Indian Wedding Guests

Happy as Guests at an Indian Wedding

Some tips on what to do if you ever want to attend an Indian wedding: set off to do a day in the hills; see that your hair needs washing but decide you're too tired to bother; wear your shabbiest bush walking gear; make sure you're totally makeup and glamour free ... and then say ok to a random invitation from a handsome young boy who's walking down the street dressed in wedding finery. That should do it. At least it did for us today.

It truly was remarkable. We'd gone north of Palampur to the hills, in search of some walks and to watch the local adrenaline junkies do some paragliding. Sure enough we spotted the open shutes high above us in Bir, so out we hopped and walked the village streets, all the while gazing skywards.

We almost bumped into the young man dressed in wedding clothes and talking excitedly on his phone. Barely pausing he smiled and said "My sister's being married today. The wedding's just up the road ... please come!"  Surprised and curious but understanding the importance of dress at such occasions we declined. But the young man was adamant; dress didn't matter and he would be back to join us soon. Well, curiosity won and we shuffled around outside the venue feeling like foreign interlopers (which of course we were), until the handsome young man returned and quickly ushered us inside. 

Traditional welcome

Within moments he had arranged for us to sit either side of the bride and groom and pose for photographs. Quick introductions to a few of his friends and family then he was off again, organizing, chatting, photographing and returning to reassure us that we were part of the celebration. And that's how we came to witness the slightly informal but quite traditional Indian wedding of an economically poor family in northern India.

The ceremony was beautiful, poignant, and long

It was both beautiful and poignant ... and long! We stayed for three hours but left just before food was served, despite being encouraged to stay and share it and to return the following day to continue the celebrations.  As we left we were  thanked, hugged repeatedly and given addresses to return to and emails to connect with. Such heartwarming generosity!

We find it everywhere in India and it makes our hearts glow!

So you can see that even though we've left the heavenly quiet of the high mountains of Mcleod Ganj, we are still in Himalaya country. Palampur is all tea plantations and green terraced farms, surrounded by the snow clad peaks of the Dhauladhar Range. It hasn't yet been put on the tourist trail so there's an authenticity to the both scenery and the people. We continue to draw stares and requests for photos with us but we've become accustomed to that. I think it's the curiosity factor which generates so many invitations and conversations, so far from being a nuisance it works in our favor and allows us to experience many unexpected delights with beautiful Indian people. 

Well, I'm off now to wash my hair and glam up a bit. Who knows what tomorrow may bring and this time I'd like to look the part!

With love and blessings, 

Alan and Michele xx