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A Day to Remember for the Rest of My Life – Part 4
In case you missed, read Part 3 here. The day was moving ahead too quickly. Event 3. Briddhi – a ritual to offer our homage to our past seven generations and seek their blessings for the holy matrimony. Baba was seated at the ground floor room with the priest. The centre of the room was marked and bounded by four decorated pillars. This was going to be the wedding zone. I sat beside Baba. And the mukut (bride’s headgear for the wedding) sat on top of my head. The priest chanted hymns that we repeated after. It felt like a reverie. Event 4. Gaye Holud – A turmeric and mustard…
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The Rath Yatra Fair – A Riot of Colours
Friday evenings come with a laid-back mood. People usually make plans to meet friends after work or watch a movie or try out a new place in town or spend time with family and so on. This Friday, while talking to Tathagata over the phone after lunch, we decided to go to the Rath Yatra fair. Rath Yatra is a significant 7-day tradition where Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra travel to their aunt’s in 3 beautifully decorated chariots. This marks the beginning of the festival which ends with them returning on the 7th day. People celebrate these 7 days by organizing fairs in different parts of…
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A Day to Remember for the Rest of My Life – Part 3
In case you missed, read part 2 here. We had booked a 9-seater car to commute between our house and the wedding venue, as and when required. It had arrived at 9 am. The 9-seater at 9, as scheduled. The 11 bags took up a lot of space. After a little shifting and adjusting, maa, Adrish, Mitul didi and I were on our way. The location was about a few kilometres from our house – Udayan Sangha Club. A 3-storey building with green walls and long balconies on the top two floors. While this place did house my best day, it failed to deliver on a lot of fronts –…
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A Day to Remember for the Rest of My Life – Part 2
In case you missed, read Part 1 here. While I was meandering about the house in the wee hours of the morning on my wedding day, bidding the home adieu, Maa had woken up. She had busied herself with the preparations already. The phone rang. Pishimoni (my father’s younger sister) was arriving in half an hour with some other women. Maa would be going with them to the nearest pond to bring water for the wedding rituals. Event 1. This was the first of the many events of the day. It’s called Jol Nimontron/Ganga Pujo (inviting the water god to the wedding). It’s funny how every wedding ritual has a…
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A Day to Remember for the Rest of My Life – Part 1
The alarm clock went off at 4 am sharp. Just as set. Sleepy and tired, I decided to allow myself 5 more minutes of sleep, like always. That’s when I realized it wasn’t just another day. I quickly sat up and looked through the window. It was dark outside. The city was sleeping. But I was wide awake. It was my wedding day! March 6, 2018. A day of rainbows and stars. Nothing less than pure magic. Just like any other wedding, my day had been carefully planned. My palms had been painted beautifully with mehndi 2 days ahead. It was a surprise for Tathagata (my husband) since I had…