The big day starts in the morning's early hours with Sunita Sumaru transforming Jodi in a Kaur. Mom is happy to give a hand:
By the way, Kaur means Princess in Punjabi and is also the name widely used by female Sikhs as the second name. Guru Gobind Singh - the 10th guru - introduced this custom in 1699. It makes so much sense:
While Ioana is enjoying that view, I'm with Niku and his family that just came from Calgary:
Ready to get married:
Not before the traditional breakfast. The groom puts his sword to good use:
There's also a never before seen ritual taking place:
If you don't know what all of this means, don't panic! You're not the only one:
We're back on familiar grounds, inside the gurdwara:
In the beginning of Anand Karaj, the couple is standing up for a short prayer to ask for God's blessings for the wedding:
My up and coming competition - creative and beautiful. Tough to compete with that:
Jodi's father passed away, so her brother is replacing him in this part:
Ajay, Niku's nephew, wants to be more involved in the process, but this is not a good time:
The third verse of Lavan refers to the stage of detachment: Vairag. Human love is superseded by divine love:
The ring is finally on! Mission accomplished:
After the wedding ceremony, the shagun takes place. This is when all the present guests form a huge and not so well organised line to congratulate the newly weds. They place money or gifts in their laps:
Upon his arrival at Jodi's house, Niku is not very pleased to find some disturbing posters:
Being from Calgary, this is not a pretty view for him:
In fact, he hates it so much, that he's taking a chance through the back door:
Almost there:
But he gets kicked out:
Too bad, because he could have saved all that cash:
Ajay is encouraging him not to give up:
Niku realizes his new wife deserves a fortune and he brings out the big money - 100 Rupees:
Tough to impress Jodi's family:
Left with no choice, he tries intimidating techniques. Things get pretty ugly:
But it all works out in the end and we're allowed to pass:
Once inside, it's customary for the bride's family to feed the groom savory sweets:
It's also customary that those sweets have been spiced up pretty bad with salt, hot sauce or other nasty ingredients:
Jodi and Niku leave the portrait session for after the doli:
A very smart decision!
It gives you more time and you can try different locations without having to constantly check the watch or answer impatient phone calls.
Thank you so much, Jodi and Niku! We had an awesome day and wished we were partying with you in Calgary!
love.more.cosmin
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