An Engagement on the Street!

The sleepy little village outside my home does tend to have a few celebrations that are beyond the imagination of many of us. Yesterday, we saw that they had finished erecting a stage and had put up a tent-like partition which is typically used as a dining hall for weddings. So all of us flat residents were wondering about it as we saw them hard at work, narrowing down the street to the length of a one-way road (not that there's much traffic).

My in-laws made a few enquiries and found that they're gearing up for quite a few celebrations leading to the Hanuman Jayanti. Hanuman, our monkey-faced divine protector and Sri Rama's ally, resides in two temples near here and his birthday is celebrated around this time. Last year was my first time witnessing the celebrations. This year too, they put up the stage for not just this one but many other celebrations that started with an engagement ceremony.

At about 5 pm, chairs were stacked in neat rows before the stage illuminated by rows of twinkly lights. A few priests were going about preparing the stage for the ceremonies to follow. Guests gathered. Extra chairs were put up on the other side, narrowing down the road further. And then, studio lights were set up as the photographers arrived. Everything that would be done in a wedding hall was being done here, only thing was it was on the street.

The couple arrived, their wellwishers arrived too and the street seemed to be bursting at the seams to contain all this merry band together along with all its furniture. A few autorickshaws tried to pass through and had a very rough time of it. A microphone was plugged in, musicians arrived and from that point on, people forgot it was a street and just socialized, danced and ate in a completely carefree, celebratory mood. The couple had photos taken on stage, wished by their family and friends and called it a day only after 11 pm. Even then, a few kids played on the stage and the older ones sat around in the plastic chairs playing cards. I slept long before the party truly ended.

This morning the stage and the decorations seem to have an abandoned air around them. Tomorrow is Rama Navami when they plan to do something that's not been disclosed yet. And yes, its going to be on the street again.