V & A's Engagement

 

V & A's engagement evening was here. And, Delhi was cold!

On the engagement night, I played the make-up artist before I picked up my camera because our dear bride-to-be wouldn't let the parlor lady touch her face (and make her look like Hanuman!). She just went there to get her curls. The best part was that all the other close family members got ready at the beauty salon that had just opened in the vicinity.

All those ceremonies were new to this little girl who had come down for her cousin's wedding

Kids find their own way to have fun when what's happening around is of no interest to them

  

The Engagement Cake - It was as delicious as it looks!

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Done for the day, we were all happy that it wasn't foggy yet and the wedding would go smooth.

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Vipra's Mehandi

This time the bride was special to me; I've known her for some 15 years now - my besty hired me for her sister's wedding shoot. Once again, a winter wedding in the extreme temperature of Delhi.

The mehandi ceremony happened the night before the engagement. It was a fun, cozy affair at home with close friends and immediate family.

She didn't want any on her feet; we convinced her for a small something because she was getting married

Getting mehandi put is never so 'cozy' for the bride on a winter evening

Did I mention that this bride HATES the smell mehandi; well, I guess she got that from her mom (again a lot of persuasion went in to get a teeny tiny flower done on aunty's hand. phew!)

I, usually, am engrossed in my job and forget about food when I'm shooting (it can be tough doing that at weddings though). This time my sweet friend was around to take care of me; she was literally running around me to feed me paneer tikka and wine to keep me warm. "DG, eaaaaat. You need some energy… I want you to enjoy as well." How was I to explain to her that I didn't want to miss a moment while I was munching on food; not to forget I was getting paid for it? She saw I wouldn't budge and she picked up another plate for me and started following me just like she had to keep chasing her little daughter.

Friends will be friends; photographers will be photographers.


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Punju Weddings

I had the chance to shoot a Sikh Wedding early this year. Here are some images I made in Jalandhar (Punjab). It was a great experience. Like all Punjabi weddings, this one too was full of laughter, frolic, negotiations between the groom and his sisters-in-law, dance, music, food and 'Lovely' sweets (from the most popular 'Lovely' sweet house of Jalandhar).

The Chunni ceremony was held two days before the wedding day at Hotel Radisson, Jalandhar.

In this Punjabi custom of 'Chunni', the boy's mother and sisters cover the girl's head with a chunni, which in this case was a lovely traditional Phulkari. Beautiful; very colorful! This symbolizes that the girl is now taken.

The mehandi ceremony happened the day after and this bride wanted to get it done quick because she just didn't have the patience to sit through hours getting her mehandi done.

It was a cold winter morning and henna can freeze you further; especially when it is all over your arms and feet. (Did you know, henna is used for its cooling property by many Indians in peak summer?) The electric heater was switched on for the bride while she got her mehandi put.
Do you see the orange light of the heater falling on her arm?

                                                         

The following day, the groom arrived with the baraat at the venue early morning (around 10a.m.) and received a welcome by the girl's sisters after he cut the ribbon and paid them a 'bribe' to enter. This is a fun custom and is usually a part of most Sikh and non-Sikh Punjabi weddings, especially the ones in Punjab.

 

The bride was escorted to the Gurudwara by her brother and sister after her family along with the baraat  reached there. After the Lawan Phere in the Gurudwara, that must be performed before 12 noon, everybody came back to the venue for photo ops, dance, drinks and the lavish food spread. It was a cold, cloudy winter morning. Obviously the Sun was 'out' but decided to stay behind the clouds throughout. Thank God, it was not freezing.  

 

 

The pretty bride loved being clicked. On the other hand, her groom was extremely camera-shy

She said loved her portraits and thought they captured the bride's moods and emotions very well.



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Weddings in South India (part II) - M&S

My second Telugu wedding shoot took me to Secunderabad (also known as the twin city of Hyderabad), and, this time I knew more about the wedding rituals than the girl did. She booked her slot with me some 6 months in advance. Her parents hail from Kerala but the family is settled in Gujarat and she knew zilch about Telugu customs.

I like to begin with a photograph of the wedding invitation for all my shaadi shoots. If you look at this one, the names of the bride and the groom are hand written. The bride wanted to add a personal touch to her wedding invitations, so, she wrote the date and their names on each one of them. Wow!

A Glimpse into the Bride's Trousseau

This bride was an extreme opposite of the last one I published about. She didn't bother about her trousseau much. It was her mother that shopped for her beloved daughter's wedding trousseau.

This was the wedding magazine she read for tips. She carried this along all the way. I saw this on a side-table by the window. I placed her grandma's jewelry on top of it to add that special feeling to this frame because, from what I gathered, it meant a great deal to the girl and she didn't part with it even for those scintillating diamonds. She had these antique ornaments especially polished for her big day. The image would remind her of the little things she did preparing for her wedding years from this day.

The 'Pallu'

 

She stuck her tongue out at my camera while her groom put the Magalsutra around her neck. A jolly, mischievous bride!

A shower of coloured rice grains by her groom

  

The bride and the groom enjoyed this fun part of their wedding ceremony while the relatives looked on. The girl had a grin on her face when she got a chance to take 'revenge' and the very next moment she smiled looking at her groom.

All that brand-new silk shone under the video lights

The Purohit (priest) that announced them Man & Wife

What happens when a modern-day bride is asked to touch her husband's feet to seek blessings? She bursts into a laugh!

Weddings in South India - Jhancy & Janardhan

In this post and the next, I am going to share some shots from the Telugu weddings that I have covered in the past. These assignments gave me a reason to travel to Andhra Pradesh; different regions each time - Vijayawada, Secunderabad and Hyderabad. I will, probably, say "I have visited the sates of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana" the next time I refer to these shoots.


This girl got me started on candid wedding photography. Yes! this was my first ever wedding shoot. She saw my Flickr link and called me to ask if I would shoot her wedding. This was a totally unexpected call for me, especially when I was engrossed in analyzing some heavy-duty online advertising campaigns at my desk.
I asked her if she was sure she "wanted me (who had never covered a wedding before, but was planning to start somewhere) to do this?" She said "Absolutely!", came the answer. "I have seen some of your work and I think you can give me the photographs I am looking for. I have checked with photographers here and I can't afford them. They charge in lakhs." It took me a moment to swallow that before I said "Ok. But, you should have a 'backup' studio photographer." She told me her parents had booked a conventional studio guy in Vijayawada.
Thank you for this opportunity.



Just a couple of days before I were to leave, she said that I must come 'dressed up' and attend the wedding as a friend; turns out her parents don't know I was the official photog. Woops!


Anyway, here you go!

Their Wedding Invite

The best aspect of shooting weddings in different parts of India is that I learn about the diverse traditions. You might have read that before. Sorry; it's true.
 

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed. Even the silly competition against the studio photographer who just wouldn't let me click and failed to understand the idea behind candid photographs to the extend that he kept making all the fun he could. It felt like I was back to school and this bully was trying his best to push a girl of the basketball court.

The priest played a prank during the ring game. He kept the ring in his hand and pretended that he had dropped it into the 'matka'; the groom figured it out just in time. I captured him laughing at the enthusiastic and excited bride along with the priest

 

I didn't feel like I had met this girl for the first time in my life. In fact, her groom thought I was a friend clicking pictures at their wedding. She's a great girl and we're still in touch.
Here are some images that I made at the Satya Narayan Puja, the day after the wedding at the groom's house. I remember, her make-up artist ditched her on the Puja day and I ended up playing the make-up girl as well!

 

 The 'Pallu'

  

The Purohit Preparing for the Puja

  

   

Most ceremonies required the bride to change sarees half way through. Jhancy changed into different sarees during her Haldi, at the Mandap for the Muhuratam on her wedding day as well as during the Satya Narayan Puja, the day after the wedding. The bride must, also, adorn all the traditional ornaments for each ceremony. And all this at a roller coaster speed. Remember, she could not take her own sweet time. Kudos!

Oh! Did I tell you I loved all her jewelry. She purchased most of it from Bangalore itself; not to forget the sarees that were also purchased all by herself from Bengaluru where she used to work before she tied the knot.

The Final Aarti

 
This was a little more than 2 years ago.

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