Fellow MIT DUSP student and native Indian, Amruta, graciously invited me to attend her older brother’s engagement ceremony, in her hometown of Vadodara (aka Baroda), in Gujarat near Ahmedabad. The huge family gathering included over three hundred guests and a weekend immersed in the loving embrace of her extended family at her parents home.
After sneaking in a thesis research related jaunt to Ahmedabad to visit Stalin K at Drishti Media, I was quickly included in a ladies henna tattoo session, got my eyebrows string plucked, went to a 10 rupee admission zoo then shopping with my new pal Medha for HOURS twice, and literally tasted all Vadodara had to offer at the insistence of a huge array of grandmothers and aunties.
Even with the sheer size of her family, everyone seemed to know each other and be perfectly comfortable together. There was also a good contingent of younger cousins for me to play with, seeing that I was the “unmarried American” whom one auntie commented had a “generous soft bottom” just like her own. If I closed my eyes, sitting at the continuously revolving dinner table, filled with salty and sweets, and imagined that female voices were talking in French or Portuguese with a heavy Rhode Island accent instead of Gujarati or Murati, I was instantly transported to family holidays of my own childhood. Despite the intense heat, the language difference and the different flavors of food, it was comforting to find out that family warmth is a universal feeling.
I felt incredibly privileged to share the special weekend with Amruta and her family.
Many blessings to the future bride and groom!
More photos on Flickr, of course.
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