My first Indian wedding!

Not every exchange student in India gets to witness an Indian wedding, and very few of them get to witness their HOST SISTER’s wedding. Indian weddings are definitely a big deal, and I was extremely lucky to be as immersed in one as I could possibly be.

The most important thing worth noting about Indian weddings is that they make American weddings seem like funerals. The difference was so profound that I couldn’t help but be reminded of Eugene Hutz’s take on them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o76YbAfFfJ8

You just got Gogol Bordello’d.

Anyway, Dipti’s wedding ceremonies lasted three days. During the first day, I arrived just in time to attend a long wedding pooja for Dipti and Saurabh. We had a very talented live musicians who performed Hindu spiritual songs and guided the couple through the ceremony. A whole bunch of Dipti’s relatives were staying the night, so it felt like I had the whole of Punjab living in my house.

The next day we went to the Radio Club, where all of the girls had mehendi applied by professionals. We mingled a bit and went home for another pooja just for Dipti. This one was really interesting as they smeared a whole bunch of this yellow stuff all over any bit of exposed skin. It’s supposed to help make it glow.

Then they put on these bangles, which Dipti had to wear for the wedding and a few days afterward. She even had to sleep in them.

That night we went to a hall in Worli for the celebration part of the wedding. It was INSANE. I danced for six hours, nonstop. I had pretty much decided that because I didn’t really know anyone at all, I was going to have to get my drink on and stick to the dance floor in order to not seem or feel awkward.

This tactic worked out pretty well for me, because at some point in time I danced with Bollywood star Neil Nitin Mukesh. In a lewd and lascivious fashion.

Don’t be jealous.

Oh, and if you think I’m lying, it made the papers:

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=30&contentid=20091208200912080232512492963815

Anyway, the best thing about the dance party is that it wasn’t just the young people dancing. It was EVERYONE. Even the old people. 

The next day, we had the actual wedding. It was down in Colaba at the Indian naval base. Saurabh made a regal entrance on a horse, greeted by crowds of dancing trumpeters, drummers, friends and family. The wedding ceremony went on for TWO HOURS at this chapel type thing, but I wouldn’t know anything about it because I was too busy eating food.

Yep. The best thing about Indian weddings is definitely the food. I’m pretty sure  I ate more at that wedding than I had ever eaten before in one sitting in my entire life. And an hour after that, I went back for some more. It was an absolute smorgasboard, with buffet tables running around the entire field.

I also sat and chilled with some pretty cool people, and then of course my Rotarians. A lot were NRIs (non-resident Indians) or friends of NRIs. I met this really cool guy from Oregon who lived in a small village in Korea for a year, and we talked about culture and loads of other things. I also met this Canadian girl who had backpacked all over the world. It’s crazy who you meet while traveling.

Anywho, back to the wedding. After the ceremony, poor Dipti had to stand in her extremely weighty wedding sari for another 3 hours at the chapel while EVERYONE (at least 600 people) came up to meet the bride, groom, and their families. After that, she finally got to sit down and eat with her family. We then commenced the downing of a ridiculously expensive bottle of champagne, put Dipti into this thing called a doli, and that was that!

After the dance party I definitely thought I wanted to have an Indian wedding, but then I realized that I will never be able to AFFORD and Indian wedding, and also, it’s so strenuous for the bride. Saris are hard enough to wear as is, let alone one that’s weighted down by a heaping assload of jewels and embroidery, and you have to stand around in it for HOURS. So I think at my wedding I’ll just have a big dance party and no ceremony. I’m sure everyone else could appreciate that too.

Oh, and guess what! I switched host families! Now I’m living with Yogiraj and Madhu Gupta. And I have my OWN ROOM. And my OWN BATHROOM. On my first night here all I did was walk around naked and read Calvin & Hobbes (Madhu is a Calvin & Hobbes fan and has books of it! Awesome!). It’s just them and me (all my host siblings are living back home in Delhi), and they seem like really chill people. They go on these daily walks together on Marine Drive, eat insanely healthy food, and spend a lot of time out of the house doing things. The only forseeable problem is that they do not have Internet here . . . .

;_______________________________________________;

. . .. but. I guess this could be a good thing. I will survive, I suppose. I’m definitely getting a lot more reading done. And now I’ll be kept out of the house a lot more.

Anyway, having my own bedroom again is definitely a wonderful thing. I can listen to music whenever I want now, I can decorate it however I want, I can have my peace and silence and privacy, which I had really, really been missing. But most of all, nakedness.

Anyway, since I feel pretty bad about not posting any new content for what might have been forever, here’s some bonus content just for you:

NICOLE GULDIN’S OFFICIAL GUIDE TO BOMBAY STREET FOOD.

Perhaps one of the greatest things about India is that even the food that’s supposed to taste bad tastes so, so, so good. It’s not like in America where anything that’s fast, cheap and convenient takes on the enjoyability of styrofoam. I don’t really understand how I lost weight here, because I’ve never in my life enjoyed food more. 

PAV BHAJI

Pav bhaji is my most favorite of all Indian foods. It consists of toasted, buttery bread (pav) and bhaji, which is this delicious, spicy, tomatoey sauce. You mix some chopped-up onions and lime juice into the bhaji, and you scoop it up and eat it with pieces of the pav. And it is the most delicious thing that exists in this world. I have killed several people over pav bhaji. I will never get tired of pav bhaji. 

VADA PAV

Bombay vada pav is famous. It’s one of those things that you never stop being hungry for, either. It consists of this fried, fist-sized lump of spiced-up yellow potato, and you stick this in the pav like it’s a burger. You dip it in tomato sauce or spicy green chutney. You’re supposed to get the best vada pav in Bombay outside of NM College, which I have lovingly sampled, courtesy of Archit. But since vada pav is literally sold on every street in Bombay, I have a lot more places to investigate.

PANI PURI

I have mixed feelings about pani puri. Basically they put this weird sweet/spicy watery sauce into these little round shell things called puris. And then schlep some chickpeas in there. It isn’t that great.

PAAN

Oh, paan. How I love you so although I know you will turn my teeth into freakish brown craters. Paan consists of pretty much everything in the world wrapped in a betel leaf. Seriously. It’s so fascinating to watch it being made. And each paanwallah makes it differently!  It’s really great to gnaw on after a meal.

Alright, well, that’s it for now. Later days! On Sunday I’m seeing Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Prithvi Theatre with Archit, and I’ll be sure to let you all know how that goes.

Peace.