Day 55, Kannur [Sunday 27th January 2008]
Previous day: Day 54, Kannur [Saturday 26th January 2008 - Republic Day]
Next day: Day 56, Kannur, Kerala [Monday 28th January 2008]
Breakfast is rice dosa, scrambled eggs and green gram curry. Ranji tells us there's a wedding just up the road, and there's an open invitation. We're a bit hesitant about turning up unannounced at the wedding of two people, neither of whom we know. Even more so when Ranji says neither he or Jyothi are going. But I'm curious, having never been to an Indian wedding, so we dig out our best clothes - unironed shirt and dusty trousers for me, then - and at 10am walk up the lane.
The bride's house is obvious when we arrive, as it's decorated with a dais and canopy in the front garden, with bunting and signs put up all around the house. A priest sits on the dais, surrounded by flowers, burning oil lamps, bowls of rice, coconut tree saplings (?), wheat and other traditional wedding ceremony items.
As we walk in we see there is already a large crowd gathered. Men seated, and the women gathered around the doorway to the house, which by way of consolation for its lack of seats has the best view of the dais. There is a hum of activity, coupled with the quiet chanting of the priest. Embarrassingly, the guests rise out of their chairs to make room for us. There are also some guests here from Costa Malabari, so the front 2 rows of this couple's wedding are full of inquisitive Westerners.
Soon the groom arrives, dressed in a plain white, perfectly ironed shirt and lunghi (sheet worn like a skirt, also called a dhoti, in Hindi). The bride emerges from the house and together with the groom stands on the dais in front of the priest. She places a garland around the grooms neck, and vice versa. Whoops and cheers erupt from the family and friends who are now crowded around the dais. They then place gold necklaces around each other necks, to even more, even louder whooping from the crowd. It's much noisier, relaxed and vivacious than I was expecting it to be. The couple, however, still look nervous and contained.
The priest intones some prayers, then the couple walk 3 times around the dais, around the burning lamps and the wheat and the bowls of rice, the groom leading the bride. Then they sit and receive the long, long line of family and friends who queue to bless them, which they do by sprinkling rice grains onto their heads and shoulders. At this point we sneak off as it looks like the blessings might go on for a while...
It's a hot, hot, humid day. We take a long walk along the beach and buy some fruit.
Next day: Day 56, Kannur, Kerala [Monday 28th January 2008]
Previous day: Day 54, Kannur [Saturday 26th January 2008 - Republic Day]