Our big fat Indian Wedding: Part 3 - Sangeet

The celebrations during the day are followed by the Sangett ceremony in the evening, where dances are performed for the couple. Sangeet is mainly celebrated in northern India and is all about music and celebration.

Indians not only love to dance, they also dance very well and do so for a lifetime. And so not only siblings and cousins but also parents, aunts and uncles have rehearsed dances.

The bride and groom sit on a white couch and enjoy the show. Later, the bride also dances for the groom, then vice versa. Everything is hosted by a professional entertainer - who suddenly brings us on stage?! But we almost have to expect that in India, so we are more relaxed every time it happens ;-). Besides, this family gave us such a warm welcome that we couldn't have any bad feelings.

The host does a few dance steps, which we and a few others then imitate. Luckily, we often go out here and are already familiar with a few dance moves. At the end of the song, we even get the microphone and the opportunity to congratulate the bride and groom and thank them for the invitation.

Towards the end of the event, the dance floor is opened up again for everyone. We join the dancing crowd a bit, but the music is incredibly loud and the drummers are at it again.

I get some Oropax and can't find Martin afterwards. It's only after a while that I spot him: he's standing outside being swarmed by a couple of young waiters who are happily bringing him new food that he absolutely has to try. Martin puts up a good fight and eats what he can to show how mich he appreciates the good food :-).

The fact that a midnight snack is served, especially outside, is rather atypical. Jain do not want to harm any living creatures. For this reason, they do not eat after dark, for example, as it is too easy for small flies to be overlooked and eaten. Maybe they did it for us who don't follow such rules...

In the meantime, we get talking to a devout family, chat a bit and learn a lot more about the Jain faith.

At 1:00 a.m. we finally end up in bed, the day has been long and exciting!