Shaadi Dot Com - A North Indian Wedding

On Friday Nov 27th I went to a wedding with

Sonia and family.

He was the son of a wealthy businessman and government officer.

We first visited the groom 's home where

a very large number of relatives and friends had gathered.

From there they took us to a reception guest house

where the bride 's family served us coffee, sweets and snacks.

Traditional weddings take place in the middle of the night so time

does not matter.

At about 10 pm everybody was ready to start the baraat or wedding procession'

This is the wedding horse on which the groom sits.
The musicians with drums and pipes

The light walas.
This is a must in baraats.
The lights are powered by a portable generator

The groom seated on the horse with a
young boy for company,
usually a cousin
Weddings are a business in India.
Many people find employment in this area.
On the right is the groom 's sister with a cousin
Girls dancing in the baraat.
There was a time when women were not
included in the baraat,
let alone
dancing on the street.
They either stayed at home or went to the wedding venue
by private transport.
But times have changed now.
As they say.
"You 've come a long way baby".
This was the first time I took
part in a baraat.
Of course Christians don 't have baraats.
This was a Hindu wedding.
I was mainly there to take
photos and videos.
(for my blog)


This is a decorated music van
which accompanies the baraat.
The music is extremely loud.
Mainly pop and dance music.

A shehnai player.

He could hardly be heard in the cacophony

Here comes the groom

Men dancing behind the van.

They have money in their hands

which they wave over the heads of the dancers

to ward off the evil eye.

This money is up for grabs.

The music band, children,

young people anyone can have it.

Abner got Rs 15 and was very pleased.

This is the wedding reception hall.

There are scores of such venues all over the city.

Many in posh hotels near my home.

So you can imagine the disturbance.

On an auspicious night there can be a dozen wedding parties going

like right now,.

We live in a party zone.

The stage where the bridal party sits.

To the left is a small dance floor.

Guests in the reception area

The bride and groom

This is the lawn where food was

served buffet style.

It was all vegetarian.

Very delicious dishes

even Chines and South Indian cuisine.

Salads, ice creams, flavored milk and Indian sweets for dessert.

One just could not eat everything.

There traqdition wedding must have taken place

somewhere else in the wee hours

of the morning , the auspicious hour

determined by the preists.

Another shot of the buffet lawn

Kids on the dance floor

Abner also joined the fun

Congratulating the couple .

Sonia and Abner ( 3rd from the left)

I took a number of short videos.

You can get a taste of the baraat.

All my videos did not upload.

I will post some more tomorrow