So here we are, on the 27th of June now just 2 days away from heading out to Chennai. I have packed and repacked and I think we are ready to go. We fled the crazy smokiness of California on the 24th and have been happily enconsed at our midwest outpost in Cleveland for the past few days. Z is settling in well and has amassed a long list of things to do with Na and Grandfather over the course of the next few weeks.
As promised, below is the content of an email that was sent to us by the bride in which she gives a brief outline of the wedding that we are going to. We have been told that this Southern Indian wedding is quite different from a Northern Indian wedding, but since I have nothing to compare it to I am just going to go with the flow.
V writes:
"The preparations for the wedding are on in full swing... its all I do the entire day...busier than ever before! While we're at it, I just thought I'd give you a brief intro to an Indian wedding :)
8th July 2008- Mehendi, 6:30 PM onwards. This is the an all ladies gathering when the bride & all the guests apply heena on their palms. there is music, games, wedding songs and lots of teasing. It's a strong belief here that the color of mehendi indicates husband's love, this means, darker the color- more the passion!
9th July 2008- Sangeeth. 7:30 PM onwards. Popularly known as "Sangeeth sandhya" or the musical evening. This is the most fun time for bride's and groom's side. Lots of music & lots of dancing. A time that you will see youngest to the oldest members of the family (& guests) dancing and rejoicing the wedding celebration. This has mix of some folk music, hindi movie songs & latest remixes.This is the time when none of the guest are allowed to feel shy or stay away from dancing ;)( we'll teach you some steps in advance don't worry about that!)
10th July- wedding 5:00 PM onwards. This is D DAY. starts with baraath, the groom's gang which dances its way to the wedding hall & chooses not to enter until the groom does not get a glimpse of the bride. followed by the lots of ceremonies & blessings & dinner. This would by far be the most colorful part of the entire event.
11th July- reception 7:00 PM onwards. You could call this kinda formal event when all the guests/friends of both bride & the groom gets to meet the newly wed couple personally, greet them & take a picture with them.
Things you cannot miss during the wedding:1. Food- right from the refreshing drinks, to the starters, to the main course, to the side dish, to the desserts & the mouth fresheners (may be somemore that i cannot recollect as i write this)... believe me when i say : YOU CANNOT MISS ANY OF IT. so BON APPETIT!
2.Clothes: This is my fav part. I'm sure will be your's too. an Indian wedding is all about lively colors & lovely styles. This could be your best time to try out the best of the indian traditional outfits ever. bet you'll love them. We'll pick a day before the 8th june & shop clothes for all the occasions. Yash and I would love to take you around for shopping :)
3. People: their laughter, their happiness to serve guest (hospitality) & most importantly different ways of blessing & wishing the couple!
4.Ceremonies: Quite a few in number, yet we consider each one of them to be very important ones. History has it that every ceremony, all the ingredients used & even the colors of the ingredients used have a scientific logic, a justified reason which could be very convincing when one gets down to it roots. Would be great to explain them in detail someday when we meet.
Phew! that was along mail.....and a "short" intro in the BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING...."
So by "onwards" she means "lasts all night". Also, she leaves out the cocktail party that will be kicking everything off on the 6th or 7th. We have also been told to prepare for other nights of clubbing and partying. For those who know the groom this is no surprise at all.
We are resting up. Good idea, no?
Friday, June 27, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
T-minus 8 days (not that I am counting or anything)
Hi y'all:
Well, here is it, Saturday morning at 6:20 a.m. and the Bigelows are enjoying a relaxing start to the weekend. D left for the pool at 5:45, I am dressed and ready to go run a 10k....but the little guy is asleep at least (not for long though, based on the sounds coming from the monitor). Good thing we are all relaxing so much huh?
Per the request of friends with whom we had dinner last night we are starting up this blog to track our trip to India for Yash and Vinnie's wedding. We leave in 8 days and I am so excited that I can hardly even sleep. Actually, we leave here on Tuesday to head to Cleveland to drop off the little guy with his fab grandparents and then we leave for India from there. (Lest you are wondering, the cat will be in the far-more-capable-than-my-own hands of Auntie A.)
So right now our bedroom looks like a bomb went off in it as we pack to get ready to go, and we are filling our days with, well, a lot of shopping. But soon this blog will be populated with pics of the beautiful sights of India.
To fill in the blanks on our trip, here is a little preview of what we think our itinerary is going to be. I say think because we have put ourselves squarely (and happily so) into the hands of our hosts Y and V. And in the midst of planning a multi-day wedding they have taken on the planning of our trip with great gusto, so I am sure it is going to be great.
So we leave Cleveland on June 29th. After 24 hours of travelling we land in Chennai at 11:45 p.m. on June 30th. So we will get to the hotel at oh, say, 2 a.m. on the 1st. Then we have a nap. On the first we are going to bustle around shopping so that we can buy all of the requisite indian clothing that we need for the wedding the following week and we are going to go to the groom's house for lunch. Yum. On the 2nd we take an early flight up to Delhi and start our sightseeing. After a day or two there we will drive to Agra to go to the Taj Mahal. I cannot begin to tell you how much I am looking forwad to that. After years of looking at photos of it in my art history books I can scarcely believe that I am going to get to see it in all its glory. On the 4th we head to Jaipur, which has a lot of beautiful historic sights to offer. All in all these three cities make up what is called the "Golden Triangle" because of the density of temples and palaces and other sights there are in the area. So after Jaipur we fly back to Chennai on the 5th and head directly to a much-needed break at a fancy schmancy beach resort about 65k from the city. Then after a couple of days we head back to Chennai and the wedding begins on the 8th. We have been told to expect that the parties will often go all night, so we will be knee deep in wedding (my dream come true) from the 8th until the 12th, when we head straight from the reception to the plane....at 1:45 a.m.!
So, long story short, if you don't hear from us for a week or two after we get home, it is because we are sleeping! But boy is it going to be worth it!
Tomorrow I will post a little description of the wedding that the bride wrote up for us.
Well, here is it, Saturday morning at 6:20 a.m. and the Bigelows are enjoying a relaxing start to the weekend. D left for the pool at 5:45, I am dressed and ready to go run a 10k....but the little guy is asleep at least (not for long though, based on the sounds coming from the monitor). Good thing we are all relaxing so much huh?
Per the request of friends with whom we had dinner last night we are starting up this blog to track our trip to India for Yash and Vinnie's wedding. We leave in 8 days and I am so excited that I can hardly even sleep. Actually, we leave here on Tuesday to head to Cleveland to drop off the little guy with his fab grandparents and then we leave for India from there. (Lest you are wondering, the cat will be in the far-more-capable-than-my-own hands of Auntie A.)
So right now our bedroom looks like a bomb went off in it as we pack to get ready to go, and we are filling our days with, well, a lot of shopping. But soon this blog will be populated with pics of the beautiful sights of India.
To fill in the blanks on our trip, here is a little preview of what we think our itinerary is going to be. I say think because we have put ourselves squarely (and happily so) into the hands of our hosts Y and V. And in the midst of planning a multi-day wedding they have taken on the planning of our trip with great gusto, so I am sure it is going to be great.
So we leave Cleveland on June 29th. After 24 hours of travelling we land in Chennai at 11:45 p.m. on June 30th. So we will get to the hotel at oh, say, 2 a.m. on the 1st. Then we have a nap. On the first we are going to bustle around shopping so that we can buy all of the requisite indian clothing that we need for the wedding the following week and we are going to go to the groom's house for lunch. Yum. On the 2nd we take an early flight up to Delhi and start our sightseeing. After a day or two there we will drive to Agra to go to the Taj Mahal. I cannot begin to tell you how much I am looking forwad to that. After years of looking at photos of it in my art history books I can scarcely believe that I am going to get to see it in all its glory. On the 4th we head to Jaipur, which has a lot of beautiful historic sights to offer. All in all these three cities make up what is called the "Golden Triangle" because of the density of temples and palaces and other sights there are in the area. So after Jaipur we fly back to Chennai on the 5th and head directly to a much-needed break at a fancy schmancy beach resort about 65k from the city. Then after a couple of days we head back to Chennai and the wedding begins on the 8th. We have been told to expect that the parties will often go all night, so we will be knee deep in wedding (my dream come true) from the 8th until the 12th, when we head straight from the reception to the plane....at 1:45 a.m.!
So, long story short, if you don't hear from us for a week or two after we get home, it is because we are sleeping! But boy is it going to be worth it!
Tomorrow I will post a little description of the wedding that the bride wrote up for us.
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