Water, Weddings and Whiskers.

Last weekend we were invited to attend the wedding of a relative of a member of staff here. Possibly our invitation was because of close affiliation with the married couple and their family? (nope), or was it to do with the fact that our parents are the directors of the college where they work? (maybe), or did it have something to do with our white faces? (maybe yes). Going to an Indian wedding- exciting times! (Interestingly this excitement of foreigners to be going to an Indian wedding is not shared by the locals to quite the same extent)

 
Because the actual wedding ceremony had already taken place earlier with a smaller crowd at the local village convent, we headed to the auditorium for the reception:

While we waited for the bride and groom we were "entertained" by local musicians and singers, and the two television screens at the front which alternated between Bollywood-style montages of random couples, to live shots of the actual couple having their photos taken.

The couple arrived (looking dazed by the paparazzi that had been hired to capture every minute), made their entrance, the crowd kept chatting to one another, the first few photos of the couple were taken on stage and then the race was on to get to lunch and then have your picture taken up on stage with the happy couple.

We had a good time: we listened to music without the bride and groom; we ate a meal without the bride and groom; and then finally we got a photo with the bride and groom. If you were bold, you could smile at the camera as well; otherwise the customary blank formal face would do to blend in. Seeing the sights, tasting the dishes and then seeing a stray dog walk through the dining hall- everything you might expect to see at a traditional Indian wedding. It was a bit tainted when we heard that the chef had undercooked the meal and therefore had to flee the wedding to avoid being beaten up by the special couple's families.

I'm glad that our chef didn't ruin the food at our wedding- I hate to think of the thrashing that Karina's sisters would have given him!

The bride and groom

Our college has been out of water for a while so it was time to start drilling. As the African proverb says: "The usefulness of a well is known when it dries up."  So we got together, asking God for safety for the drillers and a bit of H2O.  It took two days of drilling in different locations, but finally, today up came the stuff that life needs! - 850 feet deep (that's like the height of the SkyTower observation platform!).

The team.

The Machinery.

And it's off...

Piles of dust later...

Bingo!

I did a little sociological experiment yesterday. I wanted to know what "a shave" meant for the average barber in India. So I went in to the local Barber's and asked for exactly that- "a shave". Ten minutes later I concluded that the upper lip is not considered as part of the face when it comes to shaving.

Adeesh- my barber- then continued by saying "I want to make your moustache the same as mine" He pointed at his, including his soul patch, and then said "black colour". The end result: I am not only building solidarity as I become inwardly like the locals, but also my external look!

Our proverb for this one: A man without a moustache is like tea without sugar!