India: Chapter Four

Tuesday, February 23. The day our last baby turned one year, the day my only sister was officially married.

This particular tale really begins on Monday...when Ashish went to do the preliminary paperwork at the courthouse, and needed Anna's passport. Well...said passport was sitting on her desk in Jammu, an overnight train ride away! Many phone calls, pleads with the boss, and alternate arrangements later, a worker from the ICRC in Jammu boarded a plane and took his first-ever plane ride to hand deliver the passport by Monday night, so the wedding could go on. Phew...disaster averted!

So Tuesday...The court appointment was for 11 a.m. and thankfully was only a short walk down the street.

The "courthouse" itself was a grouping of buildings, rather nondescript. Those of us attending lurked out front... 

With my dad:

...until some signal (still don't know what that was) that sent us all scurrying after the bride- and groom-to-be. We traipsed up these scary wooden stairs in a rather decrepit building which reminded me of something from the Soviet 50s...and ended up outside a room with this sign:

The Americans in the bunch got a kick out of number four, of course.

We crammed into this wood-paneled room with a couple desks and beat up file cabinets, and watched as Anna, Ashish and their three witnesses signed some paperwork:

  

Meanwhile, we non-Hindi speakers weren't really sure what we were seeing - was this "the moment"? Was there any announcement? Nope...suddenly we all turned and filed back out of this room, down the stairs, and over to another building, where we stood around confused until finally getting the message that the judge who had to sign the official document was in THIS room. Can anyone say... bureaucracy? 

Waiting for the judge:

He looks...

Another official stamps...

...and the happy couple is declared husband and wife!

No, there is no kissing the bride in polite company. There is handing out of sweets, however:

...and bindi-fication:

...and feeding sweets to each other!

The couple emerged from the crowded chamber to a flurry of rose petals, and a lei bedecking:

4/1: editing to add more information from Anna on what I called leis: 

"The leis that they put on us outside the courthouse are called 'jaimala,' and are actually an integral part of the Hindu wedding ceremony.  The bride and groom have to garland each other (I think this signifies the marriage as being accepted or final??) before walking around the fire."

Bride, Groom, Witnesses and The Paper!

Now the parties begin!

Luncheon followed at the Embassy...followed by relaxing briefly in preparation for the night.

I think that was enough pictures for one post, so party coming up in the next :)

Elfie's big weekend

Sorry, another non-India post to announce E's other big feat of the weekend:

In case you can't see the grin...closer, still in action!

Concentrate...concentrate:

And finally, stopped:

When she decided it was time to ride a two-wheeler, she indeed just DID it!

More on India soon, I promise :)

<~PAUSE~>

We interrupt the India session to bring you more local excitement:

Evelyn decided a few weeks ago that she wanted to get her ears pierced. Clara started asking at age three; we told her if she still really wanted to do it at four, she could do so for her birthday. Sure enough, at four, she was ready! Evelyn has never asked, never mentioned it, until more recently. Out of the blue a few weeks back, she told me she really wanted to do it.

We took her to Claire's today, hoping to have her watch another girl getting pierced...but there was nobody, and she was adamant.

She chose her birthstone as her piercing set, and sat stoically in the chair as the manager pierced one, then the other ear. Not a tear, not a flinch...just pure glee and excitement! She cleaned her ears four times this afternoon...and was beyond thrilled to respond to my comments all evening: "El, there's something on your ears!" "Mah-ahm, that's my earrings!"

When El puts her mind to something, there is no backing out, no wimping out, no half-hearted attempts. This girl has gumption!

.

India: Chapter Three

Mendhi Monday.

Another delicious breakfast, and a low-key morning. Showers, conversation, excitement. Anna and I went across the street to a salon for mani/pedis and some threading (for Anna - I haven't braved that one yet).

The salon was lovely, and provided the best service of the three salons we visited (actually, Anna said it was her best salon experience in three years in India!). If you are ever in the Civil Lines area of North Delhi, by all means, go to the Affinity Salon (right by the metro stop, "Civil Lines")!

I had my first ever "French manicure" (loved it), and a polish change for my toes...did I ever feel spoiled! Two salons in two days?! Ahhhh...

We also hit the Exchange store (Indian version of a quickie-mart) and stocked up on snacks for the evening...

Around 4:00, Ashish and the mendhi artists showed up, and the festivities began...

Anna was the first (her mendhi was much more intensive and lasted hours):

Being the sister, I got to jump in at the beginning as well...

But sadly, my body failed me this afternoon. I was the first of the group to finally succumb to the dreaded "Delhi Belly" and went down for the count right after I had one hand completed. I had hoped to have both done, but my stomach was so tender, I had no choice but to retire into my room and sleep for the evening, missing out on all the fun of the (possibly) first-ever co-ed mendhi party in Delhi ;)

We were fortunate to have our lovely Alaskan neighbors Hal and Susie along for the trip, and as it happens, Hal is an ER doc, who traveled with some good drugs...here you see the hand-off for the attempt to stave off my GI issues (it bought me one hand of mendhi, at least):

So my in-person report of the party is sorely lacking, and I'm more than a little bummed that I missed it...but at least my fantastic husband checked in on me frequently, it was a great success (many of the men were thrilled to be part of it for the first time), and our secret bridal shower party for Anna was carried out in my sick room, so that I could be a part of it!

Let me just say, this was probably one of the oddest lingerie parties ever...Anna couldn't use her hands, as her mendhi was still drying, and Indians don't DO lingerie parties, or discuss sex among unmarried women (yet a few were invited into the room for the event), but Anna walked away with some lovely night wear, and I was able to see the fruition of my super-secret-sizing-spy-work I had done before the trip (sorry again, Anna LOL).

My mom's high school friend Kathy did the unwrapping, while the rest of us oohed and ahed without touching:

Anna read her cards, assisted again by Kathy:

Here are more pictures from the part that I missed :(

By the way, there were LOTS of people at the party - I just don't have the pictures to show all the fun, since I was tucked in bed, cautiously hanging my hand over a pillow and trying valiantly not to touch it to anything while fading in and out of sleep on my delicate stomach.

The bride's feet:

drying:

My mom's hands, up close:

Anna's feet in the morning, before showering all the crusties off:

And my hand, the next morning (please note the manicure):

Mom's hands, the next day:

I didn't get to capture Anna's hands specifically, but you'll see the fantastic results in the wedding pictures to come!

Of note, it is thought that the darker your mendhi, the more your husband loves you. I think I am particularly blessed, as I have dark spots after almost three weeks. Yes, I am indeed loved <3

Also of note, my GI issues were short-lived, and by the next morning I was back to normal!

Stay tuned for Tuesday!

India: chapter two bonus material

How could I have forgotten?? I completely left out Sunday evening in my previous entry:

After tea with the family, and before the Embassy take-out dinner, Anna, Anu and I went to a salon for some primping. Ashish dropped us off, and we were whisked away into our respective rooms...without going in to too much detail, let me suffice it to say, Jen's lesson of the day: when having waxing done in a foreign country, it might be a good idea to have an interpreter with you if you are at all picky about just how much waxing you had in mind!

(for those keeping track, spa services such as waxing run only a few bucks each...pedicures run about $5-6)

After the excitement of the salon, we loaded into a rickshaw (yep, totally as cool as I thought it would be) and headed to a watch shop (it turns out my brother-in-law has a rather extensive watch collection, and Anna was hoping to add to it as a wedding gift).

(check out the crowd this rickshaw guy is hauling around!)

Pleasing this Delhi newbie, while in the rickshaw, and just as promised by Anna, I had my first sighting of cows-in-the-street (soon enough, I saw many more...but the cows of Shalimar Bagh were my first!).

(this picture is not actually in Shalimar Bagh, but you get the idea!)

There - now you have the complete weekend story :) I'll try to write up Monday (the mendhi party) this weekend.

More pictures that go with previous posts!

Just got some more pics, and figured you blog readers might enjoy them :)

On the plane TO Delhi:

Having much fun?

Mom's sari and Ashish's mom (from Sunday):

More shots from my first ever sari wearing (the woman in purple with green scarf is Deepa):

Anna, Ashish and me (gee, think we girls are related? If not, click and look in large format!):

Wedding festivities next! Stay tuned.