Maharashtrian wedding

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If you have been following my India trip, you might remember a conversation I had with a wonderful lady I met in a car on our way to Chamba. 

This is her wedding with her suitor. When it came to home stays this was one of my favourites as I felt apart of this family. Her mum laughed as much as I did and spoke to me in Marathi as though I understood every word.

This house was made up of three levels, connected only by an external staircase, the main family home being the ground floor, they rented the out the second floor and the top was where I stayed. It was once a study room of our bride, who as a young woman had discovered self awareness and feminism, she had hand drawn affirmations. It is probably why we got on so well, I understood what that was all about and yet she was surrounded by people who didn't want to know what it was about.

I had to leave on the night of the wedding so there isn't as many photos as the first wedding, however what I did get to experience, showed me the devotion of which Maharashtrian people have for their gods and the beauty in which that devotion enriches such occasion as weddings. 

Hoarding blessings 

Today we were headed to the village in which the family owned land (I later realised that their surname was in the name of the village) and where some of their extended family still lived. 

On the porch of the house was this beautiful artwork, made of flower petals which I imagine was had something to do with offerings and blessings. Once the bride was ready, everyone headed back to the main road where we gather and formed the brides entourage. 

We walked from temple to temple, what took me by surprise was the women planking on the grown as we walked. While we were in a temple, I saw the men do the same. I had never seen anything like this before and am yet to find out the significance of the gesture. 

After about five temples, the majority of the entourage headed home for lunch, I later found out that the bride visited 20 or so temples during the time we sat and ate. 

Lunch time was an experience in itself. I watched the caterers make a bulk amount of pakoras in a enormous wok. Mats were put down for where we would sit and instead of leaves as plates, they were paper plates in the shape of leaves. The first round of people sat and the servers dished up their meals. The way the mats were laid reminder me of a Buddhist ceremony where food is given to the monks. 

When it was time to go home, because I was staying with the bride there were still more temples to visit, It totally makes sense to have different temples for different gods, its just quite the feat when you are trying to visit as many as possible in one day and I was only doing it for the last hour of the day. I guess there is no such thing as too many blessings. 

When we ended up at one of the bigger temples the bride advised me of a ritual where her groom would have to prove himself by carrying her up several flights of stairs. I saw the photos and he still managed to smile for the camera. 

After a day full of blessings, it was the day of the Bride's Mehandi party. It was a privilege to be a part of the decorating for the party, it was the first time I had put up a banner that didn't say "congratulations" or "happy birthday".

This family that I had integrated into, reminded me of the family I grew up in, very warm, plentiful during such occasions. After just a few days, I started to recognise the significant members of the family and they got used to having me around, constantly checking whether I was fed. 

I admired the dedication to the cause, as some people had both arms engaged in Mehandi, others fed them by hand, it was quite beautiful to witness. As the room filled, it became a sea of colourful women enjoying a familiar past time, there are other occasions in which Mehandi happens, I imagine Mehandi for marriage, would be the most significant in an Indian women's life. I watched as generations of Mehandi poured out on to the arms of all the women in the room, young and old. 

What I also came to appreciate was how dance is a gift, our dancers were young, however their courage to rip up the floor, was something I admired. 

Although, I didn't participate much, just being a fly on the wall and enjoying this celebration of love,life and family was wholesome.