Friday, December 5, 2008

Wedding Season

Winter is the busiest season for marriages in South India, and wedding parties are becoming regular events for us. Last week, we were invited for a special wedding ceremony by my colleague Dr Koka from Boston Children's Hospital. His niece, Sahi was getting married in Chennai. The reception was at a lovely wedding hall call AVM Rajeswari marriage hall . It was so nice to meet Dr Koka and family, and the food and music were great. In traditional south Indian style food was served on banana leaves and eaten with the right hand (no utensils). One of the photos above is of Leann, Ashwin and Priya digging in!
About ten days before the wedding, we were at an engagement party for Prabhu's cousin Jikki (in the photos at top, she's the woman in the lavender sari talking with Ashwin). She will be married in mid January. There was a celebration at the groom's family home in Tambaram, which is just south of Chennai. A large contingent of family and friends travelled there in a minibus. At the celebration, Ashwin and Priya were excited to be part of the procession bringing gifts to bless the betrothed - Priya carried fruits, Ashwin carried a platter of nuts and sweets - all traditional gifts given to wish for an abundant sweet life together. Then, there was a wonderful meal including the traditional festive dish, biryani, followed by music and singing. A great time was had by all!

There are a few photos above from both events

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your sari is gorgeous, Leann!

MJ

kids in chennai said...

Thanks MJ, but actually that outfit I'm wearing is a 'salwar kameez'. We'll have to do a blog on ethnic wear sometime soon...

Anonymous said...

We wish we could have seen the play and choir, Ashwin and Priya. It certainly looks as if your school goes all out to celebrate Christmas! We are looking forward to visiting your school when we come next month.
Love and Hugs!!
Nana and Grandpa