Sunday, October 26, 2014

Real Alabama Weddings

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - The evening when Dr. Ravinder Singh Gogia, a dermatological surgeon, asked Sunaina Kaur Mehta, who grew up in Huntsville, Ala., to marry him, the setting could not have been more romantic - or more apt for their shared histories as bridge-building first-generation Americans.

Mehta remembers that they were overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, that great Western gate to the United States. Mehta, a treasury management specialist for the Bank of America, had been introduced to the tall surgeon nearly a year before when mutual friends had brought them together for a double date.

Both Gogia and Mehta are the children of professionals who grew up in India, survived the chaos of the partition years, when Pakistan was formed, and immigrated to the United States. And both Gogia and Mehta are devout Sikhs, members of the religion that developed in the late 15th century in the Punjab, a region in what is today northwest India. Under the teachings of founder Guru Nanak, the faith emphasizes monotheism and respect and equality for all people without regard to caste or gender.

Their wedding festivities were held in in the North Hall of the Von Braun Center in Huntsville on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3 and 4, 2014. Mehta's father, NASA scientist Dr. Rajinder Singh Mehta, believes the gathering of more than 600 relatives and friends is probably one of the largest Sikh weddings to be held in the state of Alabama. The ceremonies were festive and dignified, playful and reverent. The guests wore a brilliant rainbow of bejeweled silks. The traditional music kept everything moving to beats that seemed at once ancient and new. 333 Designs of Huntsville, incorporated family heirloom drapes into the huge chuppah that sheltered the scripture stand.

Sikh Wedding I Huntsville, Ala. 10.4.14 Here comes the groom! Ravinder Singh Gogia officially arrives for his marriage to Sunaina Kaur Mehta, of Huntsville, Ala., riding the traditional white horse and dressed with the traditional jeweled veil of the Sikh groom. Surrounded by his strong friends, his family is met by the family of the bride -- who playfully steal his shoes. The festivities took place behind the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala., Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014. (Kay Campbell/KCampbell@AL.com)

Wedding Steps

Friday's Evening Sangeet: Engagement party perfumed with the spicy aroma of North Indian cuisine. The groom's parents arrived with gifts for the bride. There was traditional singing and dancing, and the exchange of rings between the bride and the groom.

Wedding Day Baraat and Milnee: The groom's family, led by a drummer and moving to the beat of traditional music played through a sound system wired to an SUV's battery, came dancing through a back access lot to the Von Braun in an exuberant Baraat. The groom, wearing a silver veil to signify the blessings of his family, rode a white horse and carrying a sword. For the Milnee, meeting, the bride's family - after sending out scouts who playfully stole the groom's shoes - met the groom's family and shared prayers for the guidance of the upcoming marriage.

Sikh Wedding scriptures 10.4.14 The Guru Adi Granth Sahib Jee, the Sikh scriptures, are read as song. A Sikh marriage ceremony, called the Anand Kaaraj, a "blissful union," is a service to mark the beginning of the couple's spiritual journey together. Ravinder Singh Gogia, the groom, and Sunaina Kaur Mehta, the bride, of Huntsville, Ala., sit between their families and before the platform where the scripture is held, to hear the scriptures during their wedding on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, in Huntsville, Ala. (Kay Campbell/KCampbell@AL.com)

Meanwhile, the bride was dressing with the help of her sister, Dr. Madhu Kaur Singh, and friends, who made sure each piece of her symbolic jewelry was in place and that the beaded scarf that covered her hair was perfectly draped.

Wedding Ardaas, Prayers: For the wedding ceremony, the main platform was reserved for the Guru Granth, the holy scriptures of Sikhism, not for the couple. Someone attended the book with the attention due a king. As guests entered, they offered a symbolic offering, usually a dollar, and then bowed in reverence to the teachings before being seated on men's or women's side. All covered their heads out of respect for the scripture. The bride and groom were the last to enter.

Sikh Wedding vows 10.4.14 Dr. Ravinder Singh Gogia, the groom, and Sunaina Kaur Mehta, the bride, of Huntsville, make their first wedding vows together as they walk together around the platform where the Guru Adi Granth, the Sikh scripture, is placed, during their wedding ceremony in Huntsville, Ala., on Oct. 4, 2014. The couple bow to the scripture to show respect and acceptance of its teachings for each of the 4 wedding vows. Walking around the platform symbolizes the lifelong spiritual journey the couple will take together. (Kay Campbell/KCampbell@AL.com)

While Sikhs have religious scholars they look to for teaching, they have no clergy. Each Sikh, male and female, is expected to be able to sing the scriptures. Traditional music for the ceremony came from young people who have all worked at a summer camp for Sikhs in Tennessee.

Sikhia, Teaching: Sangeeta Kaur, a longtime friend of the bride who has, gave a short talk pointing to teachings from the scriptures as guides for the couple in their marriage and to remind them of their duties as Sikhs.

 

Sikh Wedding song 10.4.14 Sunaina Kaur Mehta sings traditional bride's songs during her Sikh marriage ceremony to Ravinder Singh Gogia, who is seated behind her to the left, in Huntsville, Ala., on Oct. 4, 2014. Mehta has taught at a summer camp for Sikh youth for years, teaching how to read and chant the Sikh scriptures and teaching traditional Sikh songs. (Kay Campbell/KCampbell@AL.com)

Laavan, Vows: The bride's father handed the end of the groom's palaa, scarf, to the bride to signify their coming together as one. After the reading of each of the four vows, the couple, each holding the palaa, made a careful circuit of the scriptures, a walk that signifies the beginning of their spiritual journey together.

Langar: At the end of the service, all are served sweet dough as a symbol of accepting the readings and also of the equality of all to eat together.

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