The Wedding!!!

Azeem’s (my older brother) wedding in India was amazing but exhausting. I was there for about 2 weeks, and on 10 of those days, there were wedding functions, including multiple functions on many days. Tons of friends any family came in from all over the world, and it was a truly special occasion.

Our apartment in India was like a factory with tons of people running around, getting ready for events, friends and family visiting, gifts being dropped off, clothes being put together/ironed/fitted, etc. There were so many functions that we literally put up a schedule of events all over the apartment to remind everyone of what was going on each day.

Azeem and Simran were actually married in February, and even the actual ceremony was crazy. There was a Hindu ceremony, a Muslim ceremony, and the court ceremony, so technically, they had 3 weddings!

Here’s a quick recap of all the receptions and other functions:

Also, Vannu = Family Function

Saturday – Vannu (Family Function) Lunch thrown by Great Aunt (Father’s mother’s sister) and family

Saturday – Vannu Dinner thrown by Great, great Uncle (Father’s Father’s uncle) and family

Sunday – Afternoon sailing with friends and family

Sunday – Vannu Dinner, traditional Muslim dinner and religious function, thrown by father’s parents

Monday – Dinner hosted by the wife’s (Simran) family

Tuesday – Vanne Tanne (Fun function where you have a ceremony with 4 aunts who grind some spices, and then there is a big fight with silly string, shaving cream, glitter, water guns, etc. In the old days they would bring rats, eggs, cockroaches, etc. but now it has tamed down a bit. After the function was a dinner)

Tuesday - Kids party (We rented out a lounge and had drinks and dancing fora ll of Azeem and Simran's friends)

Wednesday – Vanne dinner by mom’s sister

Thursday – Mehndi (This is where the women get mehndi/ henna on their hands and feet. Both sides of the family had one. We hosted one during the day on an amazing terrace in the building we live, and there were literally 40 women getting mehndi, kids running around, and really good food being served. In the evening, Simran’s family hosted a Mehndi at a restaurant, and since her side of the family is Hindi, not Muslim, there was booze and dancing. Azeem and Simran’s friends prepared some dances and later everyone was dancing. Many friends and family came back to our place for more drinks and hanging out afterwards)

Friday – Simran’s family’s main function (This was the best function of the wedding. There were plenty of drinks, great food, and tons and tons of dancing. A couple groups of people choreographed dances, and Tameem and I, along with Simran’s sister, and Azeem’s friend Charlene did an amazing dance that got the party started, SASA style. I was dancing so much that I didn’t even have time to eat. Everyone had an amazing time)

Saturday – Our main reception (This was held at an outdoor venue in the navy compound in Bombay, so security was tight, and it was really humid out. Typical Muslim receptions are actually quite boring. The couple getting married literally stand for hours taking pictures with and greeting every guest that comes. A line of guests forms to do this, and the line was at least an hour long at certain points. I greeted people, passed out sweets at the door like Indians do at all functions, and hung out with family and friends. But by this point everyone was exhausted, and without drinks and music, it was not as fun as the night before)

However, after the ceremony, the real fun began! Another Muslim tradition (when I say Muslim tradition, I mean a Bohri tradition, and Bohri is my sect of Islam) is to decorate the bride/groom’s room. Instead of a hotel room, Azeem and Simran decided to stay in his room, so my brothers, cousins and I decorated his room during the day. The goal is to decorate with some dirty/ playful things, but also some really annoying things. So we decorated with bananas, blown up condoms, etc., and hid alarm clocks all over the room, taped on top of the fan, under the bed, etc. and set them to go off at odd hours of the night. Now, when the couple arrives home, all the friends and cousins are waiting in the room. These people have to demand certain things from the couple in order to leave. So for 2 hours, we asked Azeem and Simran for many things, like money, but also to sing, dance, etc. Finally, after 2 hours, we were all satisfied with our bribes, and left the room.

Sunday – The FINAL function. One of Simran’s uncles threw a final dinner party, and Azeem and Simran left straight from the party to their honeymoon.

There is still, however, Wedding Part 2 which moves to DC in June for a couple more functions.

The wedding was fantastic and it was incredible to see so many friends and family. By the end, we were all completely exhausted. By Sunday night pretty much everyone had left but me. Luckily, on Monday night, my dad got free tickets to a Mumbai Indians, IPL cricket match, which was amazing. At the match they served McDonalds veggie burgers, Indian style, and they were actually damn good. IPL is a cricket league in India, like a soccer league anywhere, that is incredibly successful in only its third season, using the Twenty20 format of cricket, and in just 2 years, teams have tripled their worth from around $100 million dollars to over $300 million. It as popular in India as baseball, but only 7 weeks long and a total of 20 matches.

PICTURES: There are way too many pictures to put up from the wedding, but as soon as we get the pictures back from the photographers, they will be put up online and I will put the link on the blog. In the meantime, if you are dying to see pictures, I have to admit, I did have some awesome outfits, look at my facebook pictures. From those pictures, you can see a couple people’s albums of the wedding. Some good ones are Ceyda’s, Anju’s, and Sarah Walzer’s albums.

Now I’m finally back in Dubai, and it feels a little strange to be almost alone after being with so many people for so long. Every lunch in India some family or friends would come over, so there were very few times when I was actually alone. I was even more spoiled in India than I was in Dubai, so I’ll see how I cope with that. My grandparents are coming back from India soon, so I’ll definitely have to deal with that, because at this point I have lived without them longer than with them.

In other news, I did get my driving license! So I can officially drive around Dubai, which is tough because there are an insane amount of ramps, roundabouts, and streets with no names, so you really have to know where you are going. But its nice not to have to take cabs everywhere, and when I go to the office, I can ask the transport guy to get it washed, fill gas, etc. It was actually funny how long it took me to get gas the first time, because I had to ask my grandfather what type of gas was used in the car, but he didn’t know, so I called the driver, but he was on vacation in India and his phone was not turned on, so finally I asked the transport guy just to do it for me, and luckily he knew what type of gas to use.

So now I’m getting re-settled in Dubai as the hot season approaches, already 95 and humid during the day. I’ll keep you updated on all my random happenings and craziness.