Viva Vivaah … the ultimate Indian experience!
Getting to celebrate a vivaah (a wedding) in India is an experience I’ll surely never forget. Calling this a festive occasion is an understatement. The décor, colors, music, dancing, and clothing were out of this world. Every little detail was planned perfectly and you could tell months (maybe even years?!) of planning went into the event.
How did we end up attending a wedding our second week in India, you might ask? Luck would have it, on my 10 hour flight from Amsterdam to Delhi, I was seated next to a groom flying back to India for his wedding. Rohit had been living and working Toronto and was traveling back to none other than Chandigarh, India to marry his bride that upcoming week. Luck would also have it Rohit was a former IBMer! 8 years back as I was starting my career at IBM in Washington, DC, Rohit was working at an IBM call center in Chandigarh (no longer in operation). It’s ironic and amazing how life happens and how our worlds came together on that flight to India.
At the end of the flight I asked Rohit on a whim if I could come and snap a few photos of him arriving for the reception outside the venue. He had explained a bit about the ceremony on the plane ride, how he would be arriving on a horse with a sword and a band as his friends and family walked through the streets to meet his bride. I could only imagine the festiveness that would ensue at an Indian wedding and I figured why not ask? Rohit upped the ante and graciously invited us not only to come and take some pictures but to formally attend his final day wedding reception.
A few days later once we were settled in Chandigarh, Rohit came to present us with the formal wedding invitation along with some Indian sweets. He told us a little about what to expect and arranged for one of his former IBM friends to be our escort for the reception.
That week we all embraced the momentous occasion and went shopping to purchase proper Indian wedding attire. I found a fashionable western-style Indian dress to wear, along with matching gold shoes and a purse. You only attend an Indian wedding in India once so why not go all out?
We hired beauty school students from an NGO program one of our IBM sub-teams was working with and they came to do our henna before the wedding. Some of the ladies also got updos and makeup as part of the experience.
Fast-foward to the big day, we tried our best to blend in, but boy did we stand out. Not only were we the only foreigners attending (which we knew would be the case), we were the only other guests with henna besides the bridal party. And the traditional shoes some of our guys sported were also only worn by the groom!
All jokes aside, I think they really appreciated our effort. We embraced their culture, we were part of the experience, we interacted with Rohit’s family and friends. And they embraced us. We spent the rest of the evening (Indian weddings often go until 5am!) celebrating with Rohit’s family and close friends, dancing the night away.
Getting married is a huge life milestone and we were part of their once-in-a-lifetime celebration. It is a memory and an experience I will never forget. Check out some more of my favorite pictures below!
