Location: North Hall, UK
I was out for a volunteering activity with a friend. I did not realize that the location I was assigned was considered the Little India of London. The streets were lined up with beautiful saris and Indian shops and cafes. I told myself that I should be back here to shop and whispered to my friend, “You know, I really wish to attend an Indian wedding someday”.
An hour after our volunteer shift, I was getting hungry, and I invited my friend to check this building that I thought was an Indian Restaurant. Lo and behold, it was a temple and we ended up chatting with the people inside. A man who was carrying a tray of what looks like vegetable fritters invited us to have some hot meal and to continue the chat inside.
The smell of the spices and deep-fried fritters were hard to refuse, and we were also getting curious what happening inside the temple. In that little room were the food was brought, a young Indian couple was getting ready for the wedding ceremony.
“Wow, this is a wedding??” I thought to myself. “I just wished to witness one while ago!”. The family of the couple handed us plates of those delicious vegetable fritters, and also served us a warm hot Chai Tea
.
We talked for a while, and I realised I was talking to the groom’s brothers and a couple of the bride’s friends. It was a relatively small wedding, and the couple’s parents are still both in India.
“You want to join us? The ceremony is about to start in a few minutes”, while giving us another plate of desserts filled with cashew fudge and those round orange balls, they call Gulab Jamun. “Just cover your head and you’re ready to join us.”, another young kind lady said.
We went to the main hall. I sat down and observed. Prayers, songs and mantras were sang and uttered.
In the middle of it, I felt a bit emotional. If I was the bride, how I wished my parents were here too. It was a significant milestone in their lives, but they had to go on their own as their parents and clans were unable to join them. “Oh well, this is also economical ”, I ended up comforting my own thoughts.
I noticed the young family members were holding their phone for the parents to witness online. When the ceremony finished, they made us say Hi to the family members watching on a tiny screen. I looked for any gift I could give to the couple and found something and handed it to them as a wedding present. We said our goodbyes and expressed our gratitude to the couple and families, for allowing two strangers to witness this important milestone in their life.
Wow, the Universe has quickly responded to my wish. That act of kindness and hospitality towards two strangers was also very striking and reflects a characteristic shared by Asian cultures. I simply wished and prayed for the young Indian couple to have a long, happy, and prosperous married life. 🙂 Namaste!
(I’ll post the video on another post as I can’t seem to post them with the photos together).
Super nice couple waiting for their wedding ceremony:)
Thank you for the sudden wedding invite 😅
First time to witness this solemn Indian wedding..
Someone was game to experience all of these too..
My Italian friend Ruth Barzi.