Agra Day #10

After a long wedding night and 3 hours of sleep we embark on a 4 1/2 hour journey to see the Taj Mahal. Half way in we stop at a diner fool of tourist, nik' nacks and a much needed Kingfisher beer with a side of paneer bashahi.
Revived and excited we get back in the car and hit traffic on Shwarzengger style steroids.  Little did we know that its a weekend and World Heritage Day which means everyone (busses, cows, bikes, tractors, camels, motorcycles, buffalo, tuk tuks, hijaras ( get to them in a bit) is on the road and entrance to the Taj is free. Mayhem turned into a flight from San Diego to London ( 8 hrs) and we got there an hour before closing! We meet our guide giving us as much info as he can in such a short period. Gigi and I trying to take that perfect picture playing with lighting, angles and flashes. ( We just got off an intl flight remember). Phew we did it.

Let's go to Amarvilas for a drink and tell you about enuks. Hijaras are ppl who are born with deformities in the genitalia department. Basically they look like transvestites with very slender bodies, broad backs and massive adams apple. They prefer to be outcasts of society but believe to have special powers. They would be invited to weddings or births bc of their good luck. Like any good corrupt genre, they also scam people into giving them money if not they will put a curse on you. They believe there are about a million roaming around the 18 million Dehlians today.

Anyway, we take the high speed train back to Dehli and in 2 hrs we are there. We arrive and our now friend Raman ( works for Quo Vadis) picks us up and tells us to get ready, he's taking us out on the town. Um, we just spent 15 hrs on the road but OK!  You can't say no to that face.
We dazzle our frazzled state and he takes us to modern 2011 life. Just like any big city, we arrive, cool handshake to the bouncer and we are in the Blue Bar. Hip music, full bar, baccarat style chandeliers and local women and men dancing and drinking together. This concept is actually pretty new in society. Women were never seen "out" with guy friends drinking, wearing skirts and...flats? (They'll get the hang of it soon enough).
Through conversation our Seikh friend tells us how he will marry for love because he doesn't believe in arranged but for his sister he wants an arranged marriage. Interesting?Double standard? Yes! Reminds me of Mexico.hmm Speaking of our great country we teach him our mexican tequila of "arriba, abajo, al centro" and call it a night.
Of course we now invite eye candy to the wedding.

Wedding Night a la India

We arrive to the grooms house covered in strands of christmas style lights and yellow flowers. This is to show the community that their is a marriage in the house. Being such an auspicious day there were over 5000 weddings in Dehli tonight competing for the most grand award.
The aunts and cousins help us in our saree and voila we were transformed into Indian Princesses. The family starts the ceremonies with a buddhist chant mixed with Hindu traditions. I can't tell which is which but they  feed the groom and place ribbons of money around him. Can I have one?? 

Downstairs the band is practicing on their drums and a white horse dressed in gallant horseware is waiting for us to come down. Boom bam boom we are coming down. Daman mounts his horse with his cute nephew ( tradition for a blessed marriage with children)and we start the procession slowly to the temple. Imagine a man followed by papparazzi, his mother, two sisters, cousins, out of towners, uncles, close family members and Gigi and I dancing to beats of the drum moving inches at a time then breaking into dance yet one more time. Each time we stop an aunt or uncle will take a stash of money and swirl it above the person who is dancing the hardest and then throws it up in the air. This is to ward off any spirits and also keeps the musicians happy.

These weddings don't obey traffic either. There we are in saree's following a white horse ( we are about 50ppl) in the middle of the street with traffic going crazy and who cares!?! Its a wedding people!!
After he rings the bell at the Hindu temple, and more money is thrown up in the air ( I could have bought another pashmina by now) we get into the busses for our 2 hour traffic ride to a "farm" that would put the Oscars to shame (except for the bathroom. Do indian women not pee or touch up their makeup? Especially for a 12hr commitment!)
As we drive up and awe at each wedding venue, we turn and see the grandest of them all and start taking pictures bc it was so so big. Yup, then the bus stops and looks like that is our wedding venue where I can easily say around 4,000 people were in there. We meet outside, the elders do another ceremony of the wifes family accepting him into theirs. A couple of delicious vegetarian hors d'ouvres  and Daman gets back on his horse and looks like we are dancing and drumming and throwing money all over again till we get to the main door. As we get closer I feel my body easing into the punjabi beat. One of the ladies tells me to keep dancing bc the party ends at the door. What do u mean the party stops!??
Walk in the door and queue Kenny G for the next 5 HOURS!!! Shoot me.

2am rolls in with the mosquitoes and we get to leave! Hallelujah praise lord Shiva. Then the ceremony starts and the 5k ppl has dwindled into about 75. We gather around a gazebo thingy and the Brahmen priest starts doing his rituals of burning ghee and  black smoke stuff. They walk around the fire 7 times and then we all come and throw rose petals on them. By now its 430am. I give a pleeing look to Gigi who thankfully says, "ok, its time." We have to leave for Agra in 3 1/2 hrs anyway. Shower. Bed.