Lynne Gets Married!

Pics: The wedding party - including us!; my friend Shree Lakshmi- 10 year old penpal who practices yoga at school; the real bride and groom; Lynne and Biju- our English speaking friend.

OK, it wasn't my wedding, but we were there and felt like the main attraction. We were on a train from Bombay to Kerala, the furthest state south on the Arabian Sea. The ride was due to last 37 hours total and we were on non-ac class, so it was going to be a long one. We had a 3 hour lay over in Augrabad and took that time to walk and take pictures of the largest statue in India of the Buddha.

Our second train left at 12:30pm and it was 27 more hours to our final destination. We sat in a section with several jovial Indians who openly invited us into their conversation. The next several hours were spent getting to know each other, with them practicing their English, us trying to understand it. They were very friendly, even more than your average Indian, offering us food, an Indian tradition. Around 9pm everyone begins searching for their space on the train to call a bed for the night. Everyone has assigned seats that correlate to a bed area, but Indians are so polite that if someone takes their spot, they simply go somewhere else. The car is set up with three beds on each side facing each other, six beds per section. The small Indian lady that is part of our group takes the bed Eric was planning on sleeping on. So, following tradition, he moves down one. I go to the top where there is less noise and I can sleep later, hopefully. It is getting hotter the further south we go. The night goes by fast until about 4am when the 2 men behind us decide to have a lengthy conversation about something obviously very comical that brings them into several loud rages of laughter. About an hour later I get back to sleep. We all are awake by 7:30am and breakfast is served, 25 rupees later. Not bad though, the omelette (use your imagination) is very spicy, like pretty much everything in India. White bread comes with everything, and not even toasted. I am learning to go with the flow on a whole new level.

Twenty minutes before our new friends are supposed to get off the train, they invite us to the wedding they are all going to attend. Well, YES! If you read any Indian travel book, you will see that it is very common for foreigners to get invited to Indian weddings. It's kind of a novelty and special wedding gift to the bride and groom. So we get off the train, we really don't know exactly where in Kerela, and start playing follow the leader. First they purchase new train tickets for us so tomorrow we can get back on the train and continue to Amma's ashram. We wait for the hired cars to arrive then load our luggage and squeeze in. Next we are taken to the nicest hotel we've stayed in our whole trip - air conditioning and everything!

Another car comes to take us sightseeing. There are six of us squeezed in an old Victorian, reminds me of a car from the fifties with more power. We stop and ask directions every few miles and we are all wondering where they are taking us. We end up at the main attraction in this area, a place where they train elephants to participate in the many festival celebrations all around India. There we see baby elephants around 3 years old tied to trees and practicing newly-learned tricks. After, we are taken to a full-grown elephant, about 8 years we are told. We are asked if we want to take a ride, but it is getting dark and the mosquitos are biting so we decline, but do take pictures. Finally we arrive at a house and yard full of anxiously awaiting wedding guests. No, they aren't waiting for the bride and groom, but for us! The Americans! We sit down in a row of chairs and a procession of men, women and children passes by to shake our hands and ask us questions.

This goes on for about 2 hours and then, before dinner is served, we are being whisked away. HOLD IT! No dinner? Obviously, some of the folks on the train had misinterpreted something we said about not being able to eat the food and drink the water here and thought we wouldn't want dinner. After we straightened that out we were seated at a long table. Tables were everywhere, back to back. Our banana leaf plates were dolloped with all kinds of things, each being served by someone different passing by frequently with a large pot to replace what you have already eaten. This is a very common way of serving many people at once at ashrams. The food was delicious, and the company: you couldn't ask for nicer people. We had our pictures taken more often than the bride - and it was her party. We had our pictures taken with the bride, and her mother and father, and her uncles and cousins, etc, etc.

The next morning three women dress me in a traditional Indian gown, by my request. The bride and other guests are delighted that I wear this gown which I think showed my respect for this country. The heat is overpowering but the wedding is short and very beautiful. Of course we have no idea what is going on most of the time but the colorful dresses and the gorgeous children make up for that. We have one man, Biju, who speaks pretty clear English and tries to keep us up to date on when and where to take pictures. We even are asked to be in the wedding pictures with the rest of the family. The whole thing seemed surreal while it was happening, and like a fairy tale now, looking back. The meal is again served in shifts, like the day before, and seems to us pretty much the same.

We make our way back to the train station after some confusion as to who is taking us and when. We catch the 3:50pm out of there and miss our stop at the ashram because, well, no one is really paying attention. Now looking back it seems so far away and we all believe that everything that got in our way getting here was all a part of the game. Amma is now taking care of us with her beautiful spirit. In line to see her today, a girl next to me summed it all up. She said, "Amma is God and she is your Mother - she'll know exactly what you need!"
Namaste! Lynne