This morning I attended the marriage festivities of Gopal, my autorickshaw driver. He is a very popular young man, so the function, which was held on the grounds of Sri Seshadri Ashram, was well attended.
Some of the invitees were waiting in the hall for the wedding festivities.
Traditional musicians, sitted on a dais at the back of the wedding hall, played the usual marriage music .
The below photograph shows the entrance to the Hall. The Hall incidentally can be used for any function and in fact is occasionally the venue for satsangs and talks of such teachers as John De Ruitter, who last time he visited Arunachala, conducted his meetings here.
While many waited in the hall, others enjoyed a nice breakfast in the adjacent dininghall. Food for over 600 had been prepared and included vadai, pongal, idli with all necessary sauces and chutneys, sweet kesari bath and to finish off - coffee. All very delicious. As today in fact is a very auspicious day for weddings, there were wedding functions all over Tiruvannamalai (and doubtlessly all over Tamil Nadu)!
The below photograph is of the little man I sat next to during breakfast.
And now the Wedding function is in full swing and we are able to appreciate all the time and work that went into arranging this lovely event.
In the next photograph, the highlight of the wedding ceremony, when Gopal places the holy wedding thread (managala sutra) around the neck of his new bride, Navanita.
Outside Seshadri Ashram is the autorickshaw stand that Gopal plies from.
And on this special day, a large roadside poster at the rickshaw stand, proudly announcing to all the wedding of Gopal to Navanita. Navanita, who is from a local village called Aruni, will now relocate to Tiruvannamalai and, as is traditional, live with the family of her new husband. Good Luck to both of you.
