Engagement and Another Trip to Chandwa

Don't worry, Mom, it's not my engagement. :) It’s been a while since I’ve given an update. Mostly, I’ve been between home and the office and not much else. Hindi classes are going okay, I just need to practice more and study the vocabulary they give us. It’s so nice to have a class! But every once in a while, I am able to do something out of the ordinary. First, I got to go to an engagement party. Second, I got to visit Chandwa again. So, here’s more about each of those experiences.

A couple of weeks ago, Liz and I were invited to attend an engagement party for our neighbor’s daughter, Seema. It was fun, even though I could understand pretty much nothing that was said (it was all in Hindi, obviously). There were three parts to the service in the morning. First was the cultural ceremony, in which the bride-to-be and two of her friends stood across from the groom-to-be and two of his friends. They eventually came together and then Seema and her friends washed the feet of the guys.

Next came the ritual of the families bargaining about the price to be paid from the bride’s family to the groom. Three male relatives from each side were selected and they went back and forth with a list of things that were offered and requested, until an agreement was made. It was actually fairly light-hearted, as it’s meant to be nowadays. Sometimes this can get into some heated debates and fights. But this one stayed light and fun.

Then they introduced everyone on each side of the family. Since almost everyone there was family, everyone was introduced, and it took quite a while. Anyway, next was when the betrothed went around and greeted all of the guests, and received gifts. His side gave saris to her, and her side gave shirts to him (along with money passed very discretely while shaking hands).

Next was the Christian service. A priest came and gave a blessing and preached for a bit, and then there was an exchange of rings. It was interesting to see that the groom-to-be got an engagement ring too. I had to keep reminding myself that it was only the engagement. This wasn’t the actual wedding. That will be even grander with more ceremony and celebration.

By 2:45, it was time for lunch. There was so much food, and all of it was absolutely delicious.

Then on Monday, I went to Chandwa. Well, I went through Chandwa. Amy and Priti were going out to the village of Ulatu to give a presentation about clean water, so Liz and I joined them. MCSFI has been working in 4 of the surrounding villages on well-digging projects. People from Ulatu, Bamanhirwa, Chagrahi, and Chandabadhar came for the program. We got a chance to see the well that had been dug nearby in Ulatu.

I was excited about the chance to visit the villages. I had met some of the youth from there, and now I was given the chance to see where they live. I was especially excited to see how the farms look in India. Very different from farms at home. Dad, I thought you might be interested in some of the pictures I took too. On the drive home, I had mentioned how I wanted pictures of the fences they had up, so everyone in the car was watching for fences. It was hilarious! Mainly the major crop is rice, and right now the rice has already been picked. The monsoon season is over. One of the reasons for digging wells in the villages is so that they will have water throughout the dry seasons, winter and summer. If water is available for irrigation, there can been 3 crops grown on the same plot of land. Again, I thought of Dad. Imagine having not only one growing season a year, but three!

I did not get to see anyone I had met on my last trip to Chandwa, but I guess I didn’t really expect to. At least I got to see where some of them live!

I have explained more things with the picutres I have posted under More Pics.