Praveen & Ankur |
8.07.2009 |
I’m 98% done! I wrote my conclusion and sent it out to my 2 kind friends who have agreed to proofread it for me! I feel so mentally drained after concentrating on this full-on for the past week! And after watching MJ’s memorial.. I’m now emotionally AND mentally drained… and my eyes are puffy! The legend lives on… there’s no doubt about that!
If you don’t know by now, I’m a true blue Penang girl. I love shooting back home because it gives me chance to be back and eat all the food I miss! There’s just something about Penang….. I feel so relaxed and chilled when I’m there, totally a bad mode to be in when you have a dissertation to write! ( I didn’t touch my paper the 4 days there!)
Praveen and Ankur both live in Chicago. Praveen is Malaysian-Sikh, Ankur is American-Hindu and in typical Malaysian style, this unity was a perfect blend of the two cultures! The wedding in Penang spanned over 3 days and it was the very first time I met the both of them. Our shoot started with a Mehndi (henna) session a day before the Mayian ceremony. The henna designs were intricate and spread across her palms and arms!
Day 2 – Mayian Ceremony
This part is a lot of fun for everyone except for the bride. She sits on a wooden stool, under a red cloth held by 4 women and a paste of tumeric, flour and mustard oil is rubbed on her face, arms and legs. It was especially fun for her cousins, Dr Kuljit and Dr Amreet who took the opportunity to smother her with… erm… lotsa love! =) In fact, Dr Amreet enjoyed it so much he went for round 2! Poor Praveen sat there, squirming from all the goo.
The Sangeet was held that evening at the Long Say building and it was a nice of singing and dancing! The night started with all the women singing traditional songs on stage accompanied by the dholki (two-sided drum). My favorite part of the evening was the Jaggo ceremony whereby the women carry a vessel lighted with candles over their heads and dance through the night!
I absolutely love Punjabi weddings because of all the colors and the dancing!
Day 3 – Temple Ceremony
The prior 2 days of shoots allowed Steve & I to ease into the momentum. We were on a roll by Day 3! We started out early in the morning (which mean no Sister’s CKT for me). I love the process of the bride getting ready, especially when she’s decked out with all the trinklets!
The temple wedding was a short and sweet one… The colors of all the sarees were just mesmorizing!
After the temple ceremony, we returned to Praveen’s place for the “Juta chhupai” (well, an adapted version of it!).It’s tradition that the groom “pays” his way in (although I think Haveen made it really easy!)… reminds me of chinese ceremonies!
The afternoon ended with the Vidaai. This marks the departure of the bride from her parents’ house and it’s supposed to be customary the parents and relatives to weep…
The dinner reception was held at the G Hotel. I love this place, it’s one of my favorite hotels to shoot at in Penang. I love the sleek lines and modern decor and I was stoked when Praveen suggested we do some portrait shots before the dinner! We pretty much stopped by every nook and corner as we made or way down to the ballroom.
One of my favorite shots of the evening!
Need I say more? Dancing is the best part of ALL weddings! The BEST part about Punjabi weddings – EVERYONE gets down to BOOGIE!!!
This is my favorite dancing shot!
