Day 6 – 6 December 2024, Friday
It was my last day in Pune but there was one more activity for me to participate in before flying home later in the evening. As fate would have it, UJ’s niece was getting married today and he invited me to come along for the ceremony. This was a money-can’t-buy experience so I was really lucky to be able to join in the festivities. After a simple breakfast at home, we put on our finest traditional dress and left the apartment at 8:40am. After a 15-minute drive, we arrived at the Royal Court banquet hall at NDA Road.
As we walked on the red carpet towards the reception area, we passed through an entrance pavilion decorated with lots of bright yellow and orange marigold and white jasmine flower garlands. We were each handed a small bag of coloured rice, which would be used for the ceremony later.
Indian weddings are lavish affairs and no expenses are spared to mark the important occasion. The red carpet led to the stage, which was decorated with yet more flower garlands, banana plants and a grand backdrop. Rows of plush, white leather sofas offered front row seats for the elders while the rest of the guests sat on chairs with silk cloth covers, all under an elegant tent with pink drapes. The outdoor venue was the perfect setting on this beautiful Friday morning.
The reason why the solemnisation ceremony was being held on a weekday morning was because the auspicious timing for the union had been determined to be at 9:34am today. Despite being a work day, all the relatives and friends turned up, which shows the importance of family and weddings in Indian culture.
The festive mood was thick in the air and everyone was dressed to their nines. The ladies wore flowing saree dresses mainly in shades of maroon, pink, red, purple and green. Their outfits were meticulously put together and accessorised with jasmine flowers in their hair, gold necklaces, earrings and lots of bangles. The gents wore more varied colours with fewer accessories but no less smart.
As we waited for the ceremony to begin, we helped ourselves to the breakfast buffet while UJ greeted his family members who had just arrived. UJ comes from a big family with 10 siblings and it was nice to see all the smiles and laughter as they exchanged hugs and greetings.
As the auspicious hour approached, we made our way to the stage to witness the proceedings. UJ brought me up to the stage so I could see better, and he explained to me what was happening. The bride was escorted into the venue by her first uncle. On stage, the couple each stood on a small raised plate, while the fathers of the bride and groom held a veil between the couple. As the priest chanted prayers, the rest of the family members were prompted to throw rice grains at the couple at various points. The rice was from the small bag that we received when we first arrived. The rice grains were coloured in yellow, red and green but most importantly, UJ explained that they were unbroken rice, symbolising the wholeness of the relationship.
At the precisely the auspicious hour, the priest declared the couple husband and wife, the veil was lowered and drums were struck. As the bride and groom faced each other, they dropped rice grains on top of each other’s heads and hung flower garlands over each other’s necks. The stage erupted in cheers and applause while cameras clicked to capture the beautiful moment.
Following that, we retreated from the stage and helped ourselves to a second round of buffet – lunch this time. It was another feast and I happily tucked in to all the delicious food. I also finally got to meet PJ (UJ’s daughter) and her family, who had flown in from Canada two days ago.
At 11:45am, the proceedings came to an end and all the guests went their separate ways. It was so special for me to witness such a joyous and colourful celebration, full of love and happiness. I feel so honoured to be part of it, and I thank UJ for inviting me along.
We reached the apartment half an hour later, changed out of our wedding clothes and had a cup of tea. After a short rest, UJ and I headed out to Deccan Gymkhana to buy some snacks from the famous Chitale shop there. I had developed a liking for some of the sweets and snacks that UJ and GJ bought for me whenever they visited Singapore over the years, especially the Bakarwadi, a deep-fried sweet and spicy disc-shaped snack. I bought some Kaju Katli (cashew slice), Burfi (milk-based fudge), Chivda (crispy fried potato strips) and peanut cookies.
Following that, we drove over to The Pavillion mall, where UJ picked up some chicken that GJ had ordered. After returning to the apartment at 2:30pm, I did my final packing before it was finally time for me to say goodbye to my hosts. I presented UJ and GJ the peacock ornament that I bought yesterday to thank them for their great hospitality over the past six days. I am glad they liked it. It was farewell for now, but not goodbye because we will see each other again. At 3:15pm, I left the apartment on an Uber car and arrived at the airport 40 minutes later.
I completed the check-in process and cleared the security checks in good time. I didn’t even know that Fast Forward priority boarding was included in my IndiGo flight booking until the staff told me. After checking, I realised that I had Fast Forward for my outbound flight too but the Singapore staff at Changi Airport didn’t inform me about it so I didn’t utilise it. It felt nice to be able to zip onto the aircraft before almost everyone else.
The IndiGo flight 6E6714 took off from Pune at 6:25pm and touched down at Chennai International Airport Terminal 1 at 7:51pm. After taking a short shuttle bus ride to the T1 airport building, I went up to the second floor and walked a short distance to the Terminal 2 building. I managed to have a small snack before my next flight 6E1001 at 10:20pm. For the first time, the flight was not full and I had an empty seat beside me. I managed to sleep a little during the flight, before touching down at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2 at 5:07am the following morning. Home sweet home!
Looking back at the past six days, the overwhelming emotion is one of deep gratitude. I am so grateful to everyone who hosted me, provided me with a place to sleep, cooked all the delicious food for me to eat, took time out of their busy schedules to cycle with me, and organised various activities to keep me occupied. Most of all, I felt their warmth and love, treating me like one of their own family members. Thank you once again to everyone who made the effort to meet with me in Pune. I can’t wait for our next cycling adventure and for me to return the favour when you visit Singapore in the future!