, a gold ornament on a yellow thread, around her neck. Three knots were tied, one by the groom, and two by the groom’s sister, to show that the bride is now part of the family. The elders threw rice on the couple while the knots were being tied. The groom later placed a black and gold necklace with a gold pendant, the mangalsutra, around her neck and applied sindoor, a red vermilion, on the center of her forehead, signifying his devotion and her status change from single to married woman. Pheras (Both) The bride and groom made seven vows before their families, with the holy fire as witness, each vow accompanied by one trip around the fire. Saptapadi (Southern) Literally translated, seven steps. The vows are repeated, this time spoken by the officiant. After each vow was spoken, the couple took one step, and after seven vows, had taken seven steps. The vows incuded “Let us provide for our household, stay in good health and carry out our duties and responsibilities to each other, our families and our tradition,” and “Let us acquire knowledge, happiness and harmony by mutual love, respect and trust,” among others. Vaaranam Aayiram (Southern) A song sung for good luck in the marriage, based on a work of Hindu religious literature — a poem about a dream of saint Sri Andal about marriage, a dream of positive things. Aarti and Ashirwad (Both) In the conclusion of the Hindu wedding ceremony, the elders of the family give their blessings to the couple. Nalangu (Southern) Hours after the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom gathered with a small group of family members and sat on the floor opposite one another. The bride three times took yellow rice and waved it around her husband’s head, to ward off the evil eye, and threw it away. The groom repeated the ritual for his bride. The couple then played a series of word games with jokes and puns, to relieve the stress of the wedding day.
Indo-Western Reception The wedding day concluded with a reception at which guests were invited to wear either Western or Indian attire, many gents appearing in dark business suits. The bride wore a modern Indian gown while the groom wore a tuxedo. After cutting a tiered, American-style wedding cake, the couple performed a ballroom dance a la Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, then greeted guests in a receiving line as a buffet dinner was held. A DJ played top 40 radio hits and Bollywood dance music and guests danced until 11 p.m., when the fairy-tale fusion event came to a close.