What was all the noise I could hear from my hotel room? Oh, just another Indian wedding.

I watched as the bridal party and relatives passed in their finery to meet at the street corner. This was no small feat as we had been injured by a deluge of rain in the afternoon which left the road covered in mud. Pretty shoes and elaborate sarees had to navigate mud, cow shit and busy traffic.

At the next corner, a block away, a truck was unloading its contents of wedding entertainers. This was made up of a group of ladies who had to wear fluorescent chandeliers on their heads, a generator to illuminate their heads, and a singer with all his musical equipment.

Finally, the music started after the Indian equivalent of Testing 1 2 3….. Testing 1 2 3. The generator started and the heads lit up, but one could only blink. This gave the effect of a disco head; God knows what kind of headache the wearer would end up with.

A beggar and her two children took the opportunity to join in the action. He knew very well that someone would give him alms, even if it was only from her to get rid of her. I watched with bated breath as she tripped over the chandeliers or even unplugged the singer from her amp. This amp would make the decibel level of a rock concert cost effective. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen and I was very disappointed.

The procession came to a halt at what I thought was an early stop outside a hut. Could it be that the generator gave up, the singer fainted with excitement, or the bridle went bad? More realistically, it was probably someone in the group demanding more money. Someone obviously coughed as the chandeliers came to life again and the queen of disco followed and the singer did her Indian yodeling rendition.

This being an Indian holiday and an auspicious day to get married, it might explain the haste with which the chandeliers, drums, amplifier and people were packed into the truck. They would be running to the next engagement; There would be many weddings today. Entertainers can command large fees on these auspicious wedding days and no family would lose face for not having this fanfare.

This is how the bridal party arrived at the hotel, undoubtedly hot from the humidity and the heat generated by the fluorescent lamps. Especially since the men were sweating in western-style suits and the women in heavily embroidered sarees.