thedelhibells: Sagan

Saturday. Sagan+Sangeet day. The morning passed by in a blur. All I can recall is the growing sounds of laughter as guests poured in, and plates – lots and lots of plates stacked with puris and jalebis. Last minute dance practices could be seen in a few corners of the house, interrupted only by the occasional jalebi break.

One of my friends walked in close to 1 pm – he had flown down all the way from USA to attend my wedding. I sat with him for probably 5 minutes, before excusing myself to take a nap in my room. Honestly, I don’t even remember if I got any sleep that afternoon, but I did try for 30 minutes to keep my eyes closed. Once I was up, I rushed to get my things together – I had to leave for b:blunt with ALL of my things. I’d reach the venue directly from there. So I had to carry my outfit, jewellery, shoes, back-up shoes, emergency kit, phone, cash – the works! Putting it together took longer than anticipated and after a rushed lunch, I was out the door.

My makeup artist (MUA) was the same woman who had been cutting my hair over the last 8 months. I’d had a short meeting with her shortly before the wedding where I’d shown her my outfits and we’d decided on a rough draft of what we wanted the look to be like on all the occasions. Point is, I was already comfortable with her.

Excited for the transformation from girl next door to bride!

While she got to work, I just tried to make the yawns go away. Imagine just sitting there, for almost 3 hours, with nothing to do except stare at yourself in the mirror.

Yaaawwwnnnn

The photographer kept it slightly entertaining for me, and I remember eating a LOT of Hide & Seek biscuits. The staff at b:blunt was really hospitable, and they kept an endless supply of biscuits going.

Step 1: Style your tresses

Step 2: Step into your dancing shoes

Step 3: Align the latkans on your dupatta

Step 4: Pin up, and you’re ready to party!

I was running short of time by the end of it, but we managed to wrap up by 6.30ish. The only problem was, the venue was only 15 kms away from where I was and start time was 7 pm! I must admit, I was a little stressed about reaching the venue on time. Thankfully, it was Eid that day, and the roads were pretty empty. I entered the venue at 7.05 pm (5 minutes late), and literally made a run for the little room that was reserved for me.

I was relieved to find that no one from the boy’s side had turned up yet – I had been stressing for no reason! This was beginning to feel like the roka all over again. The bride is running late, but is saved by the equally late arrival of the boy’s family! Phew!

They arrived around 7.30 pm finally, and started off with the Sagan ceremony. This was a new experience for my family, as we had never seen a Sagan in action before. Only the boy is supposed to sit through the puja, and I was waiting inside the room till this part of the ceremony got done. Unfortunately, I had to sit in there for over 1 and a half hours! My true bride-zilla colors were beginning to show. Thankfully, only my closest family and friends were around to see that side of me – I was close to screaming at having to wait so long on my own Sagan/Sangeet! I was thoroughly prepared to wait on wedding day – I knew that the girl waits inside patiently till the groom enters the venue. But this was NOT wedding day, and I was not prepared to wait this long on the Sagan/Sangeet!

The Sagan Ceremony

Finally, I was told I could come out. I was glad to see my groom in the distance, looking dashing in his blue kurta. Once I was on the stage, things moved at a quick pace. We finally got to the part where rings had to be exchanged. This was the moment I had been waiting for. Call it whimsy encouraged by years of watching too many Hollywood movies and shows on Star World, but I wanted my groom to go on his knees and propose. I had even written a whole post on this, and as the seconds went by, it seemed more and more likely that he would not give in to my childish demands. But I kept prodding, saying I wouldn’t give my hand till he went on his knees. Finally, reluctantly, he obliged. And he may not realize this, but it made for a beautiful memory. For me. Later on, I felt a tinge of regret at making him do something he was probably uncomfortable with, but I’m sure we’ll get over it :)

Up next - Sangeet! Can you guess what surprises were in store for the bride and the groom?

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Photographs by Tarun Chawla Photography

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You can read the whole thedelhibells series here:

1. Prologue
2. Mata Ki Chowki
3. Pre-Wedding Week
4. Pre-Wedding Shoot
5. Haldi
6. Mehendi
7. Sagan
8. Sangeet
9. Wedding
10. Reception Preview
11. Reception

Tags: engagement ceremony, farmhouse sangeet function, Indian groom, personal essay, propose on the day of engagement, ring exchange, sagan ceremony, thedelhibride's wedding, wedding proposal