A Bengali Wedding

A Bengali Wedding--bursting with color--  brightly colored saris,  long sparkly earrings, glimmering bangles, shimmering eye shadows, freshly painted designs on the floors and walls,  blinking miniature lights...    And the food---heaps of fragrant pulao and spiced meat,  and of course the ever-present mishti (typical Bengali sweet) and sweet- yogurt. 

 Families gather from near and far.   No putting them up in hotels...if there's floor space, there's room. And if there isn't room, they'll make room. ( I woke up to find 10 women and girls sleeping side by side on the floor in a 6x8ft. space). The cooking fire in the outside kitchen seems to never go out...always more food to cook, guests to serve.  Many hands pitch in to help.

Bride and cousin decorating their hands with henna

Getting beautiful together.

 Wednesday, the first day, was the holud (turmeric) ceremony---special foods are exchanged with the  bride and then turmeric spread on the face--and later the rest of the body.

The next day, it's the groom's holud ceremony. 

Finally, on the third day,  the actual marriage takes place. Hours are spent in the beauty parlor getting decorated.  Here the bride is being fed some rice by her auntie, as she will need to keep her strength up for the long day of sitting in her wedding sari as all the guests come to greet her.  At this point the bride and groom haven't seen each other yet. They are still in separate rooms.  Finally, the signatures and the priest's blessing,  and they are declared married!  

Decorated hands--  two real gold bangles and 28 additional sparkly pink ones.

The bride is taken to the groom's parent's home where she will again sit shyly while all the family and neighbors come to inspect her more closely.   This is now her new home where she will live along with the other brothers and their wives and children.  Except that, in this case,  she will continue her  studies at the university where her husband is a lecturer.  (Yes!)