My dairy of travels people and places

Sunday 7 February 2010

Fairytale weddings of Delhi

The Indian wedding scene is changing fast. Infact it has been changing for the last couple of years now. I had been away from India for over a decade so never got to see one. Now in the thick of the marriage season these days, I attended a 'great Indian wedding'. It was truely an eye opener.

Right from the invitations to the baraat, dinner and reception-- everything had been well thought of . First came a set of three invitation cards - one each for sangeet, baraat and reception. The cards are worth keeping for posterity- golden cards with a colour scheme and design to match with. We were from the boy's side attending the Sangeet at one of the halls booked at Delhi's high profile Habitat centre. With a curtain of fresh orchids set as a backdrop against the stage, the to be bride and bridegroom sat on a silver sofa (heavily ornated). The girl looked beautiful in her embroidered golden and green lehenga.The boy in his sherwani was busy smiling and waving at the guests who numbered over 150. Seemed the boy must have bought a couple of sherwanis for every occasion.

The sangeet function had a live punjabi group of women singers who had been hired to make the atmosphere lively and warm. One by one they made all the relatives dance on traditional Punjabi songs and some pop numbers. Then the scene shifted on the other end of the hall where the DJ was trying hard to set the stage on fire with the hot and latest Bollywood numbers. A choreographer had been hired for days to put the final act. To my surprise and delight, the prospective bride and groom danced. In the yesteryears the inlaws of the girl would shudder at the very thought of their daughter in law dancing hand in hand with their son in public just two days before marriage. This whole gala affair was nothing short of a wedding day in opulence and grandeur.

Finally came the D'day and we were all transported into a fairy land type of setting in a farm house on the outskirts of Delhi. The guests were made to feel special. They were pampered with a continuous flow of fresh juices, cocktails, twenty kinds of starters and what have you.....On a chilled wintry night of Delhi, opened to the sky, we felt cosy and warm with gas heaters and a generous service of wine . a spread out of nearly 75 dishes (continental, Chinese, Mongolian, Thai, Kashmiri,Punjabi...), I first fed through my eyes. There were six types of Halwa-Moong dal, gajar, Amritsari, ginger,suji and Raj halwa.Five varieties of kulfi, piping hot jalebis freshly soaked in sugar syrup to top it up with rabri, rasmalai, gulab jamun-a virtual mithai shop.And if you were missing out on some western desserts there were cakes, souffles and icecreams. A shahi pan bhandaar in the end capped the gastronomic paradise like experience.

The baraatees and gharatees were lost in this maze of aromas. And in the process, they forgot the dulhe raja(the bridegroom) who was left standing alone with his face covered with a curtain of flowers on a Mahabharat type stage setting. The dulhan(bride) was still inside one of the rooms being fussed around by her near and dear ones.

As the winter night fog was setting in,the guests had begun to leave this virtual fairyland. And on the other side, the priests were busy preparing for night long wedding ceremonies.

Saturday 15 August 2009

Portraits from Moscow

Thursday 6 August 2009

The white nights of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg which is an hours flight from Moscow, gets its largest share of tourists from end of May till mid- July when people gather there to enjoy the romantic white nights on the banks of Neva river. The sun hardly hides behind the horizon. You cannot spot even the most brightest star in the sky.
It is an amazing experience. Most people prefer to have an afternoon nap to enjoy the endless day which actually turns into a white night. The streets especially Nevesky Prospect is crowded with people. The restaurants juggle hard to give a good service late into the wee hours and the pubs jam packed with tourists gulping down mugs of beer in smoke-filled bars.
The most interesting sight was the public park in front of our hotel.It was past two in the night and groups of women sat on the benches chatting away while in another corner youngsters were partying away. A man well into his sixties found it the ideal time to exercise while some kids cycling away singing a song .... I had never seen so much of life oozing out on the street at that unearthly hour.
Apart from the white nights, St. Petersburg is one of the must see cities of the world. It looks more of a European city than Russian. Its embankments remind you of Paris and its many canals of Amsterdam. The countless bridges over the canals and also its proximity to the sea, bring alive a picture of Venice. Also the well maintained lush green parks in summer remind you of London.
The European and Russian traditions have merged so well and created a culture that is so typical of St. Petersburg. Peter the Great, the great Czar ruler of Russia, assimilated a lot of Dutch and German things into the culture of St. Petersburg. And all the grandeur and opulence of the past still stands aloft in the form of palaces, cathedrals, forts and museums.
The State Hermitage museum is one must see places. It has a collection put together over the course of two centuries. There are over three million exhibits. No wonder even after spending almost eight hours, I managed to see only two floors. And the que for buying tickets takes a minimum of one hour.
Another must see places in the outskirts of St. Petersburg is the Tsarskoye Selo- the palace set in a picturesque land. The long que and the high priced ticket is worth because one gets to see the eigth wonder of the world- the Amber room. I was just blinded by the opulence and the warmth of the various tones of this stone with some therepeutical qualities. No words to describe -only seeing is believing.
While you are so busy sightseeing, hopping from one place to the other, remember to take care of your personel belongings. Peterburg has earned a reputation for petty crimes and the obvious target are the tourists. Avoid travelling by metro because it is here that the gangs operate.
For all those who plan to visit St. Petersburg - must have atleast five days to enjoy the city and a few places in its outskirts. Also it is worthwhile to go in early July because you get bright sunny days along with the white nights. I was lucky to have sunshine all the days considering the fact that St. Petersburg has sunshine only 25 days in a year.