Family Wedding...

September 7, 2009

It cannot have been an easy thing to organize a traditional Indian wedding (with the essentials of a

Tambram wedding

and a

north Indian wedding

in the remote mountain resort of

Kirkwood

…. and include such details as jasmine garlands flown in all the way from Chennai…but AD and MN’s parents managed this miracle!

Kirkwood is a particularly beautiful part of

Lake Tahoe

it’s at nearly 10,000 ft elevation, and its a wonderful setting for a wedding….we started with a misty sunrise….

sun in the clouds kirkwood 220809

The previous evening, there was an "oonjal" ceremony...of course we could not find an actual swing, but given that the couple are avid outdoor people, it was fitting that the "oonjal" was a ski lift chair! oonjal ceremony 210809 Here's the groom, with his best man and his parents, arriving at the wedding venue, (where a special "mantap" had been brought up from Reno and set up especially): groom best man and parents 220809 The bride, too, is ready to meet the groom...surrounded by her relatives! the bride ready for mAlai mAttral The bride and groom exchange garlands, in the mAlai mAttral ceremony: mAlai mAttral 220809 They then sit in the mantap, and the bride's parents give her the 9-yard saree to change into, and bless the couple: parents' blessings A few relatives help the bride wear the 9 yard saree: 9 yards saree The bride and groom together light the sacrificial fire, agni which, being pure and incorruptible, is the witness to every Hindu wedding: lighting the hOmam 220809 The couple prepare to make seven perambulations around the fire, called the saptha padi or the sAth phErA: sapta padi 220809 Here are the feet that will go around the fire together, which will take seven steps together, and will walk together for the rest of their lives: feet that go around the fire 220809 The groom's sister ties two more knots after the first one that the groom makes, to the sacred thread that he ties around the bride's neck, in the mAngalya dhAraNam ceremony: mAngalya dhAraNam 220809 They then undergo the north Indian Odhni ceremony: Odhni ceremony 220809 The bride and groom then touch the grinding stone, a symbol of permanence and stability, in the shilArOhaNam ceremony:' shilArOhaNam 220809 The bride's brother helps them offer puffed rice to the fire in the lAja hOma ceremony: lAja hOmam 220809 The sun goes down on the wedding day: sunset kirkwood 220809

And we all were delighted that the day ended with the beauty of the sun on the top of the bluff, which is called an

Alpine Glow :

alpine glow at kirkwood resort 220809

A wonderful wedding, celebrating an ancient culture, in a land far away!