Jalandhar - India

Jorge Yuri and Renata
27 de mar. de 2016
6 min de leitura

Jalandhar was the twelfth stop of “Reviravolta ao Mundo”. You can look for it in the travel guides that you will not find Jalandhar. So what we were doing there, after crossing the north to south India, sleeping on trains with cheap, airport and etc?

We were attending to a friend’s wedding. Explaining it better. At my last job in France, I worked with a French son of Indians. In one of the conversations about our round the world trip, we found out that we would be in India at the same time his brother's wedding, and he invited us to the wedding. I talked to Renata and we accept invitation.

An Indian wedding is not only one day. It happens in several days and each day has a meaning. The groom celebrates with his family and the bride with hers and they will celebrate together only in the marriage day. Below I will try to explain a little about the wedding, but do not know very well about the religion, then it will be a personal relate about what we’ve seem in the without many religious details.

Monday (4 days for the wedding)

We arrived at Jalandhar, two days and a half after leaving Hampi. We stayed in the groom's family home (including uncles and cousins); we were welcome with lots of music and food for the whole family. We could feel a little of what lay ahead.

Tuesday (3 days for the wedding)

This was the women's day when they begin to prepare for the wedding, tattooed hands with henna. A tattoo artist went to the house and tattooed everyone. We toke this day to rent an outfit for the wedding. As we are traveling only with a backpack each, we couldn’t have wedding’s clothes in our luggage. We decided to rent traditional costumes and besides the traditional clothing I took advantage of the attractive prices in India and bought a suit.

Wednesday (2 days for the wedding)

This is a special day for the groom as he celebrates with family and friends. The day started with a celebration where family blesses the groom and applies a kind of prank on him, putting a yellow mass and passing flour on his body. Besides the prank, the mix with flour makes the groom’s skin softer for the marriage. As the family blessed him, he had to stay with the same clothes until the wedding day (he could shower) and couldn’t leave the house. The groom's mother should clean the drawing made with colored powder on the floor. After collecting all the dust she leaves the mark of the hand in the wall, next to the entrance door, which is a sign of protection for the groom.

In the afternoon, I went to buy some things I have forgotten (socks, belt and other accessories), while Renata stayed at home resting because of intestinal problems that lasted a few days (India does not forgive hehe). In the evening, the party started. The party tent was set up on the street in front of the house we stayed and gradually the guests were arriving. From the middle of nowhere come two guys with Indian instruments and started playing. It was the signal to begin the dances and a pilgrimage through the streets of the neighborhood, with music and dancing. The interesting thing is that the groom cannot leave the house, and then he watched it all away. He can only go out later to dance in front of the house, nothing else. After the dinner there was more dancing. The coolest dances are Indian music and people dance in the same way. Most songs are success Bollywood films and all Indian films have music and dance. After that everyone was very tired!

Thursday (1 day for marriage)

After these rushing days, this was the calmest day. Renata was still with intestinal problems and after everything I ate the last few days I felt a little bad too (was sick). The activities of this day only started in the evening, so I rest and I went to shave (after nearly 45 days). In the evening we had a family religious celebration with the groom, with the "priest". We followed it, but we couldn’t understand much.

Friday (day D)

Finally the wedding day has arrived. The preparations began early, as the party is in the morning and the place of the party was about 100 km from Jalandhar. At 5 o'clock in the morning the women were already taking a shower, because two maquiladoras were in the house to make up on them. For the men it is always simpler so a few more minutes of sleep for them. Near 10 o’clock, everyone was ready and the celebrations began. First uncles and close family, put money crowns in the groom. After everyone leaves the house toward the nearest temple in the sound of the same musicians of the other night and this time accompanied by a band. Of course, everyone was dancing along. Then, a few cars and a bus left leading the groom’s guests to the party. After one hour driving, we arrived at the wedding venue. The bride and the bride's guests were already waiting in the hall. The groom rode a white horse towards the reception’s place. The band and the musicians played and everyone danced. A tense moment was when the fireworks to celebrate started and the horse that the groom was riding was startled and almost knocked him down. After all this we enter the party place, but we couldn’t see the bride. She was in a private room and would only leave at the time of the ceremony. Some food and drink were already served for the guests. To start the celebrations the groom's family has to negotiate a cash value to the bride's family. When negotiations end the groom's guests are "allowed" to join the party and the wedding can go on. They cut the cord placed in the hall door. A few more minutes of waiting and the bride appears under a tent carried by brothers / family. When we thought we'd get the religious ceremony, the bride and groom were in a corner taking pictures while a group of traditional dances was in the scene. After three hours the religious ceremony began. Under a tent aside from the party, the two "priests" (one of the groom's side and one from the bride's side) were with the couple and the family. We were sitting close to them, but as we did not understand anything they were talking, we were sideways. While the ceremony was going on, the lunch was served. The ceremony lasted longer than expected and many guests have left before the end. With the time of issue, grooms dance was very quick and they barely had time to dance with the guests. In the end of the celebrations, it was time to the bride to say goodbye to her family. In the Indian traditions, after marriage she will be part of the husband’s family and has to leave her family. In this case, as the groom lives in France she would go with him. It was a very emotive time. Even being prepared the whole life for this moment, you can see that is not easy for the bride and her family.

One more hour travelling and we came back to the house. For those who think that the party is over, you’re wrong. It was time to the bride's reception by the groom's family. Fireworks, celebrations, photos, food, music, dance, praying, etc ... Close to midnight and exhausted, everyone went to bed.

Saturday (1 day after the wedding)

After a very busy day before, this is a quiet day and the family used to visit the bride's family. We took the opportunity to organize the rest of our trip through India.

Sunday (two days after the wedding)

The family used this day to visit the ancestors in a temple and we were invited by the neighbors of the house to visit the largest temple of Jalandhar. This was also our last in Jalandhar and thus ended our unforgettable experience of going to an Indian wedding.

We would like to thank all the family and friends for having received so warmly!

For the couple Sunil and Suman and the whole family we wish you all the best for love, health, peace and unity!