One of my best friends Sonali married her college sweetheart in Kolkata, India last summer. Imagine a 3-day extravaganza with the most lavish decor, joyful energy, colorful attire, and culturally rich details. As promised in my India travel post, here's a recap of the fabulous festivities...
:: BANDH (STRIKE) ::
Before I blog about the events, I should mention that there was a bandh (transit strike) going on in Kolkata. To protest the fuel price hikes (set by the national government), the local Communist Party of the state of West Bengal declared a 2-day bandh scheduled for the day of the sangeet and the day of the wedding.
A bandh means the total shutdown of the city. Shops, markets, and institutions remain closed. No vehicles are allowed on the roads. Train and air service are suspended. This is all enforced by armed patrol. Craaaazy, right?!
Thankfully, the families and coordinator managed to quickly certify the wedding events with officials, secure official "wedding passes", and distribute them to all the vehicles needed for the various vendors and guests. Somehow, they were able to pull off the wedding. ~Whew~!
:: POOJA (PRAYER) CEREMONY ::
The pooja ceremony is a religious ritual. The bride and groom make offerings to various Hindu deities to honor their ancestors. I won't pretend to know more than that. To be honest, I don't think the bride and groom completely understood what was going on either...
A whole bunch of college alums flew out for their wedding. Many of us traveled throughout India separately before meeting up in Kolkata and had lots of great stories to share about our various misadventures.
:: MEHENDI ::
Mehendi is the application of henna to decorate the skin. I was amazed by how beautiful and intricate Sonali's mehendi designs were.
I'd seen mehendi in real life before, but I was surprised that the actual henna paste's consistency is a bit like puffy paint! The longer you wait before scraping off the dried paste or washing your hands, the more pigment your skin absorbs.
Here's an interesting tidbit. It's said that the darker the color of the bride's mehendi, the stronger their marriage and the longer it lasts. So to keep her henna paste dry longer, Sonali actually had her sister help wash her face that night.
:: SANGEET PARTY ::
The sangeet is a pre-wedding party that involves friends and family performing for the bride and groom. There were various comedy skits, musical performances, and dance routines.
Even though 3 out of 4 of Sonali's bridesmaids were Chinese, we went for the ultimate challenge and performed a Punjabi bhangra dance for a room full of Indians. We only had an hour or so to put it together and rehearse.. and it showed... but we had fun and the audience seemed to like us anyway! (embedded video below)
The sangeet ended with a rockin' party! I love how weddings get family members of all generations out on the dance floor. By the way, can you spot me and Derek dancing in a photo below?
:: HALDI CEREMONY ::
At dawn on the day of their official wedding, the groom and then the bride held separate haldi ceremonies. The rituals involved smearing copious amounts of turmeric paste on their feet and faces.
Although it was early in the morning after a long night, there was LOTS of noise from people laughing, shouting, cheering, blowing conches, and making Bengali "ooli" sounds. (Imagine making high pitched sounds while moving your tongue from cheek to cheek. It sort of sounds like the way it's spelled.)
Another interesting tidbit: See the spoon-like device in Sonali's hands above? Supposedly its function is to ward off evil spirits. Or capture them? It's been so long, I'm not sure anymore. (Should have blogged about this a long time ago when everything was still fresh in my memory. Grrrr..)
The bridesmaids weren't exempt from the turmeric. I had it slathered all over my face by some of the Aunties. It stung a little! Supposedly, turmeric has medicinal properties and gives the skin a healthy glow...?
Sonali's definitely glowing in the portraits below, but I think it's just her natural beauty radiating. It was impossible to outshine the bride, even in bright neon orange! It's obvious that striking beauty runs in the bride's family.
We only had an hour or so to put it together and rehearse.. and it showed... but we had fun and the audience seemed to like us anyway! 
(embedded video below)
By the way, can you spot me and Derek dancing in a photo below?
