Jodhpur – An Indian Wedding

Gopal Guesthouse 150 Rs/ double bed room

Yesterday, when we were invited to a family house, we were shown their family photo album. It was a big album full of photos of a grand marriage ceremony in Jodhpur. This family should be one of important families from the highest caste, ane the wedding was so grand that there were more than 4000 guests invited in the reception. We just adored how fantastical the marriage was, the rioting colours of the costumes of people attending the party.

Today, when we walked around the small alleys of Jodhpur, we heard noise from a band group. And suddenly we found that there was another marriage is happening. The owner of the house, seeing us taking pictures of the band, suddenly asked us to take pictures of themselves also. Then, the old couple invited us to come in to their house. Everybody was dressing in beautiful costumes, and everybody was excited. This is the groom’s house, and there was a ceremony in another floor.

Then the mother of the groom, tranced look like, let the groom out of the house. There was a horse, beautifully decorated, waiting outside. And also a troop of band players. Then much, much dancing of the family outside the house with the music from the band. It was noisy, as noisy as a carnival in a country’s national day.

Everybody looks happy. Except the groom, who was very, very serious.

The parade, with the groom on the horse and people dancing along, walking through the alleys of the town. The bride is in Nagaur, another town located 100++ km from Jodhpur. The whole relatives and guests are going to Nagaur with two rented buses, and we were invited also to join.

And suddenly we were already in the bus going to Nagaur. As most marriages in India happening in the midnight time, this is also not an exception. The whole process runs in a week, and today is the culmination point that the bride and groom will be legally married.

We arrived in Nagaur around 4 pm, and the procession would start at 8. So the guests were treated with Indian sweets. As the people are all Brahmin, the food are all vegetarians.

At 8, the parade started. There were a band, some children carrying candle lamps, and two rickshaw carrying sound system and generator. There is a carnival around the town, with the groom on the top of a horse, and relatives and guests dancing along the street. There were fireworks also (that’s the reason of the fireworks you hear in Rajasthan: wedding!”). The carnival runs before 10, when then the dinner started.

And at 11, the bride came to sit beside the groom. The groom has met the bride before, after the parents of both sides arranged the marriage. That is said, before the arrangement they didnt know each other. And what I felt about marriage here that women and men are really separated. Around the groom were only male guests, and the bride area was really restricted to females.

Here I acquired my Indian name: Ashok, a great king in Indian history. And Lam Li was named Lilawati.