A memory to cherish...

This is an article I wrote for The Shopzters, a Southern-Indian wedding portal website. It was unplanned, and my suggestion turned into an article. I am glad Prasitha, founder of The Shopzters, gave life to this idea by inviting people to share their experiences as yesteryear brides. Mine is one of the articles in the series. For those who are new to Shopzters and Indian weddings, please note that the whole idea of this article is to zoom into wedding preparations that were prevalent few years ago, and get an idea of few recent advancements in Wedding Planning.

Through this article, I would like to give a glimpse of my wedding and the wedding preparations that were prevalent in the mid 2000s. Let me start out with my wedding!

As any of you did, I too came across Shopzters through FB and was extremely delighted to read and gaze at each of those colorful updates! I don’t think those posts and information could be ever less enchanting to anyone! Well, I was one such person many years ago! I did my undergrad and masters in Biochemistry in Coimbatore, after which I went to Bangalore to earn a PhD in Genetics from JNCASR (Indian Institute of Science). I didn’t expect that the place would bring such unexpected changes in my life, both personally and professionally! Professionally, I took a big leap, and personally, I took a much bigger, and surprising leap! Yes, I fell in love with a Northern-Indian, a student colleague of mine then! Shoving all those details aside of how I convinced my parents, let me reminisce starting from November 2005! I did not plan on shopping, decorations, beautifying or about anything related to all that is relevant to a bride-to-be. Our engagement happened at my residence in Karamadai. I had no idea of how the whole thing shall turn out, as I was more worried about getting things done without any glitches between the two families. I took out two sets of jewels and two pairs of bangles from the safe, and I chose to wear a silk saree that I bought the previous year from Deepam Silks, MG Road, Bangalore, and that was the first silk saree of my life, and those jewels were the only ones I had ever had! Guess why? I was too studious and was confined to clearing competitive exams (bummer!!!!), that I never showed interest in girly things!

Engagement stage

December 11^th 2005 dawned beautifully! I woke up to see the beautiful, elegant decorations! Those looked awesome to me as I had never attended any wedding in real time, and I did not know much about stage decorations in real wedding ceremonies! I was victimized by a couple of cousins who got a chance to show their expertise in beautifying! I didn’t look all that bad; I believe! Everything went very well, and it was a super-hit altogether! Now, the wedding fell eight months later. I had enough time to shop and party!

I want to share some information on saree purchase. I accidentally went to the silk exhibition conducted by the Central Silk Board at Palace grounds, Bangalore. The barrage of saree types and myriads of colors that they shone with, at a vast expanse, astounded me! I made a big time saree purchase there, and finally my wardrobe got a new look with: Muga silk from Assam, Sambalpuri from Odisha, Paithani from Maharashtra, Mysore silk from our very own Karnataka, Tussar silk from Bilaspur, Baluchuri and Kanta work sarees from West Bengal, and a few other silk types. I also did some saree shopping at Prasiddhi silks, MG Road, Bangalore. All my wedding sarees were from Kumaran stores, Chennai. I did not go for the most expensive ones, as I knew that I wouldn’t wear them often. Kanchipuram silk sarees adorned with Kundan work, and embroidery were in trend, but I wanted mine to be untouched to retain their originality. I also went for simple blouses with bead hangings at the sleeve and subtly fashionable cuttings. I got them all stitched from Pavithra Tailors, RS Puram, Coimbatore.

I made a visit to Coimbatore for my jewelry purchase. I carefully chose the ones I wanted. The Attigai and Kaasumaalai were from Kirtilals. My Thali kodi was also from Kirtilals. I went for an English round design, a very comfortable, thin, fashionable, yet a low profile one! A family friend of ours who is a jeweler himself made my Oddiyanam (Kamar patta) and Kunjalam (Paranda, all caparisoned). I went for a Nagasu, temple jewelry set, which was just booming. I was shown a beautiful set at Sumangali Jewelers, Raja Street, Coimbatore, in its raw form. I was totally mesmerized by its traditions and uniqueness as I am an antique lover! It had a haaram, jhumkas, maatti, kadas, vangi (baju bandh), rakkudi and nethichutti (maang tikka). I bought them all at one go. Thanks to my parents! The Muhurtham jewelry was a Bharatanatyam Kempu set. I tried hard to get it done in Panchalogam (Aimpon), but I did not know about Art Karat or Kushal’s designs then, else I would have gone for them. I have another cute thing to share! It’s my Kolusu (Payal). My MIL got a beautiful one from Jugal Kishore, Hazrat Ganj, Lucknow.

I chose Vikashini Parlor, cross cut road, Coimbatore, for make-up. All the flower and Mandapam decorations were by a person called Mr. Ayyasamy, Karamadai. He did a wonderful job of decorating the Mandapam with fresh Kuzhal malli flowers. Also, he brought in beautiful garlands that were so unique and elegant! The garlands were made of rose petals, and I should say that we made it a cynosure! The caterers were from Madhampatti, near Thondamuthur. The food was delectable; mainly it satisfied both the Southern- and Northern-Indian wedding revelers!

Devan studios at Karamadai did photography and Videography, in collaboration with Parimala videos, 100 feet road, Coimbatore. They did a fantastic job in compiling the pictures into albums. The pictures were not as candid and impersonal as they are today. 

My sister took care of everything regarding clothing and jewelry. I just made two trips, once to Chennai for clothing, and the other to Coimbatore for jewelry, in the whole eight months. My family took care of collecting the ordered jewels and every other minute details of the big wedding. I can’t thank my family and family friends enough for all that they did! The whole thing was well organized, planned and executed. My parents greeted the guests without those final moment glitches!

I submitted my thesis on 18^th August 2006, partied hard at Brigade road Nilgiris restaurant that night, and took the Intercity express to Coimbatore the next morning. I had severe food poisoning and was throwing up throughout my train journey. By the time I reached home, I was severely sick with a very high fever. I took four days to recover and finally rushed into the parlor for a facial, just four days before the wedding. Looking at brides’ enthusiasm these days, I am wondering at their energy, vibrance and involvement in every aspect of the wedding. Look at my picture in blue saree, I am a tired, dull bride there! All results of partying hard! I should thank my friends who came all the way from Bangalore to make my engagement and wedding ceremony a gala event!

The wedding happened in Southern- and Northern-Indian styles, one after the other. We didn’t have the time to dress up into a Northern-Indian couple, but the mantras were chanted all again by a northern-Indian Pandit, followed by a Jayamala and Sindoor ceremony. They also performed all rituals such as Haldi and Tilak in a traditional way for the groom! Also, we had a reception in Lucknow followed by Sangeet, Dance, Satyanarayana Pooja and few other family functions. After all these ceremonies, we went to seek blessings from Vaishno Devi, Kashi Vishwanath at Banaras and Golden temple, Amritsar! My wedding is a blend of Southern- and Northern-Indian traditions, and I wanted the almighty’s Krupa for it to happen. You all could visualize how difficult for us it would have been to convince both the immediate and extended families! Don’t you?

Now, let me make a brief comparison between weddings then and now. One important thing I noticed is the jewelry sets that are prevalent today. I bought two Attigais during my wedding. They came in carats, but nothing was 916 certified! I like the gold hallmark signature that jewelry is tagged with these days. Also, the Attigais and Malas didn’t come in sets, accompanied with matching earrings and bangles. I just got the Nagasu as a complete set. All other ones were not in sets, and I had to mix-match them. Moreover, the jewelers did not care much about bringing the same elegance and minute carving details in earrings and bangles as it was brought in necklaces. Furthermore, weddings these days have a charted out theme to which everyone sticks. Wedding enthusiasts have paved way for a new business altogether, Wedding Planners! They come in handy and help the family members to sit back, relax and enjoy their loved-one’s wedding!! However, every wedding, irrespective of how grand or simple they are, and how organized or chaotic they are, is a confluence of hearts, bondage between families and beginning of a new life! 

All the above things will not interest a bride without a wonderful groom! Will they? Apart from immense love, he has given me enough support and freedom to do anything that I aspire for! I can’t thank him enough for tolerating me during our wedding purchase in Bangalore. I just made him drive through the narrowest streets of Avenue road, Majestic, Malleswaram, Commercial Street and Jayanagar areas! Well, brides just don’t come for free!

Thanks to Prasitha for giving me this wonderful opportunity to share my experience!