...although it's only drizzling right now, a few minutes ago it was dumping! The weather has been a lot cooler lately, and the skies are darker. For the past few days it's been raining on and off- the rain usually lasts between five and twenty minutes, and then stops for a few hours before coming back.
This morning I woke up early with my host parents to attend a wedding. Someone from my host father's office was getting married, and so we went for a little while to support them, eat, and chat with people.
We arrived at the hall where the wedding was taking place just as the bride and groom were outside taking some photos. The bride was wearing a bright yellow sari (which is traditional as yellow, the color of turmeric, is auspicious) and was covered in makeup,jewelry, and both the bride and groom wore several strings of flowers around their necks.
We followed the soon-to-be couple up the stairs into the hall where there was several hundred white plastic chairs set up- most of them unoccupied as everyone there was crowding around the center "shrine" (gazebo looking thing) to see the bride and groom as they were blessed by priests from all the temples around the city. My host father told me that this was special, that the father of the bride was a public servant and cared for all of the temples in Coimbatore, and had invited every single one of the priests from each temple to bless his daughter on her wedding day!
After watching for a few minutes, my host parents and I went downstairs to eat breakfast. Breakfast was served in a big hall with lots of long tables set up. We ate our fill of rice, idli (sticky rice patty thing), sambaar, chutney, korma, and a sweet too! Since I've been here I haven't found a single sweet that I've liked- until this morning! The sweet that did the job was one that my host parents have no name for- it was a ball shaped, crispy, cinnamon sweet filled with a paste inside that didn't really taste too much. It was good, and my host mother said "Madi, I think you like sweets with less sugar." Which is true- all of the sweets available here are VERY sugary, and most of the time are just solid blocks of cooked sugar crystals! They don't taste sweet to me, but they are DEFINITELY made from A LOT of sugar! (photo above is of ONE of the three sweet cases at Annapoorna, the restaurant I love!)
5 comments:
I'm back.....
Bring some of the sugarsugars home for me!!
The father's efforts of inviting all of the priests from the other temple made my eyes a little moist; father's care so much and want the best for their little girls!
Let's see some more photos from the weddings. I love all of the colors and smiling faces. Are all of the weddings similar? Is the wedding administered by a priest? Do the mom and dad play a special role? Do they throw rice at the end? Do you talk to Mahesh and Prabak about traditional weddings here?
By the way, you're beautiful in the blog entry below, but you gotta get rid of those Levi's... So American!
- Dad
Another wedding!? Will that be your second in India? Sounds like fun :)
haha dad- still waiting to do some more shopping to get out of those Levi's.....I have talked to Prabak and Mahesh a bit about weddings, it seems like they are all a little bit different, but in ways very similar. The mothers play a special role as they are like "The maids of honor" and they get to sit beside their children as they are married by the priest. The fathers are not immediately a part of the ceremony, but they are included in LOTS of the traditions.
I've actually only been to one wedding, the other three have been the receptions (which happen BEFORE the wedding day...)!
no maddie its not the ""mother"" who sits near the bride ... its the bride's ""aunt""!!!
Hey Madison, it's Kathryn. I am so sorry it has been so long since we've touched base. I am enjoying your blogs. Also, I want to have your email and you have mine: kolorz333@yahoo.com
I would love to communicate with you more via email. Sound good? MMMmmm I just had Indian food :)
please write,
K
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