Before 5:30 a.m., a puja (Hindu religious ceremony) called the "making of the bride" began in the front room of the house. A rug, roughly five feet on a side, was spread out to one side of the front door. The priest we had met before was sitting there among various containers of food, including a bowl of rice yellowed with pasupu (turmeric). The black goo had been removed from the bride's hands, leaving red lines. The priest recited a number of prayers as the bride's parents brought more offerings. Lamps were lit and left burning.
Later, the ceremony moved out into the patio. The bride and a young girl (maybe 12) sat on a rug. In this ceremony only, the girl received the same treatments as the bride. More offerings were made and the bride's elders--including me--blessed her by dribbling blessed yellow rice over her head. (This is a recurring ritual in the wedding process.)
We had lunch at the Lorry Owners Hall. The lunch was served on banana leaves in a sort of assembly line fashion (like a cafeteria except the diners sat still while the servers came one after another. One would distribute the banana leaves (actually a couple of leaves sewn together in placemat size), another would set out bowls of water (then the diner was to use a little water to rinse the leaf-plate), and then a person would come by with each dish and place a dollop on the leaf. As before, I took care not to eat anything cold and wet. When it was time to be finished (more people were waiting!), the servers came by and collected everything. I observed some more of the wedding preparations, such as the covering of shaped panels with flowers. Krishna and I went back to the hotel to rest, then wash up. About 7 p.m., a man came by in a car to take us back to the hall.
When we arrived at the hall, the names of the bride and groom were up in lights in big (Roman) letters, replacing the names of another couple that were there the day before. Lights were also strung across the small parking lot. The ceremonies were upstairs at the hall, where there was a stage at one end; dinner was downstairs (brought inside because of rain). Since there were some 800 people to feed, people were eating all during the ceremonies.
The bride arrived about 7:30 in the Fiat, now brightly festooned. The groom arrived (a little late) about twenty minutes later in a similarly bedecked car. The battery in my camera died right then. The bride and groom were escorted to separate rooms on either side of the stage. People visited with both.
Initially, three priests and the parents of the bride were on the stage, under an arch. The priests chanted prayers almost continually. After a while, the groom was brought out, still wearing his suit, for a preliminary ceremony. In this cermony, the father of the bride formally offers his virgin daughter to the groom and presents him with a set of traditional clothes. The groom returned to his room and changed clothes. Later, he reemerged for more processing--prayers and ablutions with water and rice.
Finally, the bride came out. The bride and groom are separated by a sheet of cloth held by two people to form a curtain. There were more chanting, blessings and ablutions. Eventually, the appointed time for the marriage arrives: 9:18 p.m. The bride and groom each took a mixture of yellow rice and spices (blessed by a priest) into his or her right hand. The two simultaneously inverted this hand onto the other person's head as the curtain cloth was removed. This began the wedding itself. There were more chants and offerings and the groom and bride took turns dumping small amounts of rice and water on each other's heads and putting garlands of flowers on one another. This may sound messy, but the couple continued to look good. A small cone of rice stayed on top of each one's head, but most just spilled off onto the rug or blanket they were sitting (cross-legged) on. At a designated time, the groom put a special unlooped garland around the bride's neck and tied it in back three times. When he tied the third knot, they were officially married. Others tied the bride and groom's clothes together in a big knot.
A little later, with the bride and groom and their parents sitting on the stage, each married man was given a little blessed yellow rice. The men filed up onto the stage, then blessed the couple by dribbling the rice alternately onto the heads of the bride and groom. After that, the main priest invited me (by gesture) onto the stage to bless the couple similarly. (I suppose because I was a foreign guest.) I made a faux pas by neglecting to remove my sandals before going onto the stage--the ceremonial area. When the single men lined up to bless the couple, I was invited to go up again. This time, I remembered to remove my shoes. Next, the women went up to bless the couple. As you can image, it took a while for all these processions.
We (the wedding party and immediate family and myself) went downstairs to dinner close to 11 p.m. The happy couple remained tied together. Like lunch, the dinner was served on banana leaves in assembly line fashion. Being a slow eater, I had to make an effort to hurry, so I wasn't holding up the process.
After eating, I went back upstairs. The mewlyweds, still tied (and probably tired), returned to the stage for more ceremonies.
K. and I were dropped off at the hotel around one in the morning.
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