Monday, April 30, 2007
The Big Fat Sikh Wedding
This Saturday was reserved for the grand wedding of my close friend. The guy is a British born Sikh. This was the first time i am attending a Sikh wedding so was a bit curious.
By the time we reached the the Alice way Gurudwara (place of worship for the Sikhs), the Baraat (Groom leaving his house to the Gurudwara) and the Milni (Reception ceremony of the Groom's party by the Bride's Party) were over. On entering the Gurudwara, we wore out head coverings. For those who don’t know, it is required that you cover your head with a piece of cloth and remove your footwear before you enter the Gurudwara. We were directed to the tea hall in the ground floor of the Gurudwara. I knew this Gurudwara to an extent as i had been here many times. This Gurudwara is just about 10 min drive from my house. It was not easy for us to recognize this bloke as i have never seen him with a beard and turban before (remember i told you, he was a British born 'Shaved Sardar').After some heavy scrutiny of the crowd applying elimination method, found him in the Tea hall. He looked pretty good with beard and turban. Met him when he was on his way to the first floor of the Gurudwara where the wedding (Its called as Anand Karaj) is to take place. We followed him to the Hall.
Inside the Gurudwara, we went straight and offered our prayers. We then sat on the left hand side in the carpeted floor. Inside the hall, men usually sit on the left hand side and the womenfolk sit on the right hand side. Not sure if it is a convention, but i have noticed the same pattern in all the Gurudwaras I have gone. After my friend - the groom offered his prayers and sat in the row right in front of us. There were some Kirtans sung and after sometime, the Groom was made to sit in front of the Holy Book (Sri Guru Granth Sahib) The Bride was brought in and made to sit on the left hand side of the groom. Later the Bride, Groom and their parents stood up and offered their prayers. The priest then starts the next part called Laavan (Virdi, the groom, had told me about this before. Hence i remember...). The couple then walked around the holy book with the Groom leading and the bride following helped by her close relatives (symbolizing their support I guess). They go around 4 times with a short break in between each round where the priest recites from the holy book. After the 4 rounds, they are declared as couple. At this stage the Civil wedding ceremony as mandated by the UK Govt takes place where a registrar takes the oath from the couple and they legally declare as Man and Wife. Not sure if such a thing happens in India also.
There were some other smaller ceremonies happening further. We came back to the ground floor had the lunch and off we went to our house.
Back in the house had to do the weekend chores and weekend calls to India and managed to get an hour of rest.
The reception was to start at 7.30 PM and reached there prompt on time. It was in a Banqueting hall in Southall called Monsoon. Didn’t have much trouble finding it. The seating arrangements were very nice. Was hovering around for a table to sit along with couple of other colleagues who had come there. Did take some time to figure out one but it was worth the wait as we were seated on a table right in front of the stage. A few minutes later the newly wed couple came in accompanied by a band of Punjabi drummers and folk dancers. The folk dance group did a nice show of dances for some traditional songs. After which there were some DJ shows and floor open. Met the couple after sometime. Virdi looked a bit more relaxed now. Did some bit of dancing. When i looked at my watch, it was already close to 11 PM and i had to take the bus back home. Rushed to the dinner hall. Had a good serving of Punjabi food and off i rushed home. Lukily another friend of mine gave a lift till home..
It was a day well spent and a bit tiring too. Had a nice sleep that night. The only regret was that i did not take my camera and my phone was not the best instrument to take pictures in the dark :-(. This page would have been filled with lovely pictures...
By the time we reached the the Alice way Gurudwara (place of worship for the Sikhs), the Baraat (Groom leaving his house to the Gurudwara) and the Milni (Reception ceremony of the Groom's party by the Bride's Party) were over. On entering the Gurudwara, we wore out head coverings. For those who don’t know, it is required that you cover your head with a piece of cloth and remove your footwear before you enter the Gurudwara. We were directed to the tea hall in the ground floor of the Gurudwara. I knew this Gurudwara to an extent as i had been here many times. This Gurudwara is just about 10 min drive from my house. It was not easy for us to recognize this bloke as i have never seen him with a beard and turban before (remember i told you, he was a British born 'Shaved Sardar').After some heavy scrutiny of the crowd applying elimination method, found him in the Tea hall. He looked pretty good with beard and turban. Met him when he was on his way to the first floor of the Gurudwara where the wedding (Its called as Anand Karaj) is to take place. We followed him to the Hall.
Inside the Gurudwara, we went straight and offered our prayers. We then sat on the left hand side in the carpeted floor. Inside the hall, men usually sit on the left hand side and the womenfolk sit on the right hand side. Not sure if it is a convention, but i have noticed the same pattern in all the Gurudwaras I have gone. After my friend - the groom offered his prayers and sat in the row right in front of us. There were some Kirtans sung and after sometime, the Groom was made to sit in front of the Holy Book (Sri Guru Granth Sahib) The Bride was brought in and made to sit on the left hand side of the groom. Later the Bride, Groom and their parents stood up and offered their prayers. The priest then starts the next part called Laavan (Virdi, the groom, had told me about this before. Hence i remember...). The couple then walked around the holy book with the Groom leading and the bride following helped by her close relatives (symbolizing their support I guess). They go around 4 times with a short break in between each round where the priest recites from the holy book. After the 4 rounds, they are declared as couple. At this stage the Civil wedding ceremony as mandated by the UK Govt takes place where a registrar takes the oath from the couple and they legally declare as Man and Wife. Not sure if such a thing happens in India also.
There were some other smaller ceremonies happening further. We came back to the ground floor had the lunch and off we went to our house.
Back in the house had to do the weekend chores and weekend calls to India and managed to get an hour of rest.
The reception was to start at 7.30 PM and reached there prompt on time. It was in a Banqueting hall in Southall called Monsoon. Didn’t have much trouble finding it. The seating arrangements were very nice. Was hovering around for a table to sit along with couple of other colleagues who had come there. Did take some time to figure out one but it was worth the wait as we were seated on a table right in front of the stage. A few minutes later the newly wed couple came in accompanied by a band of Punjabi drummers and folk dancers. The folk dance group did a nice show of dances for some traditional songs. After which there were some DJ shows and floor open. Met the couple after sometime. Virdi looked a bit more relaxed now. Did some bit of dancing. When i looked at my watch, it was already close to 11 PM and i had to take the bus back home. Rushed to the dinner hall. Had a good serving of Punjabi food and off i rushed home. Lukily another friend of mine gave a lift till home..
It was a day well spent and a bit tiring too. Had a nice sleep that night. The only regret was that i did not take my camera and my phone was not the best instrument to take pictures in the dark :-(. This page would have been filled with lovely pictures...
