As we head toward the temple, Sandra once again explains the culture and that weddings last for days with a series of different activities for the bride and the groom, separately and then together (and Arizona asks again how long we’ll be out of the bus). We arrive, along with all the other wedding guests,
and find that there are actually 2 weddings taking place. The wedding hall has 2 areas – one for the richer people in a huge hall, and one for the less well off in a two story tower with glass elevator.
We walk around the temple and leave our shoes at the side of one of the temple buildings near a car park, right in front of the wedding car.
Inside the temple grounds, we walk across the hot marble tiles (with Arizona complaining the entire way how hot the tile is) snapping photos of the beautiful main temple, with it’s gold leaf statuary, strewn with ribbons of yellow flowers.
Once we arrive at the wedding hall, we can see that this event is true to all the epic portrayals of the huge Indian wedding. There are professionally printed signs out front wishing the bride and the groom, Nismenth and Sourta, good luck and pointing to their ceremony. We are greeted by uniformed waiters handing out cups of lime juice, which we all refuse out of curtesy since we are essentially crashing the event, but they insist we drink it. It was actually excellent, and very thirst quenching. Turning toward the hall, you can see the scope of this event. Flowers strung across the entryway, the huge hall filled with chairs – and people! Neon lights with the bride and groom’s name flashing above the stage, and the bridal parties sitting on the stage – the groom’s people on one side, the bride’s on the other.
Then the bride and groom appear and everyone races to the side walkway to go up on stage for photos with the couple. Amazing.
Sandra actually manages to wangle an invitation for us to go up on stage and have our picture with the bride and groom, but we all decline as we don’t want to mess up their special day – and really, we’re all bedraggled and sweaty, who wants a picture with us? But after Mumbai (see later post), we now understand it would not have been an intrusion, but probably welcomed had we gone up there.
After the reception line begins, we leave to explore the rest of the temple. It is a beautiful place, with multiple temple areas and plenty of people around praying. We respectfully don’t take pictures of those there to pray, but we do have some beautiful outdoor shots.
We did snap an interior shot in a small temple where the monk was alone, and started giving some in our group the traditional red mark on our foreheads and the cleansing water.
Then of course we got to pretend we were in a wedding, standing under one of the chuppa like banners set up for a later ceremony.
We wandered around the rest of the area, taking photos here and there, capturing the beauty of the temple architecture –
and the kitsch of the Neptunish looking cleansing pool. Total dichotomy.
Completing the circuit, we make our way back to our shoes only to find that cars have parked on top them. Oh jeez! Ours are pretty unscathed, just a little under the front fender, but one of the ladies’ shoes is actually under the tire. She got it out with a little finagling, but that was giggle inducing (because it wasn’t us, of course).
A few more pix on the way out….
…and we’re headed toward the Aloysius chapel – our last stop before lunch.
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