Ahmedabad - Day Two

The morning schedule was just as packed as the previous day. Per custom, the groom's family has a function called a mayara to recognize many family members. The bride's family has a similar function to recognize family members on their side as well. As with the previous functions, there was live music - this time in the form of more traditional Indian instruments and a female singer. As each family member was introduced by the mother and father of the groom, there was a song sung in their honor. The event concluded with a lunch buffet, similar to the night before. I was detecting a pattern - buffets and music - developing here...

After lunch, we stopped by another mall for a second attempt at shopping. I found a couple of ethnic shirts - Ramona scored a pretty dress, shoes and a just-slightly-too-small clutch. Even though today is the 14th (Valentine's Day), I didn't get a chance to get her any of these for Valentine's Day. Ah well - next year!

The evening's event was another auspicious dinner, this time, held at a country house owned by the groom's family. The festive decorations were right out of Monsoon Wedding (if you rent the movie, you'll know exactly what we're talking about). We walked around, taking in the live entertainment that had been hired for the event. There were all sorts of artists, reminding us of a carnival atmosphere. There was a portrait artist, entertaining the children with pictures. There was a slight-of-hand magician, amazing us with his disappearing change. A puppet show, pottery wheel and dancing troupe rounded out the mix. I couldn't believe there was enough to keep so many people occupied.

Late in the evening, various members of both sides of the family put on a series of dances and skits. It seems to be very popular to perform dance numbers from famous Bollywood films, so several couples took the stage. Two of the girls from our party - Amanda and Manisha - also performed a dance (job well done!).

We were a little too worn out for dinner, so we snacked a bit and returned to our hotel. Tomorrow brings the actually wedding ceremony!