Indian wedding extravaganza

Where ever in the world you may be living the wedding frenzy cannot escape you,especially if the wedding is that of someone very close to you.In the midst of the wedding season here in India and recently back from "THE GREAT BIG INDIAN WEDDING" of my brother i can say im positively in a wedding hangover!(well its a condition people suffer from if you are lucky enough to be part of a 5 day indian wedding extravaganza!!:p)The quitessentiel Indian wedding is nuthing short of a bollywood mega budget film.Songs,dances,family drama,comedy and great food...you name it and its there.

since childhood i have witnessed a number of weddings in my family my uncles and aunts mostly...and they didnt mean anything much to me beyond good food and a sangeet performance.However now with weddings of my brothers and sisters, weddings have a whole new meaning.

Just visited Lucknow for my brothers wedding , it can possibly be described as one of the best weekends of my life.After a 4year no wedding period this was definetly the most awaited event in the lives of all our family members.

Well one must not forget to put together those 5 days of perfectly co-ordinated function involves months of hardwork and meticuluous planning.In todays day of wedding planners I take pride in saying that my family today still manages the entire event with the help of its family members..like it has always been done.With a family of over 50 people who needs anymore help from outsiders.So every detail from the nail polish of the bride to the venues ,the menu the guest list and even the reception of every geust was handled by the members of the family.(i guess its the personal touch that makes ouer weddings only that much more special)

Well every indian wedding starts with the most awaited event of all the functions "THE SANGEET",and ours was no different.It is this function that suddenly turns all the members of the family into choreographers,directors,singers and music directors.All the children franticaly start listing all the biggest dance hits of the year and then comes the most difficult part..allocating them to the other members to perform on them.(this can usually lead to some major world war like situations among the family members).However more than the actual function i bet it has always been the practice sessions that all of us look forward to more.The trash talk and the improptu jigs from the elder members of the family only adds to the fun of those practices!

After the grand sangeet night where no family member is spared from performing and the only time everyone is excused for doing vulgar crass dance step comes all the serious stuff.But well we  never let anything get too serious at these weddings.Whenever things get to monotonous no one shy's away from picking up that dholak lieing in the corner and within 30 seconds the place resembles nuthing less than a jam session(playlist including selected "govinda" songs and the cheesiest wedding songs that have been sung at probably every wedding since the time of our great grandparents)

The theme parties,cocktail dinners and the sangeet all full of fun colour and glamour can sill never match upto the main event -THE WEDDING!
The wedding day with all its innumerous rituals,from the "sehera bandhi"(turban tieing) to the "barat"(wedding procession),the "jootha chuppai" to "phera" still remains as one of the purest moments one witnesses at the wedding ceremoony.When you sit there as the pandit chants the mantra and the groom and bride take there vows no moment no relationship feels as pure as this.

But the most touching and heart wrenching moment comes at the end of the wedding as one mother loses her daughter only to give her away to another and the life of the mother almost comes round a full circle.

As this tradition goes on and our families continue to grow one can safely say that the wedding bonanza in the Indian family is only going to get better and bigger if not anything else.

With this I welcome the newest  member into our family and promise that  every moment of your new life will be nothing short of entertainment.