'Oonjal'

The fifth in my series on 'A South Indian Wedding'. The 'Oonjal',

literally translated means a 'Swing'. Before the actual wedding, this

is an event where the bride and the groom sit on a swing and they

give them milk and banana. They also use colored rice balls to wade

out the evil spirits. What you see in the picture is the fun bit,

where the relatives from the bride and bridegrooms side try to stop

the bride from garlanding the bridegroom and vice versa, its good fun

and the lift the bride and bridegroom really high to get them away

from each other. Look forward to the next in the series of 'A South

Indan Wedding'

Why the bridegroom does not have a shirt?

I envy your wedding custom...

Well, the attire that the bridegroom wears is called a 'panjakacham' and its a dhoti (long white silk cloth) which is worn for the bottom, the bridegroom does not wear a shirt, its part of our custom. I would love to welcome you to india and hands on have a look at one of the weddings i am sure you will enjoy every moment :)

Thanks, Pradeep for your answer and the invitation. I might take you up for that. You know me,I'm like a sponge and a jet setter too,

but I have to go to Uganda and Cyprus first...

 

Although not always so fun for those carrying the weight. Another good one in the series.

hi amar, yes i agree with you, espescially when the groom is sometimes like a sumo wrestler ;)

Hi P - I really wish, for the kind of liberty that you wud have had during the wedding - you cud have afforded a more clear picture of this "oonjal". This man with his back to the front - seems to cover almost more than half the picture and the observer is unable to relish what he shud be originally relishing....May be u wud have another nice clearer and "open" version of this Oonjal?

I really like the way you've captured the spontaeneity of the moments! Well done!