Thursday, May 18, 2017
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Nishant & Shivangi's Punjabi Wedding
First of all - endless thanks to Nishant and the Gautam family for the invitation to his Hindu Punjab wedding. We (my son Stephane and myself) were treated and included as family throughout the rituals and ceremonies. We feel so lucky!
Nishant and I are are co-alumni of working at Sirius Controls and cycling with the Velocity Club. Bringing him and his family to the Bonnyville chuckwagon races pales in comparison to this experience.
I don't know how he will ever explain this wedding extravaganza to his co-workers back in Canada. I'm not going to do it justice in describing it here either. You really have to see it to understand the grandeur of this affair.
- Ceremonies typically last a week but we joined in on the second last night, Wednesday night, 'DJ Night'. The whole street in front his parents' beautiful home was closed off for this party. The house itself was decorated in lights and flowers. Both Nish's parents have eight siblings so this "family of the groom" event was fairly large - maybe 150 people. (The bride had her own event). It was deliciously catered with street-style food and plenty of water to keep the energetic crowd hydrated on this 35+ Celsius night. This "let loose" event was just what the family needed after a year of several unfortunate deaths.
- The next day, the same family crowded in Nish's parents house for the groom's dressing ritual. His golden garment (and shoes), the forehead tainting, the turban wrapping and arranging the crown outfitted with strings of beads. It started a few hours behind schedule and it took several hours to complete. This included the last step where he wore a "cash" necklace and the family blessed him and offered financial gifts to him. Many steps of the wedding includes rupee bills being thrown on the groom and bride - this was one of them. A wish of prosperity, I guess.
- he left the house to the fanfare of a marching band and mounted a decorated white horse. The female family members performed a little dance and cheer to start the parade which would culminate at the hall. He switched to a horse carriage and many kids joined his side. Other family (including us) danced in front of the progression. Fireworks exploded as he approached the main hall.
- At the entrance, another ritual then started as all the male members of the bride and groom families exchanged hugs and gifts (another hour goes by.). There was much excitement as an uncle of the bride is a famous Bollywood villain. The walk/dance from the entrance took another 45 minutes or so. We had our first glimpse of the grand stage with a full stage shows of Indian dance troops, professional DJs and belly dancers. The "whole community" seemed to be invited with about 800 guests in attendance.
- Again, a professionally delicious catered meal with all the great tastes and sweets of northern India you would expect. Many different side carts included ice cream, ice drinks and (chai) tea.
- I'll also mention there was a professional film crew complete with 3 still cameramen, soft/spot lights, a drone and a video crew with extending pivot arm focused on the stage show. **Poor sap who will have to rummage thru this footage to make the final product.
- To rewind a bit - the marriage was arranged by the mothers who know each other on the Hoshiarpur women's social scene. The couple themselves met for the first time in November. Shivangi, the bride will move to Canada to live with Nishant and his sister Kirti who have now been in Canada for 7 years. I sense that Canada is a nirvana for the Punjabi, where many want to study and live. This was apparent from the countless TV and billboard ads about Canada. We also heard of many family members (mostly cousins) that were living in Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.
- Once the bride finally reached the stage it was almost 11pm. Everybody took their turns taking pictures with them and they had their first dance.
- As further rituals continued into the night we went to sleep and rejoined the wedding party under the mango tree near the family home the next morning at 10 am. They hadn't slept yet and were giddy with fatigue. I was impressed that Nish was still smiling as he was thru the WHOLE event! The last ritual was the removal of all the garments and jewelry. Once done, we had a quick meal together and they were finally going to bed. As for us, we headed to be tourists in Amritsar, Wagah, Agra and Delhi with our arranged driver, Kuldeep.
- side note: the family neighborhood was surrounded by marijuana/hemp. As Nish's dad pointed out, nobody cares or knows what it is. It's where weed is actually a weed.
- The next day, the same family crowded in Nish's parents house for the groom's dressing ritual. His golden garment (and shoes), the forehead tainting, the turban wrapping and arranging the crown outfitted with strings of beads. It started a few hours behind schedule and it took several hours to complete. This included the last step where he wore a "cash" necklace and the family blessed him and offered financial gifts to him. Many steps of the wedding includes rupee bills being thrown on the groom and bride - this was one of them. A wish of prosperity, I guess.
- he left the house to the fanfare of a marching band and mounted a decorated white horse. The female family members performed a little dance and cheer to start the parade which would culminate at the hall. He switched to a horse carriage and many kids joined his side. Other family (including us) danced in front of the progression. Fireworks exploded as he approached the main hall.
- At the entrance, another ritual then started as all the male members of the bride and groom families exchanged hugs and gifts (another hour goes by.). There was much excitement as an uncle of the bride is a famous Bollywood villain. The walk/dance from the entrance took another 45 minutes or so. We had our first glimpse of the grand stage with a full stage shows of Indian dance troops, professional DJs and belly dancers. The "whole community" seemed to be invited with about 800 guests in attendance.
- Again, a professionally delicious catered meal with all the great tastes and sweets of northern India you would expect. Many different side carts included ice cream, ice drinks and (chai) tea.
- I'll also mention there was a professional film crew complete with 3 still cameramen, soft/spot lights, a drone and a video crew with extending pivot arm focused on the stage show. **Poor sap who will have to rummage thru this footage to make the final product.
- To rewind a bit - the marriage was arranged by the mothers who know each other on the Hoshiarpur women's social scene. The couple themselves met for the first time in November. Shivangi, the bride will move to Canada to live with Nishant and his sister Kirti who have now been in Canada for 7 years. I sense that Canada is a nirvana for the Punjabi, where many want to study and live. This was apparent from the countless TV and billboard ads about Canada. We also heard of many family members (mostly cousins) that were living in Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.
- Once the bride finally reached the stage it was almost 11pm. Everybody took their turns taking pictures with them and they had their first dance.
- As further rituals continued into the night we went to sleep and rejoined the wedding party under the mango tree near the family home the next morning at 10 am. They hadn't slept yet and were giddy with fatigue. I was impressed that Nish was still smiling as he was thru the WHOLE event! The last ritual was the removal of all the garments and jewelry. Once done, we had a quick meal together and they were finally going to bed. As for us, we headed to be tourists in Amritsar, Wagah, Agra and Delhi with our arranged driver, Kuldeep.
- side note: the family neighborhood was surrounded by marijuana/hemp. As Nish's dad pointed out, nobody cares or knows what it is. It's where weed is actually a weed.
MIND BLOWN!! Thank you again for having Stephane and me there.
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