Wedding Crashers Go International

Varanasi— last night of our month long trip trough north India during wedding season, and we still haven’t crashed a wedding! Luckily, right by St. Mary’s Church, where we were staying, two young locals had decided to join each other in sacred bond. That is, luckily for us. For them, time will say… Anyway, a few of us decided to walk up to the entrance of the reception. Initially we were asked for our invitations and we therefore pretended not to know that the event was a wedding. However, it was quickly apparent that this was no more than a formality, as cake was offered to us within the next two minutes. As we finished eating, who I believe was the brother of the to-be-husband, insisted that we walked up to the podium where the couple’s photo session was happening. There, we were abruptly asked to go on stage and so we did. After congratulating the couple, we taught our role at the party was over. Then again, we were dead wrong. We were awkwardly standing by a tiny dance floor, and like by art of magic, all of a sudden the volume of the music tripled. The bollywood music (that we really enjoy by the way) ceased and was replaced by Shakira’s Hips don’t lie. It was not long until the girls in the group were co-opted to dance with middle age India women. Then was the turn of the boys to get invited to dance with a couple of young Indian men. And there we were all, dancing with our corresponding same-sex partners in this toy-like dance floor. Nobody else at the party was dancing; they were too busy filming and projecting onto a huge flat screen television everything that was happening. That is, everything that was happening at the dance floor. Not everything that was happening on stage between who were supposed to be the two big protagonists of the night. It took the group a little over two songs to realize what was happening and therefore decide to leave. On our way out though, we saw two other white women walk in… It almost seems as if you are Indian and getting married, you should expect a white person at the event. Like a clown at a birthday party. Perhaps we are clowns…