May 17 – The Marriage Continues…

As I got into the car to go to the hotel, a realization was made. All the people in the car had no idea how to get to the hotel. Ajay Jiju was driving, he is from Mumbai, and Bobby Jiju and Pooja Didi are from Surat, and of course myself, which I wasn’t going to be big help either. So now what do we do? So we asked the salon owner if she could tell us how we could get to Hotel Clarks Amer. Her husband was also there, and he said that they are also going in that direction and that we could follow them.

So we were off to the venue which was about 20 minutes from Raja Park where the salon was located. It was around 10.45 pm, and we entered through a back entrance so that we wouldn’t be spotted by anyone. Bobby Jiju dropped us off as he went to go park the car. Pooja Didi and Ajay Jiju went to the counter to find out which room we had, and so that we could go up. The room was on the 8th Floor, and so there we went.

We entered the room, and soon after the news had reached that I had arrived to the hotel. The next person who came through the door was who I wanted to see: my Mumma. She was looking so beautiful in our sparkling red sari, and really she looked very happy. It was great seeing her — and that moment I just needed Mumma with me.

Came with her was one of her cousins (my cousin-masi), who I hadn’t ever met before, but who also didn’t impress me. She was a localite (from Jaipur) but I just found her to be rude. Also Badi Masi was there who is very loving, so it was great to have her and Mumma wih me. In fact all of Mumma’s sisters are very loving and caring which is great. I don’t really have one Mumma, I can stay with any of them, and they treat me as their own. Its really a great feeling!

Mitu Didi, Pooja Didi’s older sister, also came through the door. Mumma specifically told both didis that they needed to stay with me. More and more of the elders came up to see me, and I was beginning to get tired. The didis realized this, and they got everyone out of the room. There was a point where the little kids and the bhabhis from Delhi had also forcibly entered. Didis got rid of them as well. What’s the point if everyone sees the bride prior to her entrance — it loses the shine. So Mitu Didi asked if I wanted to see anyone, and I told her to keep everyone out. They did a great job of guarding the door.

The time was slowly coming as the fireworks were being heard. The sound of the band playing was in the background, and the baraat had entered the premises. Nervousness hadn’t settled in me yet, but I knew that saajanji ghar aaye.

Then there was a knock on the door, and it was Neeraj’s younger sister Lakshmi. She asked if she could enter, and the didis stood at the door firm. Then she said if she could use the bathroom so that she could fix her sari, so the didis obliged. Both didis stood in front of the bathroom very sternly to make sure that no funny business happened.

Baraat

Meanwhile the baraat was slowly making its way to the main entrance of the hotel. As part of the Rajasthani tradition, when the dulha gets on the ghodi he is suppose to always have paan (Indian mouth freshner ) in his mouth. Neeraj doesn’t know how to chew paan (its just the regular sweet paan) because he doesn’t eat it often, so what he was doing was that he would hurry up and swallow. Well someone around him, his bhaiya or cousin or chacha, would notice that Neeraj has nothing in his mouth and so would pop another paan in. Neeraj had four paans by the time that he made it off the ghodi at the hotel.

There was a lot of dancing of course in the baraat. Neeraj’s best buddy from IIT, who is now in Germany, made it to the wedding, and he was the sole representative of all of his college friends. The majority of the baraatis were family members because Neeraj’s extended family resides in Jaipur. Neeraj’s sisters, bhabhis, and little nephews/nieces danced almost all the way:!:

Just when they had made the turn into the hotel parking area, Neeraj remembered that he forgot to tell my parents about setting up the Toran (which is basically a ceremony that the dulha does just prior to getting off the ghodi and making his entrance). The Toran is a small shrine-like of Lord Ganeshji set on the top of the entrance, and Neeraj is suppose to touch it (get blessings/aashirwaad) with his chadi (long stick that he is holding).

So as he remembers that this hasn’t been done, he is searching for his elder brothers in the crowd. What he doesn’t know is that his elder brother, Satish Bhaiya, had also remembered about it and had already gone to make the arrangements.

Because they were not able to get the specific Ganeshji shrine in such short notice, the panditji improvised and the needful utilizing red cloth and other things. Panditjis come in handy at these times.

All of my family members are ready for the welcoming (swagat) of Neeraj and his family. What happens next? Does Neeraj’s jhuti get misplaced? Will Neeraj’s sisters be able to protect it as they had said or will it slip?

Wait for next time as the next post continues with that beautiful day known as May 17, 2006.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.