Blogs from Delhi

 In Delhi, my next couchsurfer, Rohit, picked me up from the station. First we took my stuff to his apartment, had some food and then we went to a market to buy me an indian dress. This because Rohit was invited for a wedding and told me I could come too. didn't want to show up in shorts or in jeans, so we just went to buy a cheap dress on the market.

The wedding was very very different from ours. First of all, the brides wear red-gold dresses instead of white. Then, in our weddings, the entire day revolves around the bride and groom. In this case it was more like people came for the free food and pictures. Let me get into the details:
We arrived around 18:00 and the groom didn't arrive until 22:00! Rohit told me this was normal. The later the groom arrives, the more he shows his importance. Here in India, about 80% of the marriages are arranged, which was the case in this wedding too. When we arrived, we ate from the buffet almost immediately. I thought it was so strange, but I was told it was normal, so we ate. Carrot Pudding 

Wedding ceremony

was so good! (I guess I like carrots.. or deserts in general.. haha). a Few hours later, I started noticing people were leaving, they didn't even see the couple yet! Again, Rohit told me this was normal. The guests of the bride would always come first, have some food and leave. He said that also most of them were farmers and had to get up really early to work on the land, so they can't stay up super late. Close family of the bride would of course stay. I noticed a car next to the stage with the couch on it. Apparently, in most weddings, the father of the bride buys a car as a gift for the groom. So, if you are a guy and you need a car, just get married in India 😉. Finally, we heard the groom arriving. We went outside to see what was going on. The groom sat on a super decorated carriage, pulled by horses. There were people playing instruments and the grooms' family and friends were dancing like crazy in front of the carriage. Fireworks were shooted into the air and even though they arrived, it took another half an hour before 

India Gate

they would actually enter. When he entered with the rest of his family, I went behind them and Rohit pulled me back, He said it would be super weird if I would arrive with them because I'm not family. The entrance was a tunnel made of colorful fabrics. In the middle they would stop to make pictures one by one with the groom. I think this took another half an hour. We passed the tunnel from another side and waited. When the groom was inside, he sat on the couch on the stage that was also decorated by colorful fabrics and flowers.Then the bride came in. Rohit told me she probably had waited in a room for hours, already dolled up. Her family held a sort of scarf above her head while she slowly walked towards the stage. Again, lots of pictures were made. This time of the bride and her family. When she arrived at the stage, the fun began! Every single person was coming on stage one by one for.. guess what.. more pictures! This time with the groom and the bride together. By this time I was hungry again, so we had some more food. Suddenly, someone 

Pineapple with salt. yumm!

came to get me on stage too. I didn't really want to, but she insisted. I got on stage, sat beside the bride and they took a picture. The bride didn't even look at me, she was just staring at the camera with a steel face, not even a smile! I thought, maybe she was done with making so many pictures. Boy was I wrong! When everybody had taken their picture, they went back to the tables to eat some more food. In the meantime, the couch was removed so they could take pictures of the bride in different poses. It went on forever. Then the ceremony started. The couple sat in front of the fire and the priest would tell them to throw things in it. The guests were seated all around the couple. Rohit told me we could go now. The ceremony would take about 2 hours he said and it was getting cold and late, so we left. He told me that at the end of every wedding, the bride has to cry to show her family that she is sad to leave them. It's a tradition and has to be done. I asked, what if they 

Red Fort

marry out of love and she isn't sad at all? Then she'll have to fake it he said. Like I said, very very different from our weddings, but still interesting to see how other cultures celebrate such an important day.