Golden Temple and Wedding

Kim and I spent the first weekend of May in the Punjab region of India, in a town called Amritsar. Our friend Sagar, who is a designer of Indian Wedding dresses, invited us there to attend his Nieces’ wedding. We were able to visit the Golden Temple which is in the town of Amritsar. Here is a link about the temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Temple

We took the train to Amritsar early Saturday morning and flew back early Monday morning.

The wedding started on Saturday Night at 9pm and ended early Sunday morning at 4am. The wedding ceremony ended after the Bride and Groom finished the Jaimala ceremony (walk around the fire seven times). Later, our driver in New Delhi who is from Punjab, said that the seven circles around the fire represent the couple’s promise to be married again in each of their expected seven human reincarnations.

Between various stages of the ceremony, the Bride and Groom danced and ate with the guests. Most of the clothes you see worn by the woman at the wedding (including the Bride) were designed and manufactured by Sagar.

Sagar felt that 5am is the best time to see the sacred Golden Temple, so we immediately headed over there as soon as the Bride and Groom left the party at 4am. The feeling you get being at the temple is serene. We finally went to sleep at 6:30am Sunday morning.

Sagar’s girlfriend Ira is a princess from Nepal. She works at a non-profit in Katmandu that helps children from Nepal obtain K-6 educations.

Sagar’s family was very friendly and we enjoyed meeting them. We now know where Sagar gets his spunkiness; his father is a trouble maker also.

If you are curious about Indian wedding traditions, here is a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_wedding

Kim joined myspace this week and here is the link in case you want to see what she is up to: http://www.myspace.com/kimdoubleoseven

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