Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
My big, fat Kochi wedding
|
Wedding tourism is in. PRIYADARSSHINI SHARMA was a guest at one such wedding in Bolghatty Palace.
|
The decorated venue.
LUCKILY FOR Rudra Shroff Connal, `none of her three daughters wanted to get married in Timbuktu'. For if it was so, she would have set off looking for that destination. Ms Connal makes it a point to fulfil their every wish.
Destination Kochi
Thus she is in Kochi with her family and friends from across the world to celebrate the wedding of her youngest daughter, Athena, who wished to get married in God's Own Country. Athena and Tapan Mehta had a Jain wedding at the Bolgatty Place Hotel here. Says Sulina, the middle daughter of the Connals who had an exotic wedding at Shivnivas palace in Udaipur, " My elder sister got married in Goa and now Tina (Athena) wanted her marriage to take place here in Kochi."
And for the big event the two families, Connals and the Mehtas, have "completely taken over" the Bolgatty Palace Hotel and converted it into a `shaddi ka ghar'. So much so that the 26 rooms in the hotel and several in other city hotels are full of their guests. " Though we are Mumbaikers we have the weddings at other places. The idea of going somewhere is perfect and works well because everyone can then throw themselves totally into the celebration," Sulina tells you, enjoying every bit of the Kerala warmth. And what a celebration it has been for the marriage party.
"We had a cricket match between the boy's side and the girl's side, which was sheer fun. Of course, the girl's side won though we had to borrow a batsman from them." And the colourful extravaganza is complete with the mehndi ceremony, the sangeet, garba , dandiya, baraat, bidai and a traditional Jain wedding.
Culture
"Kochi has a very distinctive feel about it. Kerala culture is very strong. We have been coming here over the years and so we decided to have this as the wedding venue," says Sulina. Fitting the bill may be the reason for the Connals and the Mehtas but so can it be for several others who are being adventurous in this aspect. "In England, where most of the guests for the wedding are from, holiday wedding is a big thing and now it is less of barefoot on the beach holidays and more of culture that they are looking for." So it's perfect timing for the travel industry to capitalise on such a demand.
MEHANDI MAGIC: Athena, the bride, getting ready for the shadi.
Says Kalpana Sanghi of Viceregal Travels, " Till now most of the bookings for such weddings are direct bookings and there is no reason why we cannot do weddings here. But no particular travel group, as of yet, is specialising in it." Vinod Menon, Manager, from the same office, puts the figure at a small two to three weddings a year. Nandana Mariwala and Hina Mehta who have helped the families facilitate the wedding and organise the fine details tell you that getting the liquor license from the excise office proved the most difficult. Organising such a large scale wedding for the first time, Ms. Mariwala says that arranging the phoolwala, (flowers) the dιcor, the pujari (priest), the mandapam done in North Indian style, the rangoli, the music, the baraat have all been an on-the-toes job but great fun."
Kathakali and more
And so Tapan Mehta, the groom, alighted from a bedecked boat instead of a horse as done in North India and led the `baarat' or the boy's party around the manicured and beautifully decorated lawns of Bolgatty Palace to meet his bride in a traditional wedding.
And for Ms. Connal, the mother of the bride, "This is not a holiday for me. It is my daughter's wedding. But I am going to come back again. In four days flat I spruced up the place for my guests. I don't understand why every event manager here is offering me orchids and silver and gold tissue. That we get in plenty elsewhere. Here we are looking for intrinsic craft and music, food and clothing." And as former vice president of Crafts Council, Western India, she is all for promoting traditional craft. "Kathakali is not the only thing about God's Own Country," she says strongly. " There are so many other things. Take the sadya for instance. It is such a fantastic vegetarian meal."
And so sadya it is, the wedding lunch in true Kerala style.
Advantage Kerala
"Kerala has plenty going for it," says Ms. Mariwala who has facilitated this fabulous wedding here and feels that the State is a perfect locale for such events. Neelkantan, Rooms Divisional Manager, Kumarakom Lake Resorts, who has held a few such weddings, recalls the fairy tale settings the hotel put up for one: A wooden bridge was built that led to a canoe parked in the middle of the lake and the guests could walk to and fro. He believes that Kerala has the potential for such exotica and that in turn will prop up several local industries.
So an unforgettable `shaadi' it will be for Tapan and Tina and also for their guests who have come from far and wide to savour the event in green and serene Kerala.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
