No person is an island entire of themselves....: A reason to celebrate

Despite the craziness that is trip season preparation- last night our team paused to celebrate the new marriage of one of our team members- Shoaib.

For many in the office this was their first Muslim wedding- it was my first EVER Indian wedding. I had no idea what to expect, what to wear, how to act or how to prepare and truthfully with my incredible work load I hadn’t put much thought into it until 1 day before…..

Wednesday Mona scooted me off to her family's shop to help me pick out an outfit on our lunch hour (also my first ride on a motorized scooter here in India ykes!).

The shop was stocked floor to ceiling with textiles, I was overwhelmed- what colour? what pattern? We all know I HATE making decisions. We finally decided on a beautiful maroon sari after I made Mona promise me that the pattern was age appropriate- how am I to know? They measured me up and sent me on my way.

Thursday (the day of the big event) I powered through a crazy/frustrating/busy day and flew out of the office at 6 pm to go get ready- who has a wedding on a weekday?! Mona graciously arranged for her mom to help me wrap the sari as I had not the slightest clue.

Step 1: Putting on the top and skirt

Step 2: Wrapping the sari in a incredibly complicated way and pinning me in place!

Step 3: Activate what gracefulness I have in me…

Step 4: Go to the wedding!

It looked beautiful, I felt beautiful… until we reached the wedding and were outside in the hot humid night and I started to sweat….. and continued to sweat until I took it off a couple hours later.

The wedding was interesting, such a grand event…. but with surprisingly very little activity. For whatever reason I expected music, singing, dancing…. liveliness. But in reality two pairs of brides/grooms sat on a stage (Shoaib and his bride, his sister and her groom- dual wedding). The women with the heads slightly lowered (looking meek and timid- intentionally) and their grooms sitting straight and attentive beside them. They sat there the ENTIRE NIGHT, as the guests made their way up- passed on their gift and posed for a photo. The guests were then free to roam about and collect dinner from the stalls set up within the wedding grounds.

I am told this is 1 of potentially 4 events and this event was not the one for dancing and music… it was just one big “receiving line” event. Nevertheless I was enthralled with the scene- taking in the sights, the outfits, and the interactions.

I didn't capture many pictures (or “snaps” as they call them here)… it hardly seemed appropriate as no one else had a camera out but I did get a couple.