Today my friend and coworker Ranjith invited us to attend his wedding in his home village, a couple of hours away from Kenchanahalli. He married his fiance, Srividya, who he met 10 years ago in college - it was so exciting to be at a friend's love-come-arranged marriage!
Sudha was so proud that she was taller than me in this picture (she's standing 2 steps above me). She was a huge help for the UCSF girls and I, she came to our house at 5:00am to help us put our saris on! Really, I don't know how women can do it by themselves so easily.
We travelled to the wedding, in Coorg district, in true Indian fashion - a huge rented Jeep with no doors. Believe it or not, this Jeep comfortably fit all 12 of us. The ride was awesome - the weather was warm, and the countryside was stunning.
When we arrived at the wedding, we went to the front to bless the newly married couple - Ranjith and Srividya are both seated, dressed in white. We grabbed a small handful of rice and shook some on the heads of both the bride and groom before wishing them congratulations. They both looked so happy.
Dr. Arundhati, and her daughter, Mansi, and I as we waited for the reception to begin. A reception at an Indian wedding isn't a party, but rather the time for the couple to receive their guests - everyone files up to the stage to congratulate the couple, give them their gift and then have their photo taken.
Ranjith's sister, Ranjitha, was such a good hostess! She introduced us to the family of both the bride and groom, ensured that we were fed and explained to us how the wedding ceremony functioned. Karnataka is such a diverse state that traditions - including wedding traditions - vary within a 20km radius. This wedding was a lot larger, but simpler than the previous wedding I attended.
Ranjith and Srividya. She was stunning in her formal wedding sari - and was completely covered in traditional golden jewelry.
We were served a non-veg lunch! This was one of the few times that I have eaten meat since my arrival in India... it's remarkable how little I miss it. Here, it is much more common to be vegetarian than non-vegetarian, so people always assume you're "veg" unless you specifically ask for "non-veg" food.
On our way back from the wedding, we stopped at The Golden Temple - a remarkable buddhist temple in a monastery. The figures behind me are huge golden statues made entirely of gold. At the time, the hall was full of monks praying... the sound of hundreds of their throaty voices mixed with a gong and conch shell horns was so beautiful.
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