We flew east for three days to attend Chirag and Neha’s wedding. What a happy and proud group of family and friends, and what an amazing weekend.
My photos barely turned out, so I’m waiting for the real ones from the photographer, but the wedding was beautiful and fascinating. Friday night was for dancing – the women danced garba (a circle dance that looked simple but graceful to the untrained eye, but after watching women coach some of the little girls out in the lobby I could see how much skill was involved)
And then everyone danced raas – a group dance that involved tapping sticks against your opposite in a shifting circle. The beginner version just involved keeping time with your sticks and making sure you approached the correct next person after each clockwise shift. The advanced version featured all sorts of leaps and twirls – athletic and beautiful to watch. We particularly enjoyed watching Chirag and his cousins. The sticks were decorated with red and gold designs and there must have been wax coating them, since my hands smelled like kindergarten crayons afterwards.
Neha was gorgeous in her saris and I loved this photo of the little girl admiring the henna on her hands from the mehndi ceremony.
Such fun, too, to get the chance to see all of the MIT guys.
On Saturday morning, there was a procession on the groom’s side (he rode a horse with the prettiest coverings), he was accepted by her family, and then a multi-staged ceremony to bind their families and then the two of them together.
Then on Saturday night, there was a dinner and reception with dancing and toasts and fun.