Yesterday was 10th Oct 2007. According to Chinese tradition, 10/10 is a good date to get married. I was invited to attend a wedding in the Netherlands at a place called Purmerend, about 15 kms from Amsterdam. It was about 45 minutes drive from our place, Hilversum.
This wedding was a special one cos, I have known this Chinese girl since March 2006, ever since our training has started and the guy is a Dutch and has been working in our company for more than 15 years. There is an age gap of almost 16 years between the two, but as the saying goes – Love has no barrier for age and boundary. I also believe that our company is indeed a Global company and lot of people have made up their personal and professional life successful after working here.
I was excited abt attending the wedding, as I was curious to know more about weddings in Dutch Culture. It was a small gathering of about 30 – 40 people. We all had to be present at the Town Hall centre (shown in the pic) at 2.30pm. Each one of us had worn a traditional dress. The Japanese girl wore a kimono – blue colour with an off white (so called belt), traditional bag, white socks and a Hawaii like slippers (no kidding!!) I had no idea how difficult it was to wear a kimono, until I saw her running through the pages of a book guiding her at every step, on how to wear it properly!! Phew, and I always thought wearing a saree was a challenging affair. I just managed to wear a Salwar Kameez with little embroidery and some chamki work here and there. The Indonesian girl wore a Sarong – it’s a wrap around kind of silk skirt with a long top. She had managed to get a neat makeup and hair done in such a way that, she was looking more dressed up that the bride herself.
At 2.30 pm, soon after the bride and groom entered the hall, the door was closed and nobody was allowed the enter the hall till the marriage ceremony was completed. The chair person was a Dutch person (called member of Jury) – he looked more like a priest in the church. He explained in brief abt how girl met boy in Bangkok, spent some time in Shanghai and Naarden and then finally decided to get married in Antwerp, after staying in room number 1010 in a hotel…… That’s the reason; they chose to get married on 10th Oct. After exchanging rings and kissing ceremony, they were declared man and wife. There were 4 witnesses from each side and 2 kids who had to sign in legal documents 8 times and after this the ceremony was completed. The chair person handed over the legal documents, the pen used to sign the certificate and also a personal greeting card.
We all then walked down the street to a place called Bonte koe. This is a small Café that was blocked for the entire evening to celebrate the wedding ceremony. They served us light snacks and drinks, followed by cutting of wedding cake and of course relishing them…. The cake was loaded with fresh fruits – grapes, pear, apple, pineapple, whipped cream (double layered with fruits and nuts inside), topped with roasted hazelnut and almonds and small flowers of marzipan. One piece of cake was almost equal to a 2 course lunch.
After socializing with the people present in the café, it was dinner time at 5.00 pm. They served Chinese food for all. What made me happy was that they had remembered to order special Vegetarian food for me, so that I will not end up eating like a squirrel. By 8.30, we were ready to drive back home after wishing the couple a happy married life.
Indian marriages are very much about pomp and show. It’s a big family get together, with a lot of rituals and ceremonies. A ritual and puja for every thing to do – staring from the time to see the girl / boy (raahu kaala etc), engagement date and time, marriage date and time, gruhapravesha of the girl to her husband’s house and what not!! In the end it’s an exhaustive exercise for the ones getting married and more draining for the wedding organizers in the family.
I don’t know which is a better one – the elaborative and lavish one or the sweet and simple one. What matters most is how two people learn to live together by ignoring the negatives and appreciating the positives and adjusting themselves to each other’s family to lead a happy and successful life…
