Thank you for using Picture and Video Messaging by U.S. Cellular. See www.uscellular.com for info.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Hindu Wedding in Chicago
So I was able to attend a Hindu wedding of one of Mary's friends from college Sendhil Revuluri and Venu Gupta. It was held on Norhterly Island (Mig's Field). The wedding was really interesting being strictly Hindu. My uncle Pran (being from India) was very excited to tell us everything we would be experiencing during the event. We were actually only seeing part of it as it actually starts days before the main Ceremony with different dances and dinners. But here is how it played out for us.
1. Arrival of the Groom and his procession (baraat)
The bride and groom are both animal activists so instead of a white horse as tradition calls for. He chose to come in on a Segway
PIC00017.AVI
PIC00023.AVI
2. Greeting of the Families (milni)
All parents and family members meet and wish good prayers on eachother before entering the tent for the ceremony
3.Welcoming the Groom (tilak)
PIC00033.AVI
4.Invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesha
5. Purifying the Ceremonial site (punyaha vachanam)
Done by the priest and the groom and both sides of the parents with Holy water prayers
6. Proclamation and affirmation (sankalpam)
public announcement of Sendhil to wed and memories of past grandparents
7. Tying the knot, part 1 (toranam or raksha bhandan)
Thread tied to the groom by family members
8. Preparing the groom (vara puja)
washing the grooms feet in milk and wiping them off with silk
9. Putting up the divider (antharpat)
So the groom does not see the bride until the priest says the time is right
PIC00039.AVI
10.The entrance of the bride (kanya agamanam and mangal asktakam)
11. Offering the bride's hand to the groom (kanya dhanam)
12. The auspicious moment
the priest says it is ok to remove the barrier (the poor family members who had to hold up the veil to hide Sendhil had to hold it so long you could tell their arms were tired)
PIC00042.AVI
13. The exchange of garlands
14. Blessing the sacred necklace (mangalya puja)
15. Tying the sacred matrimonial necklace (mangalya dharanam)
Sendhil and his sister ties a necklace around Venu to symbolize family ties and history
16. Exchange of rings (sindhoor daan)
17. Lighting the sacred fire (vivaha havan)
a small fire is lit and blessed with different objects
18. Stepping on the stone (silaarohanam)
Venu steps up on a stone to show firmness and strength as Sendhil puts rings on her toes
19. Tying the knot, part 3 (brahma mudi)
the bride and grooms garments are tied to together
20. Holding hands together (paanigrahanam)
holding hands with more blessings
21. Seven rounds of the sacred fire (mangal phera or sat phera)
while tied together Venu has to lead Sendhil around the fire 3 times then Sendhil leads 4 times while on both sides family members has gathered to throw rice as they pass
PIC00050.AVI
22. Seven steps and seven vows (saptapadi)
bride and groom take seven steps and recite vows with each step
23. Sighting the auspicious star (arundhati darshanam)
the couple then leaves the tent with the priest to have the priest point out Polaris and give more blessings
24. Games (vasantha madhava puja)
a ring is dropped into a large pot, the couple does a best 2 out of 3 whoever gets the ring first will be the dominant one in the marriage. Sendhil won but bets were still given Venu will be dominant :P
25. Showering one another with love and rice (thalambralu)
the Indian version of shoving cake in the face. Only you get to dump rice on eachother
PIC00051.AVI
26. Blessings (aashirvaad and recessional
PIC00054.AVI
27. Farewell to the bride (vidai)
in tradition the bride cuts ties to her family and is now householder of her new family
The ceremony was really really long but very beautiful and interesting. Afterwards was a cocktail hour outside
there were enough appetizers for a meal but then the actually meal started
It was all finished up by lots of dancing and speeches. Due to the open bar and lots, and lots of Indian food my stomach was pushed to the limit. One nice thing they had was a photobooth where people could sit and take goofy photos that were printed off and put into a photobook with a note card to the couple. The only problem of this was there was so many people and only on booth so you had to stand in line for a long time.
It was all very great and fun to experience.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Happy 4th of July
fireworks.AVI
Hope everyone had a great and safe 4th of July. Mary and I met up with a couple of her friends for supper then we walked down to the Iowa/Newton footbridge to watch the fireworks. We met up with Matt, Li, and Ben from Hapkido on the bridge to catch the show. It was pretty good this year.
We then walked down to Iowa City Brewery for some beer and hanging out all in all it was a pretty good night!!
Me and the son of Mary's friend Elise and Stephan Strek. Heiko.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
My niece learning baton
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sights and sound of Rockaway beach
After getting home I decided to empty my camera. I had taken some video of the beach and wind last Thursday when I went surfing at Rockaway. I was walking along the boardwalk and found a bench to eat my lunch just took a quick video.
Here is a video I posted before the first time I visited Rockaway in November of 2007
Rockway Beach November 2007
Here is a video I posted before the first time I visited Rockaway in November of 2007
Rockway Beach November 2007
On my way home!
Thank you for using Picture and Video Messaging by U.S. Cellular. See www.uscellular.com for info.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Kenka on st.marks
My favorite Japanese restaurant in New York so far. I had stir fried chicken with kimchee instead of my normal Yakiudon. I make it a must to stop here at least once everytime I visit.
Off to the left in the picture is where they have a cotton candy machine. You get a cup of the sugar stuff, then on your way out you grab a stick and throw the ingredients in the machine and make your own cotton candy.
Checking out Koreatown
It may be allot smaller than Chinatown, plus allot less English in the stores. But there seemed to be some really nice restaurants that would be good to check out sometime. Even though the prices in the window were a little on the high side....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
