Days 13-16, Chennai and Wedding

We arrived in Chennai late Thursday night and were welcomed by the Dewans' driver. We just can't thank Erica, Feroz, and Feroz's family enough for letting us stay with them for four nights. We loved getting to know them, and being in someone's home was such a treat. They definitely spoiled us with their food and hospitality.

Friday afternoon was our first wedding event -- the mehendi ceremony! We arrived early, so found a nearby coffee house. North Indian coffee is terrible, so I had not had very much coffee during our trip thus far. Needless to say, I was thrilled to learn that South Indian "filter coffee" is renown for its strength and deliciousness.

Traditionally, the mehendi ceremony is a time for the women (it is for women only) of both families get to know each other. The bride's hands, forearms, feet, and ankles are covered in ornate henna designs by henna artists (as far as we could tell, for decoration only). The other women typically get the palms of their hands decorated as well. Also, the groom's name is hidden somewhere in the bride's henna designs, and he must find it before the henna wears away.

Ajay and Anusha opened the ceremony up so that men and friends could join in. This was definitely a highlight of the weekend! We met many of Anusha and Ajay's friends and family and ate delicious food -- samosas, chat, milk cake, curries, and coconut water!



Better yet, Anusha's female relatives (including one who knew about Teach For America) insisted that I get the henna on my hands - which was, of course, the main motive for why I had staked my spot in the henna room :) I was so thrilled to get it done! Here are some pics...





Here are pics of Anusha's little guests, who were also very excited about their henna:



The henna requires two hours to dry, so Michael had to do everything -- even feed me! -- during this time.

Saturday morning, we woke up and set out to see some of the Chennai sites. We didn't have much interest for temples and historical sites, so we started with my personal favorite -- the AVM Studios. We walked around and saw filming for an upcoming action movie.



We were really hoping to be cast as extras...but no one showed any interest... It was remarkable how open the studios were. The set hands even offered us drinks and spots in their shade as we watched the filming. We would have liked to have watched more (apparently, some action scenes were to be filmed that day) but it was just too hot. So, we escaped to Spencer Plaza, a mall with AC. The mall was unremarkable, but Michael did get a much-needed hair cut and we did get to cool off. For lunch, we ate Goan (west Indian coast) food at Coconut Lagoon. We definitely recommend this place -- we had delicious crab curry and a mushroom "khoon" soup.

That night was the official engagement ceremony for Anusha and Ajay. Traditionally, the marriages were arranged, and so this was to be the first real time for the families and bride and groom to meet one another. In this ceremony the contract of the marriage is put together (it will be executed the following morning, at the marriage ceremony) and the families exchange clothes for the bride and groom to wear. Anusha looked stunning. We got to see a few beautiful outfits (each with a custom-made set of matching bangles) on Anusha. Unfortunately, we don't have great pictures, as all of the ceremony happened on stage. Here is our best shot...



The ceremony was followed by a delicious South Indian thali dinner. We sat down in front of a fresh banana leaf, which was first sprinkled with water (We didn't know what to do - we were later told we were supposed to use the water to clean the banana leaves.) Then a series of people came by each ladling a delicious curry or snack on to our leaf plate; within 20 seconds our banana leaves were full of delicious rice, soups, chutneys, and small dishes. All of this we were supposed to eat with our hands, using the thin potato pancakes. All of this was delicious -- and we loved the wide variety of flavors.




The next day. the wedding began at 6am with Ajay walking out of the wedding hall, dressed and acting as if he was leaving the city to become a celibate monk in the mountains.



As he walked out, Anusha's father stopped him and asked him to return to the wedding hall and marry his daughter. After some back-and-forth, Ajay agreed to return. At this point, Anusha came out and she and Ajay put garlands of flowers around each others necks. This was part of a game--since the bride and groom were traditionally children, this was a game played to keep them occupied during the ceremony. The men of each family would put the bride and groom on their shoulders and make it difficult for them to put the garlands on each other. There are apparently many such games played during the ceremony, but this was the only one that we understood.

The ceremony lasted for a few hours -- again with some changes in outfits. We are sorry to say that we did not understand that much of what happened. For one part, the bride and groom sat on a swing and many relatives washed their feet...





Then, like the engagement ceremony, there was a stage with priests and the bride, groom, and their parents. Towards the end of the ceremony, the bride and the groom walk around the fire seven times. After walking around the fire, they are officially married. We were so surprised to see that, in general, the guests had lost interest by this time -- most of them had left the main hall to eat breakfast in the reception area. We joined the rest of the guests for another thali meal, and then went back to the Dewans' to rest.

We spent the rest of that day with the Dewans -- we had a great brunch and got to meet Mrs. Dewan, who flew in that morning from Singapore. That night, it was time for our last wedding event -- the reception. At this event, the bride, groom, and their families stand on stage and a long line of guests forms. One by one, the guests go up on the stage, wish the new couple well, and have their picture taken with the new family. We spent an hour or so talking to people we'd met, went up on stage ourselves, and then went to Zara's (a local bar that was recommended to us) for some wine.