India ... Journaling from Kottayam, Kerala on Feb. 25, 2011
We arrived yesterday at around 3:30am into the Cochin Airport
We weren’t surprised to learn that our checked luggage had not arrived, since we barely made it on our connecting flight. Thomas and Rintu Das were extremely helpful in getting all the information from us about our two huge suitcases full of gifts, towels, candy, felt material and sewing supplies. When our luggage did arrive, they arranged for a driver to bring it from the Cocina Airport to our Retreat House in Kottayam at no charge...now that's customer service!!
I was so glad that we had packed our essentials in our carry-on’s. Across from the luggage claim was the Duty Free Shop which carries groceries and such. It was funny to see the huge camp-size gallon cans of Tang powder while uniformed security guards with guns standing outside the store. The women travelers were dressed so beautifully with saris, skirts, kurtis and depattas of many colored bedecked with sequins and jewels. Nothing like we see in the States. Standing outside the airport was a crowd of people looking in and they too were dressed quite nicely. We assumed they were waiting for passengers to arrive, but they looked like they were waiting for some celebrities or something.
Our fearless and faithful leader, Kiran, hired us a taxi driver to take us to Thiruvilla, which was two and half hours away. The air was very humid but cool. Our driver struggled to stay awake and seemed to honk his horn and switch his brights off and on. He was having a hard time seeing at night. We arrived at the Hotel around six thirty and found Susie and Lindsey’s room. Karuna was very happy to see her Uncle "Bob-bye." She is very attached to Kiran, and actually seeing him reminded her of how much she misses her daddy. Soon Felicia and I were introduced as her "aunties."
We met some of Kiran’s TOAG team members, all ladies...the guys were still in-flight. Nearly everyone headed to the Phosphorus Restaurant on the top floor for breakfast. Susie and Lindsey brought some extra Sari’s for us in hopes that something would fit. I was able to take the seams out of one of Susie’s blouses and wore a beautiful teal, gold and black silk Sari that Ajay and Lindsey had purchased for her a few years ago.
And Felicia wore a lovely bejeweled corally-pink-colored sari that won her heart over to sari-wearing (for that day anyway.) I didn’t feel very comfortable though, but I managed okay and received many compliments. The ladies from Kiran’s TOAG team had all gone shopping the day before and had some of the prettiest saris at the wedding.
The wedding started around 10am and lasted for three hours. Since I had not slept since Wednesday night, I had a hard time staying awake. But it was fun taking pictures of each other and Karuna as she sat on Lindsey and Kiran’s laps.
She was such a good girl to sit there so long. Lindsey said her wedding was 3 hours long too. A far cry from the 15 minute ones we have in the states. On the other hand, the reception was over slickity-split. The American entourage, of which we were a part, was honored guest up-front-and -center next to the bride’s family, and we were doted on continually, and photographers continued to snap pics. It didn’t feel right to me, since we really didn’t even know them, but it is their way…to honor American guests that come so far for their special day. 
The reception was in a large beautiful church with a porch all the way around the building. Karuna loved hopping and dancing there before the dinner began.
The meal was rice noodles with a chicken and sauce, puri, rice and beef, raitha, a date sauce, and ice cream and fruit. The servers kept coming back again and again to ask Felicia if she wanted the rice dish. Finally we told them that she only ate vegetables, so the server went off and put together a special tray of vegetable options and a huge mound of rice.
In America
This was a beautiful wedding and I felt privileged to have been invited!! At Indian weddings the bride and groom like to take their picture with everyone at the wedding. A special throned area is set up with tons of flowers and a bench. After the guest eat, they make a line and wait to have their photos taken as well as offer gifts to the newlyweds. The bride and groom were just sitting down to eat with their parents (and the photographers) as we left.
The photographers at the wedding are another story. There were tons of them running around, setting up huge lights and acting like paparazzi. It seemed way overkill to me … funny and annoying at the same time. They were very distracting to say the least, at the wedding and the reception. Much of the time they were focused on taking photos of the American representation.
Oops! Photographers almost ran into each other!
I'm pretty sure this photographer was in Felicia personal space....
Ahh...a special moment together...with the photographers.
The most well-documented wedding I've ever attended!
Following the wedding we packed our bags and headed down the road via taxi to our next destination in Kottayam, Kerala to stay at the Backwater Retreat Guesthouse in the honeymoon suite. The water is just outside the back of the house and we are upstairs in two rooms just off a long balcony deck. Needless to say, we are incredibly tired having been awake for at least 48 hours.
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