BFIW 3

The reception the next night was equally grand. The couple entered through a cloudy, smoky path created by dry ice. Food flowed while dancing, gifting and photo ops went on in the background. Even by the most stringent belt tightening standards, the expenses would've crossed 25 lakh.

I departed the next day with a return gift and a box of sweets stuffed into my suitcase. After a quick trip to Gurgaon to meet a school friend I hadn't seen in 40 years, I boarded an Air India Vistara flight to Dubai. It was one helluva trip; I particularly liked the fact that i could go on a solo trip to my favorite Mughal monuments in Delhi  _ Qutb Minar, Humayun's Tomb _ on the morning of the reception! Random tourists obliged me to click photographs of myself. 

Key takeaways from being a part of a big fat wedding: they lack the grace and sophistication of a present-day Kerala Syrian Christian wedding but they are earthy and fun. They don't work with any clockwork precision and lack the organised brevity of xian weddings _ but there's food to keep people entertained, so noone has complaints. It's not the mad rush to the buffet halls we see in Kerala. There's more generosity in the hosting as I experienced in the hotel booking and food; our folks would expect us to fend for ourselves. The family bonhomie on the surface (at least) is endearing.  That people, despite the division and bigotry one sees online, are nicer, kinder and caring. 

I came back feeling happy and much loved.