A Wedding Ceremony You Attended
The wedding ceremony of my elder sister came off on 11th December 2019. She was married to Mr. Ashraful Islam, an Engineer in PDB. The wedding took place in Senakunja, a well-known community centre in the city.
The community centre was decorated with colourful lights. An arched gate with fresh flowers was erected for the bridal party. More than four hundred guests were invited to the occasion. Close relatives, friends and neighbours arrived in due time. There was a reception team to receive guests at the party.
I along with some friends were waiting to receive the bridal party at the gate. At around 7:00pm, the groom came to the community centre with the bridal party. The party was accompanied by a group of musicians playing the drums and the flute. The car of the groom was decorated with flowers and colourful papers. My uncle welcomed the bridal party and showed them in. We stood at the gate and demanded an amount as entrance fee. After a higgling (হিগলিঙ-দর কষাকষি) it was settled for taka five thousand. The bridegroom and his entourage (এন্টুরেজ-সফরসঙ্গী/সহচর) were offered soft drinks and sweetmeat upon arrival.
The bride wore a red saree with stone setting jewellery. The groom was wearing the traditional ‘sherwani’ and a ‘pagri’ overhead. When the marriage was solemnized by a kazi, we prayed for the new couple seeking divine blessings. Then, came the food. Chicken biriyani, rezala, salad, Burhani and jarda were served. We took care of the guests during the feast.
After the feast was over, the farewell part of the bride came in. Soon there appeared a gloomy and sad environment. The close relatives started weeping along with the bride. I saw that almost everyone was in tears while bidding farewell to the bride.
Amid tears and joy the groom took the bride with him. We all wished them a happy conjugal life.