The party was in full swing when we arrived in Amedgarh.
As you may have read in “Tapping into the Diaspora”, I began my trip to India with a new friend from Canada. Returning home to Amedgarh for her brother’s wedding around the same time that I was going to India, she invited me to stay with the family and go to the marriage ceremony. A truly extraordinary invitation.
We arrived the night before the wedding day – late – and a party was in full swing. But everything stopped when our car pulled up.
My friend had not told her father that she was able to make it for the wedding. After a long drive from Delhi, we got there around 8pm, surprised her father and the whole family. I was an additional surprise for the community as a whole.
Two very sweet girls dancing at the wedding party.
I was brought through a tent structure where there was a dance floor and a truck on the far side with a sound system blasting out Indian pop music. It was like walking into a Bollywood movie.
I had just managed to say hello and put my bag in the house and the girls were dragging me outside to the dance floor. They taught me various moves and laughed at me trying to dance like them. If only I knew what the songs were about. Clearly the girls actions were specific to the rhythm and lyrics.
The enthusiasm of the dancers was fabulous!
After the dancing there was fireworks shot off the roof of the house. But this was no back yard display. They could rival most public fireworks demonstrations for both volume and drama.
The fireworks were shot off the room top terrace and the display was amazing.
It was a great party but there was much was yet to do. I had to have my hands hennaed and get a dress for the wedding. The sisters gave me one. Their generosity knew no limit.
The story of the wedding will be shared after my return. I’m sure that you can understand that I will want to let the newly married couple see it before publishing.