Around the Fire and The Rock

The most important part of the wedding is when the couple goes around the fire 4 times and steps on the rock in front of the fire another 3 times to symbolize their wedding promises. After that, it is a custom to pay the couple to eat coconut dessert; first people try to put the spoon in their mouths and they will refuse to eat until they pay them. All members of family have to do this, by the time they are done eating they have a handsome sum of money in their fists! Very nice!

After this, the priests usually give the couple a time in which they have to leave the place, otherwise they will have bad luck; in this case it was 15 minutes after the ceremony. The groom takes the bride away, together with all her belongings, symbolizing that she now has a new life away from her family.

Dinner this time wasn't as fancy as the one for Haldi, it was for a far smaller crowd, basically close friends and family. Again it was served on a banana leaf, but this time it was Briyani which is a sort of rice with vegetables. Delicious once again.