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The evening started out with a Baraat were all of us in the groom's party lead Gautam (who was on a white horse) into the wedding area – we were accompanied by a band and guys with huge light displays on their heads.  It was a lot of fun – Darren, Paul and Shashir joined the action.

Getting Ready To Go

Gautam on His White Horse

Feeding the Horse (So He Can Make the 1 HR Baraat)

Shashir, Dar and Paul Boogie Down

Once the procession arrived at the gate, we were greeted by the brides family.  Gautam was then escorted to the stage where he awaited the arrival of his bride – who was stunning!  She came out surrounded by her female relatives to a Hindi wedding song. 

Waiting For The Bride

Mekhla Makes Her Entrance

Gautam Helping Meklha Onto The Platform

The Happy Couple and Friends

Swetha and I Model Our Sarees

Yahoooo – I Get To Take My Shoes Off

Breakfast on Saturday was finished with Jalebi which is a deep fried dough which is then dipped in a syrup.  This guy was making fresh Jalebi outside the restaurant we ate at and of course….we had to try it!

Almost Ready

We then went of to find Chikan kurtas (chikan literally means embroidery and the area we were in is famous for the white on white style).  While folks were in one shop, I snapped this picture of two guys staring at me from across the street.

Hey, What's That Lady Doin With The Camera?

We got all gussied up for the first of the two big nights….Swehta helped me wrap my saree as I couldn't quite get it on my own – Thanks again Swetha! 

EVERYONE LOOKED FAB!  Swehta has a beautiful Kanchipurm silk saree, I am wearing a Sheesheda silk crepe saree, Paul is wearing a dhothi (traditional south indian) and the rest of the guys are wearing traditional (some fancier) Kurta pajamas.

The rings were exchanged at around 11 pm and we had a great time at the party along with the other 500+ guests – we ate, drank, laughed and (some of us) danced until about 12:30 am.  What a great night!

Swetha, Paul, Me, Sai and Shashir

Ready to Party

Paul Showing Us How To Wrap a Dhothi

Having a Laugh

Mekhla and Gautam

Hey, That Was Us 6 Years Ago…

We received a warm welcome when the Boys (Paul, Sai, Sashir and Darren), Swetha and I stopped by Gautam's  parents house for Swetha and I to get mehendi done.  The house was festively decorated with flowers and there was a large crowd of cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives. 

There was tremendous spread and all of the groom's family gave us a super warm welcome.  The food was incredable and even though we had just had breakfast a couple of hours before, we helped ourselves to small portions of the Punjabi buffet.

Traditionally, mehendi is done for the groom's party as part of the preparations for the wedding.  We enjoyed our visit to their home very much – the family was so inviting we felt like part of it.  It was an honor to be included!

Marigold Decorations

Gautam and His Sister

Darren and Gautam's Cousin

Shashir

Paul "What No Mehindi For Me?"

Mehindi Application

Top of Hands – Final Product

Final Product

A driver picked us up at the railway station and drove us to our hotel – we finally hit the sack at about 1 am.  The next day we went to breakfast – a FANTASTIC Thali of pumpkin curry, potato curry, puri's and the worlds most amazing Lassi.  After breakfast we decided to do a bit of shopping as part 1 of the wedding (basically the engagement ceremony – Sagan ) didn't start until 8 pm.

Here are some pictures of the town and of course, the Lassi!!!

Sai and Darren Off to Shop

Swadeshi Gun Anyone?

Want Some Yarn?

Iharwala Makan Building

Best Lassi In The World…yum!

So now for the train bit…. well, it was delayed, but we boarded around 9:15 for the 3 hour journey to Kanpur.  Too tired to take pictures but here is what the sleeper car we were in looked like.  Sheets, blankets and pillows were provided but looked used (normally there are fresh in paper wrapping) so I decided to forgo the provided and opted for my pashmina and used my backpack for a pillow.  It was comfy enough and we were all exhausted so I made peace with the one cockroach that seemed to be wandering around and drifted off for a couple of hours on the top bunk…

Three_tier_air_conditioned_

We finally reached the Taj from Delhi at about 4:30.  Agra is not the prettiest city in the world – It seems the majority of the revenue collects (more on that in a sec) does not go to support the surrounding town although I am not sure how much it costs to maintain the monument.

Once there, we navigated through the hawkers and camel carts to reach the ticket booth.  The cost of entry was 20 INR ($.40 USD) for a Indian national but for Dar and I were required to pay 750 INR ($15 USD)!!!  While we were both shocked at the entry amount, it was worth it (I tried to present my Foreign Registration and get the lower cost ticket but the guards were having none of it).

There are no words for how beautiful the Taj Mahal and surrounding buildings are so I won't try and you can see for yourself…

Entrance to Taj Mahal

Wow

Perspective

Taj Mahal and Minaret Detail

Marble Screen Detail

Marble Relief on Exterior

Detail of Taj Entry

View of Entrance From In Front of Taj Mahal