Valima in Lucknow

The valima, or wedding reception, happened a few days after the Nikah in Lucknow's Baradari (a palatial complex of sorts). It was gorgeously decorated.

When we arrived we had Chaat - which we usually don't eat unless we are at weddings or very fancy places...

YUM!

Then we met the happy couple and took some obligatory photos. It turns out that the reception mostly consisted of people coming taking pictures with the couple, eating and then leaving. There wasn't really an "event" per se. NOTE: I totally know that the bride is capable of smiling and caught her in several unguarded moments doing just that! It seems, however, that her sensibilities to keep a straight during photos held.

Nikki and her sahelis (girlfriends). These girls were kind of ridiculous. They spent the better part of the evening chasing Nikki around and trying to shove food in her mouth. Which reminds me that there is a special verb in Hindi (thoosna) which means to shove something in someone else's mouth. So Grammatically, "Khana thoosti hui Larkiya" means "the food shoving in the mouth girls" which I think is an accurate and amusing description of Nikki's Sahelis.

Another funny tid-bit was there were two buffets for dinner. One vegetarian and one non-vegetarian. Interestingly, there were no vegetables on the non-veg side at all. And from what we can tell, we were the only guests who ate from both sides. It's either meat or no meat. All or nothing. No omnivorous dilemmas here.

After dinner, we had sweet paan. Here's the wedding paan wala with his well decorated stall

Happy Paan Eaters!!

Nikah in Ridauli Town

I was wonderfully blessed with the opportunity to witness a Nikah or Muslim Wedding. My tabla teacher's younger brother was getting married, and I got to go with all the family to the bride's home town of Ridauli - about 2 1/2 hours by car from Lucknow.

In traditional Hindustani fashion, I was told to be ready by 2pm and we left around 4:30. We got there around 7pm and had some pre-wedding snacks while preparations were made. While going out to get some bottled water (just in case) a friend and I learned that in Ridauli they only have electricity from 10 to 6. Some days it's 10 to 6 during the day, and other days it is 10 to 6 during the night. We were, fortunately, on the "night" schedule which meant that some time around 10 pm or so they would be able to turn on some fans. It was very hot in the rural school house that had been remade into a Wedding house.

Alas, Nikki was unable to attend - she wasn't feeling well - and it was probably for the best, given the heat.

The event consisted of a few parts. First, the Groom was covered with a veil of flowers.

Then, he was brought to the front to sit on the stage where the Maulvi (or priest) sat beside him and read some passages from the Qur'an, and then asked him whether or not he agreed to marry his bride.

He said yes, papers were signed by him and several witnesses, and there was much rejoicing. Men waited while women ate - and then it was our turn. Apparently the bride had been asked the same thing by another Maulvi in a different room. They were now married - even though they had never once seen each other face to face. Hooray!

After several hours and everyone had eaten, the bride was brought forward to meet her new husband for the first time. The groom's mother first said some prayers and then covered both their heads with a cloth. Underneath this communal veil, the each lifted their respective veils - hers of silk and his of flowers - and looked at each other's reflection in a hand mirror that was resting on the Holy Qur'an. This was the first time they saw each other - and even then it was through a reflection in a mirror (and they were already married!)

It just kind of blew my mind. It was such a powerful moment to be a part of. I felt honored that I had been invited to witness it.

Afterwards, the bride went back to the woman's space where some more rites happened for several more hours; it was the official leaving of her family. At around 4am she slowly began to get into a well decorated car with female members of the groom's family. There was much weeping. In some ways it felt like the bride had died. It felt almost like a funeral the weeping was so intense.

Shortly after they left, the rest of us packed up the bus and took off. I got back home around 7:30 in the morning - exhausted.

Back of a Motorcycle

I've been riding around on the back of a motorcycle a lot lately. At least twice in the past few days. And both times I have ended up carrying either very large or very heavy things with me while navigating the city streets. I've also been trying to take some video clips of what it is like to ride on the back of a motorcycle in Banaras. Here are a few short clips of driving around.

On the main Roads:

Motorcycle Ride in Banaras 1 from Nikki on Vimeo.

Through the Market called Dal Mandi:

Motorcycle Ride in Banaras 2 from Nikki on Vimeo.

Now imagine riding back through Dal Mandi with all of THESE boxes. It was quite tricky and countless people in the market thought we were a bit crazy to try because all the low hanging wires meant that I couldn't just plop them on my lap. We kept bumping into things (as I am sure you can imagine) but since the boxes were empty and we were going EXTREMELY slow it didn't seem to matter much.

Finally, these two logs probably weigh about 60 pounds each. Balancing them on my lap (without crushing my thighs when we went over every single bump in the road) was still another feat.

It really is kind of crazy/fun the sorts of things I keep managing to get myself into.

Valmiki Jayanthi or Reason 19,473,629,394,769,320 to Always Carry a Camera in India

So while Allen and I were on our way home from visiting my former Hindi tutor and newest pen pal we literally were engulfed by a parade for Valmiki Jayanthi - a celebration for the birthday of Valmiki, the poet credited with writing the Ramayana*.

The whole pantheon was represented, by children, of course: Valmiki with this fluffy white beard, Ram and Lakshman with their bows, Hanuman clearing the way... the multiple wedding bands blaring music (with their diesel generators to power the speakers)... and, no less importantly, children running around handing out prasad to passers by...

... but sadly, I have no pictures. So, for once, just take my word that it was really awesome and such a perfectly Indian moment**.
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* We're still trying to plow through the 1990 television serial version of the Ramayana. We're on disk 8 of 20 ... but I'm confident we'll make it through by the end of our time in India.

** By which I mean, that neither of us had any idea that today was Valmiki Jayanthi until we were overtaken by the parade

Who wants Tabla?

Dear friends and family,

Since I am researching tabla making, it would only make sense that I try to get my friends here some more business.

So if you know anyone who wants to buy some drums from India, please send them my way. I will promise to hook them up and vouch for the quality of the instrument myself.

After shipping, I can send a top quality tabla set to a US address for between 200 and 300 dollars depending on whether or not the person wants a case to go with it and how quickly they want it.

I don't know how many people want Indian drums, but I thought I might at least ask.

Best,

Allen

I saw this video and had to Blog it.

My only issue with it is the choice of soundtrack. Thoughts?

And then there was SUN!

The clouds have parted for the last week or so and this is the view that greets me every morning! Man, this is awesome!

Have to take advantage of these views while they last because we're expecting more rain next week.