One of the many things I love about living in India is the fact that you never know what you might find around the corner...literally!
Yesterday was one of those occasions. My friend, Tracy and I met for at Costa Coffee, had a cup of Joe and chatted about the new school, then hailed a rickshaw and headed for Fab India to do some shopping. As we exited the rickshaw, we heard music, live and loud and just around the corner in front of the store. We didn't know what the occasion was, but obviously something pretty important. As we rounded the corner, here is what we saw:
Obviously, it was a
"baraat"! The baraat is a large wedding procession with a band, dancers and fireworks and consists of the groom and his family and their guests making their way to the wedding venue. Thankfully, both of us had our cameras in our bags, so we whipped them out and watched for about half an hour. Here's a few of the sights we recorded.
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| This guys had a bag of sweets and wanted me to take his picture |
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| The Wedding Steed -the groom rides in on a beautifully adorned white horse |
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| The band posing for the camera |
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| Not sure what their job was, but they wanted us to take their picture, too! |
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| The umbrella protects the groom from any negative energy |
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| wedding lamp |
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| All the men in the family wear red turbans |
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| See the contrast? |
This is one of my favorite pictures, as it captures the contrast that we see on a daily basis. On the left, you have a lovely wedding party in all their splendor. Many of the older men in the wedding party were wearing garlands around their neck loaded with rupee notes. Then, on the right, a group of beggars. Notice the small boy in front with the red t-shirt. He is completely naked below the shirt! This little group of ragamuffins wandered through the crowd in hope of a handout.
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| The groom's brother, cousin or nephew rides along as his caregiver |
The procession finally made its way down the street and Tracy and I made our way into Fab India.
This was one of those pleasant unexpected surprises that make me love Bombay all the more!
Obviously, it was a "baraat"! The baraat is a large wedding procession with a band, dancers and fireworks and consists of the groom and his family and their guests making their way to the wedding venue. Thankfully, both of us had our cameras in our bags, so we whipped them out and watched for about half an hour. Here's a few of the sights we recorded.
The procession finally made its way down the street and Tracy and I made our way into Fab India. 
