Joy in Jaipur Part 1

We were on our way back to India for a wedding. The last time we went to India was in 2012, and we spent a short time in Mumbai. This time was going to be different – we were headed to the Northwest part of the country where people promised me that the traffic would be calmer, the nights would be cooler, and the moments of frustration would be fewer. I was not so sure – we had just returned from a three week trip to the USA for the Christmas holiday, and I was exhausted, jet lagged, and ready to get back into a ready. Perhaps I was even more ready to get my 2 year old  daughter into her routine. But we were going. It was a wedding in India, and how often would I be asked to go to an Indian wedding in India? Probably not very often.

Sure, I had seen movies like “Monsoon Wedding” and I had heard about Indian weddings, but I had never been one. It was a short trip – 4 days and 4 nights. Luckily the flight to Jaipur from Abu Dhabi was only 2 1/2 hours. Considering we had just flown roughly 14 hours from the USA to the UAE this trip would not be as bad – I was sure of that.

We were to attend four events at the wedding – the Mehendi, the Bharet, the Phere, and the Sangeet. I had absolutely no idea what each event was, so I did my share of investigating before hand. The first thing I learned was that you were absolutely NOT supposed to show up on time. I was a bit shocked – this was not at all going to be like any wedding I had been to before. The notion of coming in late didn’t work at traditional American weddings. That being said I trusted my sources, and explained this to my husband. Given that most events didn’t start until 6:30pm, I knew we were going to have to be prepared for a few late nights.

I was determined to embrace the whole experience, to go with whatever direction the events took us, and to ensure that we all enjoyed the adventure.