Cultures don’t part

Weekender

By DOROTHY MARK
THE young Indian man’s heart was pounding hard as he stood at one end of the footpath neatly lined with bright red Ixoras. He was at the picturesque Madang Lodge and all around him were dancers from Madang beating traditional numbers on their kundu drums and about to escort him to where his bride-to-be was sure to be waiting.
It was Jay Prakash’s wedding day and never before had Madang seen something that came close to an Indian wedding.
The dancers began to move towards where the bride would be, motioning for him to start walking down the path towards the hall where the main part of the wedding would take place on that bright Sunday morning two weeks ago. . Jay is from half way across the world but found his true love on the shores of beautiful Madang in PNG.
Josephine Piska, is of Madang and East Sepik parentage. The two had opted to bind their matrimonial vows the India way.
It was customary obligation that Jay would perform an Indian wedding dance to woo his bride out, away from where she would be hiding and away from the number of guests that mingled on the hotel premises.
He steeled himself for the momentous time of his life, taking comfort and strength from the gracious Patel family, other Indian friends, expatriates, nationals and his Ela Enterprise workmates.
In fact, while there were Indians and other nationals dressed in India fashion, all eyes were on Jay. It was in keeping with Indian wedding custom that the bride would be out of sight until the groom and/or his family perform a wedding dance.
He wondered how she would look, dressed as an Indian bride.
On reaching the entrance of the wedding hall, the kundu beats petered out and was replaced with the strains of Indian wedding music.
It was time for Jay to dance. And dance he did. His wantoks from India and Papua New Guinea wasted no time and joined in the merriment.
In fact, Indian weddings are incomplete without dance, music and lots of laughter.
Josephine had completed the Indian ritual called Mehndi two days before the wedding. It was now time to reveal her beauty to her husband to be.
A hush fell on the guests. Wow! The word emanated from the spectators lips as soon as Josephine materialized out from where she had been hiding and showed her hands that had been painted in mehndi tradition.
The main ceremony had begun. Jay presented a posse of red Ixora blooms to his betrothed and she returned the gesture by gently placing a garland of fresh perfumed frangipani flowers around his neck. This was a sign that she was welcoming him to herself, her life, heart and soul.
Together they swayed to the music. Josephine’s family and friends couldn’t resist and danced along with the bride and groom, every now and then wiping away tears of joy from their eyes.
Inside the wide hotel hall the Catholic Priest Elias Aiyako awaited them. He smiled as Jay led his sweetheart to where he would bestow on them the spiritual and marriage blessing.
It was a different kind of celebration for Father Aiyako and he was touched by the two people he was about to bind in marriage. Many couples had come before him to be blessed but never a ceremony where an Indian was a partner.
In his message to Josephine and Jay, Father Aiyako reminded everyone in attendance that love had no boundaries and was the reason why two people from two different countries with different culture and traditions were now uniting as one.
It was now nearing midmorning on that brilliant day of Sunday 4th December when Josephine and Jay exchanged vows and rings. And pronounced Mr and Mrs Prakash. Jay thanked his parents for teaching him to be strong to face the challenges in his life.
“I still remember their words” he said. “Jay, give the best to the world without any expectations and be the reason for everybody’s happiness.”
The groom also had praise for Ela Patel, fondly known as Mama Boss. She and her husband own Ela Enterprise in Madang and were instrumental in organizing and making Jay and Josephine’s dream of an Indian wedding come true. Like a mother and mentor, she will forever be in their hearts.
“It is true that every human has a special person in his or her life, I am lucky to have one in my life too, a special woman with a golden heart, beautiful and ever green always, smiling all the time and the best entertainer,” Jay said of Mama Boss.
Jay also heaped praises for Papa Boss and Boss Dhawal for their support and understanding, and trust and advice.
Also instrumental in the wedding planning was Rachna and her two beautiful daughters Kushi and Shreena and baby Jiaan.
The husband and wife both work at Ela Enterprise. Josephine is from Kambaramba in East Sepik and Sarang in Madang. She works as an accounts clerk. Jay is from Nashik in India and is the hardware manager. Jay first joined the company in 2014. It was love at first sight for him the first time he walked into the main office where Josephine worked.
For several months they operated on “eye contact” as the company was strictly against office liaisons. As soon as they swapped mobile numbers, they made optimum use of the free text messaging. Soon though, they had to spill the bean and notified their bosses, the Patel’s, who gave them nothing but the utmost support and guided them through their friendship with advice and support.
“Josephine and I never met each other in person; we met on only special social gatherings and spent only few minutes together,” Jay said.
The happy Indian man swears by mobile phones saying it was the medium that got them to start communicating in the first place.
Thence, they built up trust and a strong bond that eventually led to love and marriage.