In 2001 I came to India to see my friend, Vinod, get married. The celebration had "a cast of thousands and a cost of millions". It was an impressive and lavish affair with people attending from all over the world. Last night I attended my second wedding in India but with the whole village in attendance, food cooked by the family, and celebrated under the stars.
Fortunately, this time I didn't have to crash the wedding to participate like in Vietman. This time I was made an honored guest and I got to bless the food and the couple. I arrived early and I was dragged back into the house where I was dressed in a remarkably gorgeous sari and jewelry so that I was properly dressed befitting my standing in the community. (this is the third time this has happened to me.) There was great laughter all around when I came out to meet my public and I now have an inkling of what the Red Carpet feels like on Oscar night with all the flashbulbs popping. Fortunately, the bride and groom finally showed up and I was quietly forgotten. She looked gorgeous.
This wedding was a shortened version of the first one with only three days of celebrating, with parties thrown by both families in their respective villages. At the end of the week, the bride will pack up and go with her husband to his family's village and will forever become part of his family. She will no longer be considered part of her own family. I said that I would cry if it were me and everyone agreed that there would be tears all around when it was time for her to leave. This is one reason why all parents want more boys in the family instead of girls. In the States, it's "A man is a man until he takes a wife. A daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life." But in India, parents don't gain a son-in-law as much as they lose a daughter. If they have all girls, no one will be there to help them in their old age.
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