2008 Favorites
Happy New Year to all! 2008 was filled with a fantastic trip to India, a good internship at The Elkhart Truth, a look into an historic political season, and graduation. Here’s hoping everyone has a good 2009.
Teagan and Blake Mast fidget during the singing of the National Anthem Friday July 25, 2008 on the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds in Goshen, Ind.
A worker sets up the Giant Ferris Wheel on the Elkhart County 4-H fairgrounds in Goshen, Ind., on July 16, 2008.
A tourist feeds a monkey at the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India, the capital city of Rajasthan on January 1, 2008. The elegant fort was built in 1592 by Raja Man Singh I and is a major tourist attraction.
The bride Divya Agarwal prepares to receive gifts during her wedding ceremony with Suketu Soni, Jan. 4, 2008. Agarwal and Soni met on an Indian online dating service in 2001.
A wedding guest watches a wedding parade in the town of Navsari in Gujarat, India.
An Obama supporter stands in the doorway as the final Presidential debate is projected on the wall at the Campaign for Change student headquarters on Court Street in Athens, Ohio, on Oct. 15, 2008.
Gujarati Wedding
After nearly 1 year from my India trip, I’ve finally compiled the photos into a wedding story. You might have seen some of these photos before, but now they’re all presented together in a story.
Traditionally, Indian weddings are elaborate celebrations filled with rituals and customs dating back thousands of years. Weddings are usually between arranged couples, or those who have been partnered together by the bride and groom’s families for financial gain and family partnership. The marriage between Suketu Soni and Divya Agarwal was a more modern love marriage. The ceremonies occurred between Jan. 3, 2008 and Jan. 5, 2008 in the state of Gujarat, in northwest India.
India Photos
For those of you who remember my trip to India, and have waited patiently to see some photos, here they are:
Yellow – Suketu Soni gets covered in traditional turmeric in a wedding blessing ceremony in Gujarat, India. Traditionally, Indian weddings are elaborate celebrations filled with rituals and customs dating back thousands of years. Weddings are usually between arranged couples, or those who have been partnered together by the bride and groom’s families for financial gain and family partnership. The marriage of Suketu Soni and Divya Agarwal was a more modern love marriage.
Divya – Divya Agarwal prepares to receive gifts during her wedding ceremony with Suketu Soni, January 4, 2008. Agarwal and Soni met on an Indian online dating service.
Rajendra – Rajendra Parekh waits for the wedding ceremony between Suketu Soni and Divya Agarwal to begin in Navsari, Gujarat, India, January 5, 2008.
Celebration – The wedding celebration between Suketu Soni and Divya Agarwal moves into the streets in Navsari, Gujarat, India, January 5, 2008.
A wedding guest watches the wedding parade.
A girl holds a flower in her henna-decorated hands during the wedding ceremony between Suketu Soni and Divya Agarwal in Navsari, Gujarat, India, January 3, 2008. Traditionally, Indian weddings last days longer than their American counterparts.
Doorman – A doorman holds the door in front of a sari shop in downtown Surat, Gujarat, India, January 7, 2008.
Monkey See, Monkey Do – A tourist feeds a monkey at the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India, the capital city of Rajasthan on January 1, 2008. The elegant fort was built in 1592 by Raja Man Singh I and is a major tourist attraction.
Birds – Streetscape in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on the evening of January 1, 2008.
Indian Santa
Way behind on posting photos. Several days ago, while on the road to Jaipur, we came across a Santa Claus directing us off to a rest area off of the highway. Thought it was an interesting find. More photos, specifically of the wedding, to come…
Hello from Navsari
Hi everyone,
Back to technology, at last. Sort of. We’re in an Internet cafe in Navsari, but I cannot post photos now because the USB and CD drives are welded shut, so I cannot transfer photos from my laptop to the computers.
The wedding was nothing short of spectacular. Four days of ceremonies, traditional singing, dancing, and eating. I cannot wait to share some photos. So far, I have shot over 2200 images on this trip, and have hardly begun editing. Most of the editing will probably be done back in the States.
Today, we are leaving Navsari and heading to Surat to stay awhile at Gopal’s aunt’s place. We’re staying in Surat until the 9th, and then taking the train to Mumbai (Bombay) , where we will sight-see until we catch our plan that night.
Hope all is well, and hopefully I can post some more photos before I leave India.
Thanks for reading.
Updated Tentative Schedule
Hi all,
Just to give you an update on my schedule:
The past two days, we’ve spent in Delhi. Today we’re off to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. The following day we’re off to Jaipur for two days. Then back to Delhi to fly to Surat for half a day, and then we’ll go to Navsari for the wedding for 3 days. After the wedding, we’ll go to Mumbai (Bombay).
Shooting has been fun an interesting. I haven’t had as much time to edit through my work as I thought I would, but I will try to keep the blog updated. We are VERY lucky that the hotel in Delhi has internet, much less wireless. We don’t know about Internet in any of the other places, so I’ll play it by ear and post when I can. I hope all is well, and as always, thanks for reading.
Mumbai Airport and Delhi
Hi all,
It’s been an interesting past couple of days full of jet lag and culture shock. I don’t have much time to post. The goal of this blog is not to show a typical tourist viewpoint, but without further ado, here are some (hopefully not typical tourist) photos:
Gopal’s aunt, Saroj Sonwadiwala, at Mumbai airport
Worker at a shoe locker outside Birla Mandir temple in Delhi.
Our driver, one brave soul. Driving in Delhi is interesting, as everybody ignores the lanes and lights.
The Lotus Temple, Delhi.
I’ll post more later. Hope all is well, and thanks for reading. Comments are welcome.
Gujarati Wedding: Traditional vs. Modern
Traditionally, Indian weddings are elaborate celebrations filled with rituals and customs dating back thousands of years. Weddings are usually between arranged couples, or those who have been partnered together by the bride and groom’s families for financial gain and family partnership. Usually involving 400 – 1,000 people, most of whom neither the bride or groom know personally, traditional Indian weddings are large festivities which are generally structured into pre-wedding ceremonies, wedding day ceremonies (divided into the Baraat, the Varmala and the Phere), and the Vidaai, or the final breakfast the day after the wedding day. Specifically, Gujarati wedding ceremonies are divided into many elaborate stages, symbolizing the beginning of a lifetime of togetherness.
The marriage of Suketu Soni and Divya Agarwal, however, will be a more modern love marriage. Not prearranged by the families, Soni and Agrawal met on an Indian online dating service. Both Suketu and Agarwal are well educated. Suketu graduated with an engineering degree, and currently works for an engineering firm in New Delhi. Agrawal is currently studying business. Both families are Hindu, and actively practice the religion. The juxtaposition between the traditional and modern Indian cultures during the ceremonies will provide an interesting look into today’s India.
The ceremonies will be held in Navsari, Gujarat. Located on the western coast of India, Gujarat is the most industrialized Indian state. With 13 academic universities and 4 agricultural universities, education is highly valued within Gujarat. Gujarat’s official language is Gujarati. Roughly 89.1% of the Gujarati population are Hindu. The main industries of Navsari are diamond polishing and bakery.
As always, thanks for reading.
Introduction and About This Blog
Family, Friends & Colleagues,
If you don’t already know, my best friend’s family has invited me to a wedding in India from Dec. 26-Jan. 10 in Navsari, Gujarat. During the two and a half weeks, I will be documenting the wedding, and all of the ceremonies, traditions and culture involved with the process of holding a traditional Indian wedding. This blog will serve as a medium to post my work and thoughts throughout this journey, obtain feedback, and serve as a place to keep in contact with all of you while out of the country. While in India, I will try to keep this blog as up to date as possible (from what I gather, we’ll have access to internet cafes regularly). The best way to keep in touch is to sign up for email updates of this blog, and you’ll be emailed whenever I add a new post. In the coming weeks, I will post some more background on my project and the region I will be visiting. As this is a blog, feel free to post a comment on here whenever you wish. Feedback is greatly appreciated, I cannot grow without it. Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing in this journey with me!
