The Wedding

I think at this point, I can safely saw that Pratima and Ravi are thoroughly married. I believe that the ceremony got underway at around 6 this morning. I arrived shortly after 8, and as a point of reference, the ceremony didn't officially end until about 12:30 pm.

So like I said, Pratima and Ravi covered all of their bases. It was interesting talking with people as it was going on - not everybody knew what every part was, because specific wedding customs vary by region and caste. And it's not like you can simply listen to the priest and discern what is going on, because he was chanting in Sanskrit.

Here is a rundown of the specific sub-ceremonies that were explained to me:

• Ravi was to pretend that he didn't want to get married, and that instead he wanted to further his studies in some other town. It was up to Niranjan (Pratima's older brother) to convince Ravi to stay and marry Pratima.

• A sheet was draped in front of Ravi, so that he couldn't see his bride as she took her place on the pedestal. Because of course, up until this point, Pratima and Ravi have never seen each other. It's kind of like a reality show - at the stroke of 9:34 (the auspicious time), the curtain is lifted and there is the big reveal -- your new spouse!

• A flame was setup, and Ravi's clothes were tied to Pratima's sari. They walked around he flame 6 times, Ravi first, representing the 6 times in the marriage when Pratima will obey Ravi. Then they walked around a seventh time, with Pratima in the lead. This represents that Ravi will obey for the rest of the time (the woman alwas gets the last word!). Actually, I thought that this was really supposed to represent the 7 lifetimes that Pratima and Ravi will spend together. I heard both explanations, but the first one is funnier.

• They played a game where the priest would throw a ring into a bucket of water and they competed to see who could get the ring first. Pratima was kicking butt, which Ravi didn't like, so it actually got pretty competitve at the end. ;) This was to symbolize the new couple getting to know each other.

That's about all that I can remember. If you're curious to know more, I suggest asking Pratima. :)

Andy