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A knot to tie..

Growing up having a large extended family meant attending atleast one wedding every summer. My mother's side of the family is especially big and I got to attend quite a few weddings. South Indian weddings are very unique in the sense that they are about everything other than the bride and the groom. Typically, you'd find the bride and groom sitting clueless on a pedestal surrounded by the several pundits, all the aged grand parents, several aunts and some cousins. Added to this crowd, there is a photographer from both sides. Let's not forget the noisy kids running around on the Mandap  playing tag and catch.

I was once at a wedding of a friend whose South American friend seated next to me pointed out to me how normal everyone thought it was that the bride and groom were talking over the mobile phone while the wedding ceremony was taking place. I was suddenly struck by how little the bride and the grooms involvement in the ceremony really seemed to be. On a lighter note, she also pointed to me how the groom was treated like a monkey because he was repeatedly being given coconuts and bananas. In her defence, the wedding did involve an awful lot of coconuts and bananas.

In our weddings, it is not unusual to invite just about everybody the bride and the groom's family has ever met. So, while the wedding is taking place about 2000 people are waiting for the groom to tie the knot so that they could just rush to the place where food is being served. As soon as the "Gatti MeLam" signifying that the thaLi is tied, is heard you will notice the wedding hall has emptied and only the newly weds and their parents are left to perform the rest of the rituals. And, after lunch, while all the guests are leaving the wedding hall with their stomachs full, you will see two clueless souls standing by themselves with distraught faces waiting for some lunch.


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