“My First Tamil Brahman Wedding…”

I just read the title myself and it feels as if I have had a number of south indian weddings and I am sharing the story behind my first South Indian Wedding. Well no, I am still single, however I am committed to my Canon…

I started shooting because I loved clicking the expressions and moods of the people. Shooting weddings give me an opportunity to interact with new people from different backgrounds. Indian weddings are just so much fun. I am sure all of you must have attended a number of weddings by now but shooting a wedding is all together a different experience. Wedding is like a single shot. No retake.! If you miss the shot its gone.! That moment, that very EXPRESSION is gone forever. So while shooting a wedding you need to be on your toes and be aware of all the vidhis (rituals) going on and what is going to happen next. 

So a dear friend of mine invited me to click his wedding. I was overjoyed. Wedding was in Chennai in the month of August. (The humidity in Chennai is what I feel is at its peak in August). All the tickets booked, my gear set I boarded the train for Chennai. I had done a little bit of research on the wedding but I knew what you read and what happens at the location is completely different. So mostly I knew that the whole wedding was going to be a surprise package for me. 

The train arrived at the Chennai station. The moment I got down, I was literally attacked by the ‘Gang’  of rickshaw drivers. 

“Saarr wheaarr you waaant to go saaar…?!”

 Finally I took a rickshaw and we left the station for the Wedding venue. I swear to Lord Ayyappa (South Indian deity) my rickshaw driver was an avatar of Rajnikanth. The way he drove the rickshaw was… Sorry he dint drive the rickshaw he flew it. In no time we arrived at the Mantapam

South Indian Mantapams are beautifully decorated with fresh flowers. The energy in the whole of the mantapam  is just so pure and blissful. The mantras are chanted by the Pandits  in Sanskrit. The most important thing being there is NO SHORTCUT in a proper Tamil Brahman wedding. You can't ‘bribe’ the panditji and ask him to finish up the wedding in less time.

So the functions had started before I could reach. I quickly had a bath and started with the shoot. One ceremony in a south indian wedding goes on for like a minimum of 2-3 hours. The Poojas  and the  Vidhis that are performed have a scientific base behind it. It is beautiful to watch. The flow of the complete ceremony is so dramatic that you cant experience when time passes by. All the ladies are dressed in Navvari (A saree which is 9 meters long, Imagine 9 meters long) and men wear a Dhoti and angavastram. Getting an opportunity to shoot such kind of a wedding is a blessing in itself. It is just beyond words. In all aspects a South Indian wedding is unique in itself. 

The main wedding was supposed to happen next morning. Like I mentioned earlier all the rituals are done with full dedication and devotion without any shortcuts. The pandits performing the rituals follow a strict discipline. The flow in which they chant the mantras is just beautiful. They take you in a state of cosmic Trance. 

All of my gear was ready for the next morning. Two Canon bodies. Lenses. Flash guns and everything and then…..I remembered….that……I… had to wear a Dhoti for the wedding. Okay so I basically had to shoot the complete wedding wearing a dhoti. This was a task no photographer would like to do. Two cameras hanging on the harness and that too with the flash gun attached.  I literally sat in my hotel room for few seconds in silence. 

The wedding finally started, RIGHT ON TIME unlike other weddings where the time of wedding is  just for printing in the invitation card and is barely followed. The Bride and Groom looked beautiful. You can experience the presence of Goddess Laxmi in the wedding. The bride wears all the beautiful ornaments designed by the jwellers who are have been doing it for ages. All the designs are very authentic and traditional which adds to the beauty of it. The Garlands that are used in the wedding too are traditional and so heavy.

The Pandits would chant the Mantras in sanskrit and then one of them would explain the significance of those mantras and why that particular ritual was performed. It was just enthralling to see all that. The best and my favourite ritual to shoot in all the wedding is Kanyadaan.  Kanyaa means daughter/girl, and daan means to donate. So in a wedding the father of the daughter is said to donate his daughter to the Boy so that she can enlighten his life with happiness and knowledge.  

The Kanyadaan  is done in a very different way in the Tamil Wedding. I wont be able to describe it much in detail as I am not aware about the exact way it is done. Just after the Kanyadaan finally the Marriage is said to be complete. It gave me goosebumps to listen to all those mantras and it was really difficult to be in that present moment and keep framing and clicking images of the on going rituals. You just cant hold back your emotions..! 

I have clicked a number of wedding till now but this one is my favourite Photograph. This was clicked just after the Kanyadaan. I find it the most expressive image I have ever captured. She has a smile with tears of joy. Her eyes are so expressive, you can just see it in her eyes that happiness, the feeling being complete that she had at that moment. Bliss…

The beautiful traditional ear piece.

One of the Pandits who performed the Havans and Vidhis for the complete wedding.

And finally a friend of mine clicked this image for me. The Bride, Groom and Me..!

This wedding will always have a very different place in my memories as a photographer. It was a memorable one. Lots of wishes and blessings to this wonderful couple for their future. God Bless them….! Thank you dear Jayanth & Savya for giving me this opportunity to capture the moments on your big day…!

I hope you all liked this post too. For bookings contact me on abhiustad@gmail.com. Lets make memories…

Love

Abhishek (AD)

P.S: I will be travelling for few days. Won’t be in coverage area. Will write the next post soon.