Archive | March 2013

More Murals

The day after the wedding was full of interesting little events. First, I wanted to take a walk to the other side of the lake over the pedestrian bridge for some photos of the city from the Hanuman ghat area. I still wasn’t all that familiar with all the twisty little streets between the Mewar Haveli Hotel and the ghats. Pushker accompanied me.

There were more murals to be photographed before we even got to the bridge.

All of the murals I saw were in the old part of Udaipur. The farther you get from the center, the more Udaipur looks like any other Indian city. But in the center, there is an irresistible charm and ambience which keeps tourists coming and coming back.

I’d love to come home to a front door and window decorated like this.

We finally crossed the pedestrian bridge then stopped at a cafe to have a soft drink. Guess what was there?

At the Little Prince cafe.

The entrance to the Lake Pichola Hotel.

We needed to return to the city side after a brief exploration of the Hanuman ghat area, so I didn’t have enough time to fully explore and find out whether the neighborhood on this side of the lake had as many murals as the other. Pushker had invited me and a few others for lunch at his house, so we headed back.

Nirmal’s Cousin’s Big Fat Indian Wedding

Mar7

On November 24 Nirmal’s cousin was getting married, and Rafiq, Pushker and I were invited, as well as several acquaintances Nirmal had made — European tourists whom he’d met at his shop. He never told us his cousin’s name, and I was not introduced to her at the wedding. There were too many people, and she was so busy. Indians are much more casual than Americans about who they invite to weddings, even though their affairs are just as lavish and expensive. Come one, come all.

I didn’t get to see the groom arrive on the white horse. Indian wedding rituals go on for hours, and it would have been over an hour from the time the groom arrived on the horse until the ceremony began. Nirmal brought us to the house where the wedding was taking place right at the point when the ceremony had just gotten started.

Everyone looked gorgeous!

The bride and groom were symbolically tied together and circled the flames several times.

Every time the bride passed too close to the flames, one of the women seated nearby would reach out, gather the bottom folds of the sari and gently pull them outwards to keep it from catching alight.

There was lots of dancing and eating, but I didn’t see any alcohol being served. A smart idea, not having drunken wedding guests.

We were rowdy enough as it was.

There were obligatory group family photos against a lavish backdrop. This is the bride’s side of the family. My friend Nirmal, looking like a game show host in his white jacket, is on the far left.

More beautiful ladies!

There were so many beautifully dressed women at the event, I didn’t even care if I captured their faces or not. They were gorgeous, coming or going.

It’s not at all difficult to get invited to an Indian wedding if you want to see one. Making friends in India is easy if you are open to it. Indian families are huge, and there’s always going to be someone getting married at any given time. If you have an Indian friend, your chances of being invited to a wedding are 100%!

Wedding Season

Mar4

November is a time of weddings in India. Practically everywhere I went, there was evidence of weddings going on. On the way to the Eklingi and Sas Bahu temples, we had seen a wedding camel.

On the way back, I saw a couple of wedding horses. Traditionally, the groom arrives at the wedding on the back of a white horse.

Closer to the old city center, traffic came to a halt as it often does simply due to congestion. It was lucky for me, as I was able to capture a wedding procession.