Wedding @ Bangalore: Memories Galore I

Kent, Berton, Mummy dearest and I flew to India to attend Meena's wedding last Friday and let me just summarize: I was glad I attended. Everything was different; from the mode of transport to the complexity of the wedding rituals, it was indeed a wonderful experience.

For those heading to Bangalore, YES YOU NEED A VISA! (both Singaporeans and Malaysians). I always thought Singaporeans were luckier as Visa is seldom required for many countries but I couldn't be more wrong. I got my Visa way earlier but if you're running late, fret not. Kent got his Visa within 1 working day (he went to the high commission to collect personally).

Bye Bye S'pore, Hello Bangalore.

We reached Bangalore really late and thankfully managed to catch a Cab running by meter. Word of advice, do not get conned into taking cabs without meter. All you need to do is work further out to the taxi stand from the airport and there will be plenty of cabs going by meter. Cabbing in Bangalore is like a riding a roller coaster, scary yet exciting.

We headed to the wedding hall the next day and I was surprised at how grand the place looked. The wedding hall is essentially a 3 storey convention hall comprising of a kitchen and nearly 20 rooms. The stage, side walls and floors were beautifully decorated with flowers, I think they must have used a million flowers for this wedding. From my understanding, a typical Indian wedding last for 5 days, of which some days may start as early as 6 a.m! We were there on the 4th and 5th day of the wedding and I was glad we only had to be there at 10 for breakfast.

Breakfast was served canteen style! 

Step 1: Take your seats at an uber elongated table

Step 2: Guy no. 1 will roll out a white sheet of paper to line the table

Step 3: Guy no. 2 will lay a piece of banana leaf with a cup fo water infront of you.

Step 4: Wash your leaf using the water provided

Step 5: Guy no. 3 would scoop the 1st dish onto your leaf

Step 6: Guy no. 4 would scoop the 2nd dish onto your leaf

Step 7: Etc. etc. 

Step 8: Eat with your right hand only

Step 9: Fold your leaf into half, covering the left overs, when you're done

Step 10: Wash your hand

Step 11: When the entire table is done, the guy no. 1 would go down the aisle, folding the paper into a triangular shape. 

Step 12: Table is cleared, clean and ready to be lined again for the other diners.

COOL RIGHT!??! I was so intrigued by how fuss free the entire dining experience was! No dishes to wash, no utensils to rinse, no need to wipe the tables!!! The leaves were all tightly tucked into the white paper lining, much more compact and easier to dispose of too! I'm sooooo gonna adopt this way of dining next time when I have my own family. 

A Whole New Dining Experience

1st Breakfast in Bangalore

The breakfast tasted really awesome! I can't remember the names but there was some curry on the top left hand corner, followed by some coconuty creamy gravy at the top right. The carbs were some really nicely spiced been hoon with crunchy nut and dahl bits- yummy! We were also given 2 pieces of puffed up papadum (pretty sure it's not called papadum but I taste like a lighter version of papadum). Best part of indian dining; dessert is served with mains!!! At the bottom right you will find some ultra sweet sticky, gooey pumpkin coconuty tasting paste- interesting but way way way too sweet for my liking.

After breakfast, we headed out to await the groom's arrival. Everybody, including a group of drummers and dancers, were out preparing for the arrival. While waiting, the drummers played some drum beats and got us all dancing around in circles, yes that included the Singaporean guests as well lol.

The groom arrived and he and his brothers were forced to dance about before entering the wedding hall. Both the father and father-in-law had to dance and give cash to the drummers. The groom had to do some prayers and be blessed before entering the wedding hall.

Day 4 Wedding: morning - afternoon

Time passed really fast and it was lunch time! Same canteen serving style but this time, more dishes served! First up, some corn lentil salad, then some couscous tasting salad, next was some vegetable curry, followed by some coconuty creamy gravy, next was some coconut dessert, followed by some other curry. The carbs included papadum, thosai and some sweet, fruity and nutty flat bread. Just when I thought my meal was complete, guy number 10 came with some yellow flavoured rice. OMG! now that's how you roll in an Indian wedding. Im not kidding when I say everything taste good, it's a pity I couldn't remember the names. Out of all the dishes, I loved the fruity and nutty flatbread the best! it tasted so good with the creamy coconuty gravy! I could have eaten more of those if it wasn't for the rice.

One Hell'a Sumptuous Lunch

There was a dance performance after lunch, followed by some massive dancing session. I always knew Indians could dance but to see Meena in action, now that's a different sight. Indian weddings are definitely more engaging, in this aspect, as compared to chinese weddings. 

After the dance, we went back to our accommodation to freshen up and get changed. When we returned, we were all astonished to see how beautifully lit-ed up the entire place was. The night involved the guests blessing the couple with gifts and well wishes; the poor couple had to endure close to 4 hours of photo taking on the stage.

Day 4 Wedding Day: Night

Dinner was served food fare style! Small pink kiosks were set up all around the dining area serving all sorts of food to the guests. There were the appetizers which consist of mostly rice puffs with some sort of chutney/ curry, main carbs like thosai, naan and other flatbreads, gravy and curries and even ice cream and Kulfi for dessert. The food was once again yummeh! I think I might have fallen in love with indian cuisine :)

Day 4 Wedding: Night

Day 1 was tiring, even more a guest. I can only imagine how tired Meena and Suhas must be... I smiled as I close my eyes and fall to sleep; I'm happy I came.