On Friday night, we attended our very first 'officially invited' Indian wedding reception for one of Bruce's workmates, Pranav to wed his stunning bride Divya. It was an arranged marriage between the parents. The couple have met on several supervised visits over the past ten months to get to know one another. Gujarati Indian weddings usually run for three days. It begins with the 'Ring Ceremony' where the groom is honoured. You've seen my photos previously of the beautiful horse drawn carriage and guests dancing in a 'Ring'......hence called the 'Ring Ceremony'. As this ceremony was held on Ahmadabad, we didn't go to this part of the wedding which was held on Thursday. On Friday morning, the actual marriage ceremony took place in Ahmadabad also as this is where Pranav's bride Divya is from. Ahmadabad is approximately a two hour drive north of Vadodara. We did not attend this either....it is mostly attended by close family and friends and has very long rituals which last for the greater part of the day. The couple traveled back to Vadodara for the reception. The reception follows the marriage ceremony and for this, the celebration is large and very important to all involved. Regardless of the financial status of the family, the grooms parents throw an elaborate celebration to welcome the newly acquainted couple into wedlock. Our First Indian Wedding was no exception......whilst only relatively small for Indian standards, the reception embraced approximately 800 invited guests. The red carpet was rolled out in anticipation of the arriving guests and the newly weds. Flowers, white and red satin fabric lined the open air celebration ground which was called 'Common Plot', plastic chairs lined up perfectly in straight lines for guests to sit faced the highly lit stage where golden lounges with red and gold embossed cushions faced the huge audience of beautifully dressed guests. The two front row seats for guests were bench type silver backed cushion padded seats and looked very comfortable.......guess where we were seated? Yes you guessed it....right at the front. Pride of place! To invite Westerners to your wedding, it's considered to be very prestigious and will position the family higher in the community. So guessing that Bruce and I along with Bruce's Boss who is currently temporarily visiting India from Brisbane gave the family the status they required. The gorgeous couple arrived, and walked the well lit red carpet aisle to the stage where was their prime place of positioning for the night in front of shimmering spangled drapes which perfectly reflected the huge voltage lights shining onto the 'stars' of the night. Family units one by one went up onto the stage to congratulate the newly weds sitting with Pranav's parents. Pranav beckoned for Bruce and I to come up on stage. I precariously negotiated the stairs onto the stage with my full length sari, careful not to disrobe myself by one false move. We were greeted by his parents and gifted them with our card and money. It felt like Paparazzi Central......formal photographers snapped countless snaps of the couple and ourselves. Pranav's Mother held my hand tight reluctant to let go and thanked us whole heartedly for attending their sons wedding....family members took smartphone pics from every angle.....I'm sure we'll be on every mantle piece in India today. I felt a little sad for the bride and groom that we seemed to unintentionally over rule and be the elected stars of the show. The Bride and Groom both bend over and touch the lower legs of family elders. We are not sure what this is for but it did seem an integral part of the ceremony and was photographed by many. Dinner was a buffet of traditional Gujarati food...whilst it looked fabulous and smelt even better, we heeded caution and didn't eat. The food was being prepared in the dirt in a make-shift kitchen behind the service area. Guests wore wonderfully glittery saris and beautiful makeup. We were honoured to be part of this amazing tradition and to be a part of the start of Pranav and Divya's new life together.
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Lots of exciting things happening over here in India.....none more exciting than that we are going to be GrandParents in the coming months. Little Grandbubba 'JellyBaby' is due to arrive in August. We're please to announce to you....Grandbubba number 1! Wedding at the Hilton! January and February are infamous for weddings here in India. This is mainly due to the good weather and temperate heat for this time of year. Our hotel is full of wedding guests all dressed in fabulous colourful attire. Women in brilliantly vibrant saris and men in elegant sherwani dress with hats made of fabric to drape and fall onto their smart looking clothing. The typical Indian Wedding Celebratory band plays on the dirty dusty street. Huge metal speakers blaring their tune all over the Vadodara suburb of Alkapuri. Battered brass French Horns wrapped around tiny waists of skinny young musicians, echo in amongst the other instruments, mainly being drums, maracas, and trumpets and some sort of tin clanging instrument not unlike a triangle. Sorry....I couldn't help but have a giggle when looking at my photos.....Wally even seems to have weaselled himself into the picture with the band. Where's Wally? Everyone dances in a circle prior to the groom boarding his chariot drawn by white horses. So much joy.... It's a very special occasion. The groom climbs up into the chariot and everyone converges like bees to a honey pot to have a glimpse of him sitting up there so proud. The dancing begins again.......like a wave in slow motion, they dance one hand in the air before swapping to the other. The procession moves away with everyone following and dancing as they go. The procession will go around the block and return to our hotel for the reception held on the roof. (We took the photos from the roof.....it has been decorated beautifully for its guests). Everyday there is excitement and colour in this absolutely amazing city and country.......Incredible India! The week just gone has been full of excitement...The week just flew by. I met another Aussie Expat couple, Melissa and Bruce.....(yes another Bruce! It's a bit like that Monty Python skit with all the Bruce's) arriving in April to begin their Indian assignment here in Vadodara. We got on exceptionally well so am looking forward to their return. They are from our home town yet we didn't know each other until Monday just gone. We do however have many mutual friends, we have since discovered. She brought me TimTams & Anzac Bickies as a gift. I was invited out to a casual lunch on Monday afternoon with four other expat friends. We decided to be guinea pigs at a new restaurant which had opened the previous day. We gave it the stamp of approval and are having a formal International Club of Baroda function there on Monday evening with partners. Tuesday as you've probably already read from my previous blog, was my first Sari buying expedition. I was escorted by an Indian friend and was successful in purchasing my very first sari in preparation for the Indian Wedding we've been invited to next week. Wednesday, we visited the Palace grounds. It is very opulent looking and I am looking forward to doing a tour of the Palace sometime soon. Peacocks graced the well kept lawns. Along with the extravagant palace visit, Melissa and I had pedicures and Indian leg massages at a Salon in town. Very inexpensive, and so relaxing. I'll be taking my friend Andree next week for another girly splurge to do it all again. Thursday was spent by checking out some new grocery shops with my new found expat friend Melissa. We then ventured into Old City Town to check out the bazaar. We didn't reach the bazaar until around 3:45pm. I usually go in the late morning and whilst it's still bustling, it's nothing like the crazy atmosphere of late afternoon. I really enjoy the crowded bazaar atmosphere...everyone is so friendly and wants to look at you. It seems to really make their day if you give a simple gesture of saying hello or the traditional Indian greeting of 'Namaste' and a big beaming smile. You can really feel the love coming right back at you. On Friday I had arranged to do lunch with a few expat wives to introduce Melissa into our clan. We were joined by three French expats and lunched at an Italian restaurant. Food was fabulous but far too much....we walked away feeling very satisfied. After lunch we walked up and picked up my Sari which needed to have the hem stitched. I now have my sari ready to wear next Friday evening. Melissa and her Bruce departed this morning for their long trip back to Australia. Bruce had his first Indian haircut today....it went well considering the barbers English was fairly non-existent. Only cost AU$5 so can't complain opposed to his Brisbane hairdresser charging $50 for something similar..(the extra $45 must be for the hot towel he's offered in Brisbane). We are settling in to our environment quite well....still in the hotel but it's comfortable and the staff are superb.....they treat us so well. Hopefully moving into our house in the next few weeks. Today was a very exciting day for me.....I bought my very first sari. With the invaluable assistance from my Indian friend Ritu, we visited a Sari store then she drove me to a dressmaker in Old City Town to measure my dimensions so as to make the blouse and petticoat to accompany the sari. We had heaps of fun wading through the numerous colours and embelushments holding up colours against myself. The sari fitters (who were men), wrapped me in numerous saris to see which was to be my chosen one. The possibilities are endless. Without being too overwhelmed, I chose a beautiful caramel and apricot sheer fabric with gold embellishments. It is just stunning. You'll have to wait for the photo of my final choice at the wedding next week. Ritu and I then had lunch at a hip spot in town. Great day with new friends...thanks Ritu! One of my utmost ambitions whilst in India was to be formally invited to a traditional Indian Wedding. I didn't know if we would be lucky enough to be in a position to know someone getting married whilst we are here living in India but the thought excited me. When I visited my friend Gareth earlier in the week, he assured me that we will receive numerous invitations as he and his partner has during their assignment here in Vadodara. Last night, Bruce arrived home from work and handed me our very first Indian Wedding Invitation from one of his work colleagues due to take place on Friday the 30th January 2015. I didn't expect to get one so quickly....we've only been here for 11 days.... The invitation reads as follows: "Invitation Wedding Reception Mr & Mrs Gandhi Cordially request and desire the sweet fragrance of your loving presence on celebration of the unforgettable moments and an auspicious occassion of Wedding Reception of their beloved son Pranav weds Divya on 30th January 2015, Friday at Common Plot Rajdeep Society near Baroda High School at 6:30pm onwards. Kindly grace the occassion and shower the couple with your valuable blessings for everlasting relation when a beautiful new beginning. Awaiting You Gandhi Family. Isn't that just beautiful....... Now to go Sari shopping......Think this is going to be fun! Celebrating Uttrayan-Gujarati Kite Festival Day 2: 15th January 2015. Note: please read Day 1 blog before you read this sequel. As mentioned in Day 1 blog, the Indian state of Gujarat celebrates this festival like none other around the world. Talk to any Gujarati and they'll tell you Uttrayan is their favourite celebration each year....I can certainly see why. Thursday the 15th January started reasonably uneventful.....I don't know if fate is responsible or if it's the chance circumstances of the day that sucked us into its unexpected splendour. We had planned to meet Bruce's Brisbane co-worker engineer, Hanoo (born and bred in Finland) for breakfast at 9am in the hotel restaurant. As things don't get started in India at least until 11am each day, we decided to meet again in the foyer at 10:45am and catch a taxi to the Palace. We checked with reception as to whether or not the Palace would be open on the public holiday. They made some enquiries and it was established that the palace was closed. The beautiful thing here in India is that when a public holiday is called, the shops and paid activities are closed and everyone is free to be with their families and friends unlike the Western world where the ultimate dollar and greed play a major part and shops and services are open regardless of the importance of the holiday. As Hanoo had not been to Old City Vadodara, I suggested we take him there to wander around the lake and bazaar area. You may have read my previous posts of Old City, and if not, please do. It is what you may conjure up in your mind of typically raw India. There are many slums, the less fortunate locals dressed in rags of material hanging from their sparse skinny bodies, Sadhus dressed in orange drapes sporting long white beards wander shoeless on the paved dirty roads with white carved walking sticks dodging fresh cow, dog and human faeces. The cows stand and chew freshly cut crops on the roadside around the central lake, staring at us with their huge brown eyes and drool dripping from their horizontal grind as we wander past.....Some have horns as large as half a metre long. The area smells of rotting vegetation from uneaten crop offerings for the cows, impure water stench from human bathing and toileting and the general choking pollution from the exhaust fumes of the many Auto Rickshaws which congregate in the area to transport locals on their daily missions in life. The taxi dropped us at the lake where we spent the best part of an hour circumnavigating it, allowing Hanoo to photograph the sites unfolding before his eyes. Many were flying their kites over the lake area some kites were as high as visibly possible, a glistening spec in the heavens. We then wandered into the Old City Bazaar area. Most shops were closed and the bazaar was only a shell of its former self as I'd seen it previously buzzing with a hive of activity. Many people live above the bazaar shops so we decided to meander the preserved cobbled streets from centuries ago, washing draped from balconies above....6-8 metre multi coloured saris glistening and floating in the warm midday breeze. We were wandering the lane ways aimlessly similar to feeling beaten in a maze. One lane way caught my eye.... It seemed to draw me in. I suggested to the two men that we walk up that particular alley way. I was photographing the architecture of the multi century old buildings when a well dressed middle aged man introduced himself as Hasim and asked us if we'd like to come upstairs onto his rooftop to see the kites. We agreed and took him up on his offer. As it turned out, he and his wife owned the whole apartment block of which they occupied the third floor as their home. He is a business owner dealing in electronics and cable installation so I think of the upper working class it seemed. The exterior was concrete with little Romeo & Juliet balconies overlooking the cobbled lane-way. We walked four sets of stairs before climbing a rickety wooden ladder which protruded onto an open rooftop with geometrical shapes moulded into the concrete balustrading. We dare lean on the balustrading though, the cracks were severe on the overly dried concrete and it could easily be the last lean you ever do if you chanced this stance. People were flying kites on rooftops as far as the eye could see. It was an infectious atmosphere to say the least. As we stood and watched in awe, Hasim's wife and nephew appeared with homemade Indian snacks for us to enjoy. Sesame seed treacle snaps, round balls of rice bubbles about the size of a small orange and little green apple like fruit. We accepted the offerings gratefully which were particularly good I must say. The spoken language between us was limited but we all as human beings have a universal language...a smile and acceptance. He insisted we climb yet another ladder in even more disrepair up onto the pinnacle of the roof...The area was about 3X3 metres square. His nephew brought us about 20 kites and reals of string so we started joining in on the communal act that the state of Gujarat is so passionate about. Hasim's wife, Marrina, brought us chai tea and cooked balls of tasty potato with hot chilli sauce. This apparently was our lunch....we felt a little embarrassed that we had gate crashed their home but it seemed clear now that our presence was welcomed. We sat and talked as best we could and reviled in the surrounding atmosphere of the sprawling neighbours. Hasim's nephew said he'd be back at 4pm with his family and to wait until he came back. Meanwhile Hasim's Sister arrived and so I was then invited with the women only down into their home to have the grand tour. After removing my shoes, I entered their tiny dwelling of which they were most proud of. It had tiled flooring and concrete walls. The entry area was the living room and would have been perhaps 3X4 metres in size. She had a carved timber cabinet filled with special collectibles such as ostrich eggs, shells, brass water vessels dated 1650....all of which she was very proud of. A large flat day bed filled most of the room and I was encouraged to take a nap but I wasn't sleepy so smiled and nodded. Behind the living area was a very small area with a table with pots and pans, food supplies etc. and a fridge (complete with 5 star rating)... this room is the food preparation area. The women sit on the floor and prepare the meal. The kitchen was quite sophisticated to what I was expecting.... It had storage cupboards, small bench top areas, a gas cooktop and she even had a couple of modern pieces of equipment like a stick blender and electric hand mixer. The cooking utensils were all unusual to me but very practical. The bathroom was a tiny cold room with a cold water tap...no bath tub or shower rose. The bedroom was modest and she had a double sized bed with a beautiful hand embroidery made quilt. Old wooden shutters opened right throughout the home to allow the natural flow of air for the hot summer months reaching 48 degrees Celsius. I watched her make chai tea for us....it was a very involved process. The chai tea we order from coffee shops in the Western world is a very poor excuse for the flavour we had yesterday. The mixture was ground masala, tea, water, a nob of fresh ginger freshly ground to pulp, other spices unknown to me, sugar and milk. This is boiled rapidly for some minutes before straining and pouring into delicate fine china tea cups to be enjoyed. The men joined us in the house and she insisted we eat sweet biscuits and more cooked spinach balls rolled in fine powder again served with chilli sauce along with the spicy hot chai tea Soon after we'd finished our chai tea, the men stayed and talked in the house and us women folk went up onto the roof and flew kites again. Laughing and smiling we seemed to enjoy each others company. A few more women arrived and I was beckoned downstairs to the house again where all the women sat on the floor and chatted eagerly amongst themselves and cut up fruit and vegetables into a bowl. Green bananas, cucumber, persimmon, chilli and tomatoes were all carefully cut into small chunks very methodically. It seemed to be a very joyous time for them making this recipe.... I later found out they only make this for the Uttrayan festival. By this time it was 4pm and the nephew arrived back with his family, a beautiful little girl and his young wife. They could speak some English so we exchanged small conversation....enough to get us by to know what was going on. The surrounding rooftops bubbled with excitement. Each building had masses of people on top as did ours....Our party grew to around 20 people in all. Aunties, Uncles, friends, friends of friends....we were as one. The neighbours excitedly took photos of the 'celebrities' on Hasim's rooftop.....children and adults waved at us just hoping to get some recognition. Music blasted louder than ever thought possible....huge industrial speakers were everywhere on every rooftop. Indian music pounding like a massive Bollywood extravaganza. People were dancing on the rooftops having fun wearing beautifully tailored Indian clothes. Children blew paper horns, the sound not unlike peacocks calling their mate. This was the party of all parties..... Everyone flew kites, some large, some small, every colour you could possibly imagine was in the sky. You could not possibly look in any direction and see space between kites. The sun slowly sunk towards the horizon again gifting us with that golden peachy hue I so love in India. As dusk crept in, the lanterns drifted effortlessly above our heads. As day faded the fire lanterns seemed to brighten like golden jewels all over the sky....similar to three million fire flies perhaps. Fireworks exploded from every possible area around us. Some close, some far....we thought Brisbane River Fire was impressive but it certainly has nothing on this. Everyone has fireworks here....no WHS restrictions....Just light them up and off they go. Huge spectacular pyrotechnic displays....as familiar to fireworks as you may be, you've never seen anything like this before. At around 7pm, we (the intruders) had to dictate when we should eat. Everyone took photos with us before heading back down the rickety ladder into the house where we were served huge portions of the green banana and fruit/ vegetable mix I'd seen the women preparing earlier. It had been cooked in a pressure cooker and was served with some sort of dry sprinkles and hot chilli sauce. We were served our portions and they watched us eat. After a while, they all joined in and ate. The women sat in a circle in the food preparation room, cross legged on the floor to eat whist the men sat on small benches in the living room with us. We hadn't had water for hours and we'd been sitting up in the hot sun on the roof and now this hot hot chilli dish.....I thought my mouth was going to explode. I was earlier told that they boil their water.....and figured I'm going to get sick sooner or later. I was so dry I just threw caution to the wind and drank two huge glasses of water just to put the fire out. It's now mid afternoon the following day and I'm fine... So guess I dodged that bullet! We thanked the hosts graciously at about 8pm for their hospitality and decided to catch a rickshaw back to our hotel. Two of the men escorted us out to the area where we could catch a rickshaw and they negotiated a price far better than we would have ever done. We thought Uttrayan was an amazing experience....such a shame most Westerners never get to experience this. Gujarat is not particularly a tourist destination (which is good news for us).....but if you find yourself in India around January one year, visit one of the major cities in Gujarat and embrace and celebrate this crazy atmosphere in festival mode.... You won't be disappointed. Celebrating Uttrayan- Gujarati Kite Festival- Day 1: January 14th 2015. The last two days have been unbelievably amazing and yet a contrast so diverse from each other. The majority of you reading this blog will not possibly be able to comprehend what Bruce and I have experienced during this major Indian festival, but I would like to try to walk you through the previous two days of our lives just to give you a little insight. I have divided my Uttrayan blog into Day 1 and Day 2....not because it goes on and on and I wanted to bore you but because we celebrated the two days in entirely different ways both of which were something we'll never forget and I wanted you to be able to read and experience through my blog how amazing this place is and how passionate the people are. We've never experienced anything like this before....The culture, the acceptance, the passion! A little background on Uttrayan (Kite Festival): Usually held around the 14th January each year and includes two days of public holiday. Uttrayana is the day when the sun starts to travel towards north as a sign of coming summer. People fly kites from their rooftops in celebration of the festival and we have been told that the flying of kites signify releasing any bad luck from the previous year. The state of Gujarat is the only state of India which partakes in this extraordinary festival. It's the party of all parties.....I honestly believe if you think you can party....you have not partied until you have done so for Uttrayan in the Gujarati state of India and may I remind you that Gujarat is a dry state, so no alcohol is involved. Our day started slowly at the hotel. After breakfast we went to the hotel rooftop and was a little disappointed by the lack of kites in the sky. We'd been promised a sky full of kites and we could see maybe five at best count. We had been invited to an expat party late afternoon and hoped the kite situation might accelerate as the day went on. We visited our house where we will move in in a few weeks time and climbed up onto the rooftop to see across the sprawling Vadodara city. Still not a lot was going on around 2pm but we could see things were starting to happen slowly. We walked the streets and found a few locals starting to get into the spirit. A rooftop of young teenage boys beckoned us up onto their roof however we declined as we had plans an hour later. Our French friends, Andree and Herve met us at our hotel where we walked to the party location only three blocks from where our hotel is located. We were greeted by our French hosts Valerie and Gregory and taken up onto their rooftop to fly kites of our own. As expat after expat started to arrive, our rooftop party grew in number to about forty- fifty people. Kids, teenagers and adults all had fun flying kites, laughing, talking and bopping away to the pounding enormous speakers spilling out mostly French music across the suburb of Alkapuri in Vadodara.....this added enormous atmosphere to our party. We duelled with the neighbours as to who had the loudest music yanking the volume to an all new high......Mixed music genres graced the suburb louder and louder as though we were all doing battle amongst the various cultures. We flew kites, lost kites, sliced other peoples kite strings with the glass tethered strings and of course reviled in glee at doing so, nursed string cuts on our fragile hands, wrapped fingers in tape to protect them from new cuts. It was indeed a lot of fun. The kite flying continued until dark with kites of every possible colour bobbing, weaving and soaring in the sky. Birds precariously navigated kite stings as they flew amongst the ever growing amount of kites in the vivid blue toned sky. The deep orange sun hazed by smoke began to set gifting us with a sky washed with a velvety deep tangerine colour I've only ever experienced in India. As dusk crept in, we began to see floating fireball lanterns grace the skies of Vadodara. There must have been literally millions dotting the sky as far as the eye could see. We released a few from the rooftop also, they can be difficult to initiate but once you've mastered the art, the lanterns glide higher and higher in the direction the soft breeze takes them. Whilst there were a few released in Alkapuri, Old City Town seemed to have the majority of action off in the distance along with continuous fireworks around the outer perimeter of the city, many kilometers from where we were but they were still impressive to watch from a distance. The lanterns slowly glided across the city like slow flying gold stars. Due to last years fire problem from this ritual, the lanterns were banned this year.....but hey! This is India and if you want to light a lantern to release it into the sky well go right ahead...besides how can you prove it's yours when there is about three million others floating past. Some of our friends had attended earlier parties in Old City Town where they said the atmosphere was electric even early in the day. It was from then on, our ambition, to make some friends in Old City for next years Uttrayan festival to experience such local involvement. After many hours sitting, watching, meditating and just enveloping the infectious atmosphere of Gujarati's biggest festival, we went back down to their penthouse unit for a potluck dinner. We had all brought a contribution to the event to share with each other. As Bruce and I are still slumming it at the Hilton, we took pre-purchased Indian sweets as it's a little difficult to cook in your hotel room. We had a great night meeting up with existing friends and also making new friends from the expat society. We left the party at around 9pm and returned to our hotel by foot. The streets were quiet with one or two motorbikes. Looking up we could still see lanterns floating effortlessly over the city and the sound of music and fireworks blaring from every direction. Our plans for the following day were to be with one of Bruce's Brisbane co-workers,Hanoo, an Engineer who is in Vadodara for two weeks. We thought we'd show him some Vadodara city sites. Our plan was to visit the Palace on Thursday mid morning......Day 2 instalment of this blog To Be Continued! .....you won't be disappointed. Thanks to Andree for some of the photos. Lamb was on the menu tonight! We opted for the lamb chunks rather than the whole leg of lamb..... I do believe my bib is very stylish! Today my friend Andree and I went to visit another expat friend,Gareth. Our mission was not only for a friendly chat with this wonderful man, who I know right now is going to be a great expat buddy....but also to severely 'pick his brains' for information on survival techniques in India! We talked for hours and acquired some very useful info even down to what milk to buy. After we left Gareth, Andree and I had lunch at a local cafe and then caught an Auto Rickshaw to a shopping mall where we wandered the aisles looking at products and groceries on offer for when we move into our homes. I think we'll need to be a little resourceful at times, some products we are use to buying don't seem to exist whilst others exist but cost the earth as they are not commonly used in India. An example of this is dishwasher tablets.....1600 Rupee for a box of 20 Finish tablets..that's about AU$35.50. Think we'll be washing up by hand until we get our maid somehow. We saw both men and women working on building sites. WHS is definitely not an issue here....No scaffolding and balancing precariously on the edge of a 5 storey apartment building laying bricks to the outer rim unbothered by the risk of falling. One woman carried a dish of something heavy on her head down numerous flights of stairs with a child in her arms. They all work on the building sites....men, women and children alike....and they work so hard like machines not stopping for breaks. Makes us look so soft in the Western world. Concreting with bare feet and hands, carting rocks...it's all here. We saw little boys flying their kites, getting into the spirit for tomorrow's kite festivities. Overall....I had a massively fun day! |