Rosewater anyone? |
The
party, at an outdoor wedding venue that would make the Trafalgar Square Christmas
tree feel naked, was event number three of a four day program. Jeff, myself and Catharina (a friend and colleague
from IKEA) arrived around 9pm to join 300
or so guests, along with whom, we got the opportunity to meet the bride and
groom, have our photo taken, contribute cash to the musicians, eat copious
amounts of amazing food, dance like crazy people and witness some ceremonial rituals. We gave the couple some Kosta Boda Swedish crystal, but everyone else gave envelopes; not sure if this was a faux pas,
perhaps we will never find out.
The Bride and Groom |
The groom arrived on a white horse heralded by drummers and trumpeters and fireworks were ignited at random intervals. The bride looked like a queen with henna patterns on her arms and feet. Rose petals and rosewater was sprinkled, garlands of marigolds were exchanged and there was lots of Hindi chanting and singing. We, along with most other guests, left at around midnight before the pandit (priest) arrived to perform the actual marriage ceremony, which was due to happen at 3am along with more fireworks, singing and dancing. It was a lovely evening and everyone seemed just as interested in us as they were the bride and groom. It was a lot of fun, and on reflection, much more “organised” that I had expected.
"All it needs is some blue and yellow paint." said Jeff |
Not the synagogue |
On Friday night we went to Synagogue, partly out of curiosity and partly because it was time for some memorial prayers. Jeff turned up wearing his grey Akubra looking very much the part and they invited him to take the service. Of course he declined and the locals did the honours. There are only four local Jewish families and we did not have a minion (10 adults) so we couldn’t say kaddish (remembrance prayers) anyway. It was quite an experience. We managed to follow the service and joined in as much as we could, singing along familiar prayers to some unfamiliar tunes. Not sure they will see much of us again, but I’m glad we went.
A rooftop terrace somewhere in Delhi |
Sunday
morning we watched the Swans get beaten by St Kilda. AFL streamed live on the ipad sitting on our Indian veranda in the
sun, so life has reached a certain type of normality here. Shule, BBQ and
footie all in one weekend. Feels like we never moved. Just need
some familiar faces around and life would be perfect.
Namaste
Is there such a thing as a "typical week" where you are? All sounds great - how'z the house hunting coming along? P&S
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