Today, I went to a wedding. I had a fabulous time. It was the sister of El's best friend, whose wedding we went to in Madras four and a half years ago. This time, it's in England at the home of their aunt in Lowestoft. D was marrying an English man and had the Hindu ceremony and reception today and will have a church wedding on Friday.
We were all invited, but Al and Ro were at work, so the Sage and Dilly and I all went to the ceremony this morning. I'll have a look tomorrow and see if there are any suitable pictures to put up. Tonight, just Dilly and I went to the party as everyone else ducked out on the pretext of not knowing anyone. I knew most of D and K's family, but no one else - actually, we'd known several people this morning, though having lived in Lowestoft for many years, this wasn't surprising.
I found that not many people knew me tonight. I'd cheerfully address them by name (this was quite a feat of memory, considering it was the foreign names of people I'd met for a week several years ago) and then have to reintroduce myself. Nirmala explained "I didn't recognise you because you look younger than you did when I saw you before, and haven't you lost weight?" I was completely mollified. I admitted that I had been very tired at that time.
Anyway, what with one thing and another, I was completely in the mood for a party. An Indian wedding is something else in any case, I adore the food and, though I had bought a dress for the morning, I was rather sorry that I hadn't put on a sari, so I hauled a rather lovely royal blue and gold one in georgette silk out of the drawer and set about putting it on for last night. I hadn't practised that for a few years either. I know the technique and it only took two goes...
As I say, completely in the mood and I felt the usual polite behaviour for which I am almost totally unknown drain away. I danced, darlings, like a meerkat*. For more than two hours, I danced my shoes off. Literally, as my feet were threatening to give out after a while, so I carried on barefoot.
I also ate my dinner properly, with my right hand. Indian food tastes best eaten with the fingers.
*With appreciative acknowledgement to Mike (Troubled Diva). I should add that I am not using his phrase in its correct sense - that is, dancing in a manner that brought meerkats to mind, but an extended meaning of dancing in an uninhibited fashion, regardless of what anyone might think. In short, it's too good an expression not to use. Indeed, he has been known to verb 'meerkat' itself and that works too.
A slight degree of over explanation here?
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15 comments:
That sounds like a lot of fun, I could really do with eating lots of Indian food and dancing the night away in a sari just now (picture me sighing and staring wistfully into the middle distance here).
Who gets married on a Wednesday? Sounds like fun though.
Color me jealous again. Though now that I work for an Indian couple, I hope to someday be invited to a wedding in their family.
The b.h. cooks Indian, but he would be the first to say that he can't hold a candle to the real thing.
Sounds like you had a great time, and like your diet is going very well. I had to look up "mollified", I am embarrassed to say, because it sounded so much like "mortified" that I was worried...
I have been to a couple of Asian weddings and a Greek one, all seem a lot more fun than an English one.
All entirely vegetarian, so you could all have tucked in to every bit of it.
Yes, it was great and it was lovely to see the groom's family, who had been slightly tense during the morning rituals, completely relax into the mood too. Everyone had fun. I also think it's great that they are not compromising with a registry office but having full religious ceremonies for both faiths and entering into both whole-heartedly, since at least some members of both families are committed believers.
Oh and yes, the diet is going well and having its desired effect; a year ago I would not have been capable of dancing. As it is, my hip is fine. 4 inch heels in the morning too, I coped with it all.
Flats today. Not stupid. Well, stupid in moderation.
oh wow!! Congratulations on the little bundle of joy... needless to say she it totally godawesome!!
Wedding celebrations are just the BEST for dancing, aren't they? I had a little soft-shoe shuffle myself at the weekend, but the DJ and the head barman were at perpetual loggerheads over the volume and the head barman tended to win....
Lovely, I'm sure, for those who like that sort of thing.
The last time I let go in such a way was seven and a half years ago, at another wedding, this time in Madras (which I should call Chennai but it hasn't quite caught on over here as Mumbai has, so some of you wouldn't know where I meant). On that occasion it was also a social obligation as my sister and I were the only English guests - there were three American ones too.
The DJs were very good and the music was a blend of Indian and Western. Skilfully done, you'd have appreciated it, Mike.
Dave, it's not what I do either. But once in a while it's good to do what you don't normally. Stretches the brain, broadens the mind, and is fun. And I so enjoyed going a bit mad.
Deepa's sister Kavitha (hers was the second Chennai wedding, 4 1/2 years ago) was there of course, with her little girl who is 14 months old. She was so adorable. I thought of you and Ishaan. If you don't come to England, I must come to Delhi!
Dancing like a meerkat- that's a great expression, and not one I have noticed when reading Mike's gig reviews. I'll have to start taking more notice. Personally, my animal of choice to imitate when on the dance floor would tend to be the penguin, however much I fondly imagine something more lithe such as a Gazelle. Come to think of it, Charlotte once commented (during a heated debate over my limited interpretation of Brazilian salsa) that I danced like 'a wet radish'.
Crinklebee, it was accompanied by a film, taken by someone else of course, of Mike's silhouette doing just that. It was a while ago, sometime last year I think. I've been using the expression all day and getting away with it.
I think I danced like a particularly elegant and well dressed warthog. But a very bouncy warthog.
Hang on, what film is this?! Me on film, in silhouette, dancing like a meerkat... are you sure? That's something I would remember, I think!
what? You're suggesting I dreamt it all? Mike, much as I love you I promise that you have not yet figured in my dreams.
But it's your expression, under what circumstances did you come up with it? I'll grovel in appropriately humble apology but I can't have made up the whole thing, because you used 'meerkat' as a verb only the other day.
I did try to find it in your archives yesterday without success, so I haven't a leg to stand on.
I love to dance and look forward to being able to do so again soon. In the meantime thanks for sharing your experience.
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