A Memorable Trip !!! - Day 2

Sunday dawned bright and beautiful .. sounds cliched, doesnt it? :-) .. But it was a beautiful day. I had a long night and slept like a log. So, I was up by 6 am. The house was already abuzz with activity. As soon as the bride finished her morning ablutions, I went into the bathroom, bathed and got ready.

Then the make up lady came and began to dress up my friend. I watched the whole process. It was nice to see my friend getting all decked up. Later, I was asked to go downstairs and have my breakfast, which was aapam and vegetable stew. My friend's relatives sure are considerate. They made vegetable stew keepin in mind the fact that I am a vegetarian. :-)

After breakfast, I went back to my friend's room to watch her being dressed and adorned with jewels. It was nice to see my friend as a bride. I was actually amazed at the transformation. My simple friend, who never wore any ornament was suddenly adorned from head to toe in gold.

After she got dressed up, relatives started pouring into the room to have a look at the bride. The eyes of her parents misted with happiness to see their daughter enter the threshhold of matrimony. After a brief photo session, all of proceeded downstairs for a prayer before proceeding to the marriage hall.

The prayer was interesting and an elaborate one. It lasted for close to 15 minutes. The bride was made to sit in the chair and she was flanked on both sides by her father and mother. All the relatives gathered in the hall and participated in the prayer. Noone recited the prayer aloud except the bride's father.

After the prayer, we pushed off to the marriage hall in large cars. The marriage was a unique and something like I have never seen before. The hall was a large one with a stange upfront. All the women sat in the back rows while the men sat in the front rows. The bride sat in the back rows with us. A table and few chairs had been set up on the stage. Slowly, the bride's father, the groom, immediate relatives of the bride, and the high priests from the mosque occupied the chairs. The Holy Quran was opened and verses were read from it. The marriage was over in ten minutes, and the bride never once proceeded to the stage. All the while she sat back with us.

After the wedding, the party gathered downstairs for the wedding feast. There were separate sections for vegetarians and non vegetarians. I sat in the vegetarian section and ate the traditional sadhya - the Kerala feast. Later, I hung about the wedding hall with my friend's cousins and indulged myself in my favourite pasttime - people watching. :)

After some time, I looked around for the groom's parents and his family. To my surprise, I was told that according to tradition, noone from the boy's family will attend the wedding. I found it a little odd and amusing.

Anyways, the bride and groom soon left for the groom's house and I returned home with my friend's parents. I bathed and got ready for my train later in the evening.

My friend's father dropped me at Alwaye station and waited till I boarded my train and bid him goodbye. Very nice people.

I had a great trip .. and returned with loveley memories !! :)