Hey, we’re “oriental” too! 
But I’ve got to disagree. If you were right, then with the number of Jews in Tel-Aviv we’d **HAVE **to have some more decent Chinese food here :smack: :mad:
Great OP, Mika; I’m curious about all spiritual paths so thank you for sharing with us about the Hindu faith. I think Ganesha is probably my favorite Hindu God, btw. Although I like Hanuman too. 
Yay FCM that your eye is okay! Good thing you did go to the doctor, though. He sounds like a good guy even though he’s got a strange funny bone. 
At any rate, glad to hear that you’re feeling much better now …
I had the ultrasound of my thyroid this morning; the tech. would only tell me that there were several “nodules,” and my appt. with the endocrinologist isn’t until 6/29, so I called my personal (primary care) doctor when I got home and asked her to look at the ultrasounds and call me back. The tech had the radiologist there look at them and wouldn’t let me leave until after he’d seen them. I didn’t get back until nearly noon, and it’s so hot outside already that I was sweaty and feeling ill, so instead of going on in to work, I came home. So please keep my in your prayers and thoughts, folks–I’m still really scared here. In other news, my cousin who has been in treatment for cervical cancer seems to be doing much better! She had 60 hours of radiation this past week, in isolation, and the docs have told her that she is cancer free now. Sounds like really great news!!
Happy Monday, all. Take care and be good.
We’ve got so much good Vietnamese around here that I haven’t bothered to try the Chinese to see if any of it is Bad or not. A fact which causes me to regularly count my blessings. Last time I had real Chinese, at a dim sum place in Chinatown in New York City last year – which was REALLY yummy food and thorough authentic, by all accounts – I got the MSG headache of the century and was sick for two days afterwards, so I’ll stick to Vietnamese or Thai or other ethnic food that doesn’t overuse the MSG. You just never know with Chinese, Bad or otherwise.
We ran a few errands and I got the wherewithal to knit up a few FSMs. So if at some point you want to email me, SCL with your address, my email is in my profile and I’ll pop one off to you. How you arrange his Noodly Appendages will be up to you.
And now back to work. Or maybe to knit FSM first. He can’t take that long, right?
What do you know about Ganesh? I’d be glad to post some stories about him & Hanuman.
You are definitely in my thoughts. Be well.
Very cool poem mika. Thanks. It’s always nice to start the day with some romance. Actually it’s 7pm here but I’m on holiday for two weeks so I figure I get to read the MMP as late as I want. And there’s never a bad time for romance.
In other news I am frustrated by a UTI. To the point that I’m considering just plugging in the really long extension lead and taking the laptop to the bathroom. 
It’ll save wear and tear on the carpet from all that running back and forth. le sigh.
I’m trying to work out what to do with my time off. I’m not going away so I thought I’d do stuff around London but I’m having difficulties working out what. I don’t wanna do the mega-touristy stuff but I’ve only lived here a few years so there’s plenty of things I haven’t been to see yet. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Oooh, London. I miss London. My favorite thing to do was to hang out at The Star Cafe in Soho and read. As for the touristy stuff, the Tower of London is a must. The guided tour is pretty funny. Er, what else? I liked Hampton Court Palace, although it might be too tourist-crowded this time of year. And all those free museums. Free fun!
Herbs, you’re in my prayers. Hang in there; you know we’re all here for you!
Kitchen is half-tidied. I just finished writing a letter to Cutco. I’ve got to send off 4 of my table knives for replacement. Two fell apart, one has a crack in the handle, and one has a loose blade. I love their 100% replacement guarantee. I’ve had these knives since 1975, and I’ll get 4 brand new ones. Yay!
Gotta find a little box to send them off…
Zelie, not a Londoner myself, but if you haven’t been to The London Dungeon, ignore it’s “touristy” reputation and go there!
Also, if you like books, do a walking tour up Charing Cross Rd, from Trafalgar – in addition to the huge Borders etc., there are many hole-in-the-wall second hand and even antique bookshops that are a pleasure to browse.
Also, seconding Haze’s recommendation of the Tower.
**Tarragon **-- you are in my thoughts as well.
herbs hang in there, we’re all rooting for you, and the Power of the MMP is strong!
Today is officially the longest day ever.
There are storms headed this way for late afternoon, or so they claim. :rolleyes:
I’ll believe it when I see it. I can’t imagine the reaction of my trees, bushes and flowers : "hey, if this is water, then where is that guy with the hose???’
Interesting reccomendations.
Although I have banned myself from being near bookshops without reliable adult supervision and a second friend on standby to text ‘You don’t need that!’ to me at random intervals.
Yup, you should **definitely **do the Charing Cross Rd. bookshops! 
Holy crap! page 2 already? and I ahven’t even read any of it
I just wanted to be sure to subscribe to it
Well, I promised y’all this some time ago, and I know you wanted it, so here goes:
The Traditional Indian Wedding
Please note the following things:
[ul]
[li]It will be in multiple posts so as to break it up.[/li][li]It varies, just like our religion does, from house to house and region to region. I have put in some of the most popular customs from North India, which is where I am from. But that’s not to say other people might not have other customs.[/li][li]Questions are always welcome.[/li][li]I will try to follow up with pictures from home, as I can’t search very easily from work. (Computer’s too stoopid). [/li][/ul]
Hope you enjoy it. I will begin with the next post.
Step 1: Making the match
In the old days this used to be handled solely with go-betweens. Your parents went through someone, and they reported back whether or not the candidate was likely.
If the parents knew someone, for example, Father’s old college buddy has a daughter, and look! We have a son! Then sometimes the father would initiate the talks.
Nowadays it’s kind of like “Preeti, the Shahs are coming over tonight. Their son Mohan is your age. Why don’t you meet him? It’s time for you to get married, you know.” And Preeti says “Mummy, seriously, that’s so old-fashioned. All the girls meet their own guys now, you know!” And Mummy says “Well, they might but we’re not like that. At least meet him and give him a chance.” And then Preeti agrees.
Usually the kids will talk it over and if there’s no spark, there’s no spark, but from what I gather from my cousins, if one says yes and the other says “maybe” there usually has to be a really good reason for it to become “no”.
Step 2: The Shagun
“Shagun” in Hindi means something like “auspicious beginning”, and that is what this is. Usually the guy’s family will go to the girl’s house bearing gifts. The “nicest” way to present this is a silver or gold platter, with the gifts on it, covered with a yellow silk cloth. They may bring other gifts, but there should be jewelry and small things on the platter.
Step 3: The engagement.
Usually a very nice engagement party. We do exchange rings, now. I don’t know if we always did or this is new. Both families are present, and there must be lots and lots of sweets to eat. Of course, that is par for the course at every function.
Step 4: Ladies’ Sangeet
“Sangeet” means singing, and this is our equivalent of a bridal shower. People don’t bring gifts (although this is slowly changing) but all of the girls - NO GUYS ALLOWED - get together and play on instruments and sing songs and tease the bride-to-be. We dance, and have a great time. It’s traditional for the young guys to try to sneak in here to watch. Every generation of men claims they never did it, but every generation does.
**Step 5: The day of the wedding. **
On the guy’s side:
The guy must go and get the girl. So he creates a baraat, which is a procession of people comprised of his friends, his family, the band-baja (instrument players), and anything else they have. In the old days they used to go from one village to the next. Now they usually have the wedding at some big hall, so the baraat often will start from the hall and go to her house, or some other mutually-convenient place.
The groom must ride on a white female horse. In front of him is a young male relative. (I forget the significance of all this, I’m very sorry.) Of course, nowadays he often goes in a nice white car.
Around him his brothers and friends dance in the streets. It’s always fun to see a baraat going by.
One of the funniest pictures of my parents’ wedding was when they were putting soorma, or eyeliner, in my dad’s eyes, something they do for men. You can see my dad’s eyes all scrunched up and stuff.
On the girl’s side:
They put mehndi (what is generally known in the west as henna) on her hands and tickle her mercilessly while she can’t fight back. They tease her about sex, and about her husband, and about married life. They dress her in her preferred color – usually some bright shade such as red or orange or fuschia. She can wear a sari or a lengha (skirt & blouse combo) but usually the veil they pull over it all is very heavy and embroidered and stunningly gorgeous. They put her makeup on, and she dresses in a private room off to one side.
Meanwhile her family is greeting the baraat and the other guests, sprinkling them with holy water when they arrive, sweetening their mouths with treats, and preparing the mandav (altar-type thing).
Step 6: The actual wedding.
They both sit in front of the sacrificial fire. At times the priest will tell them what to sacrifice, for example, rice or some other grain for fertility, other times oils or certain herbs. They must go seven times around the fire with a veil tied from him to her signifying their connection. Some of the times are with him in the lead, some with her – I forget which are which. And they don’t do all seven together. I believe it’s 2, then a break of prayer, then 2 more, then another break, then the last three are all together.
Not to interrupt myself, but bad news. My SIL just told my brother to get out. :eek: These are the people I just went to see. They have been fighting almost since I left, and she just told him she is going to ask for a divorce.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
More news in a bit.
Whoa! Gettin’ hitched in India is some kinda involved! Neat stuff there mika!
In other news, I lost then found a bottle of water. I searched all over the place! Even places I knew I couldn’t have had my bottle of water like the pool cause I hadn’t even been out there! Where did I find it, you ask? Well, I opened up the pantry to get out a bottle of steak seasoning and there it was! :smack: See, I remember havin’ it in my hand and openin’ the pantry door to get the seasoning when the phone rang. So, I put my bottle of water down, on a shelf and closed the door. After I answered the phone and yacked it up a few minutes, I forgot about goin’ to get the steak seasoning. Then, I couldn’t find my water, so I gave up figurin’ I’d remember eventually and then remembered I was goin’ to season up a couple steaks, so I went to the pantry and there it was! :smack: DUH!!!
Tonight is men’s steak night at my church and we’re goin’, hence the seasonin’ up of steaks. Beerverages to take are also chilled. Just a couple each though cause we be drivin’.
Let’s see, did I put the bottle of steak seasoning back in the pantry or will I find it in the china cabinet…
ETA: Yikes on the family stuff mika!
Nifty. I especially like the sweets part- Indian sweets are wonderful. One of my Mum’s best friends has a daughter who got married in a traditional Sikh ceremony. Mum said it was beautiful, in spite of sitting on the ground. The girl is Irish, with dark amhogany hair, and her husband is Indian. They just had their first kid, and I bet he’s gorgeous- it will be a lovely colour combination.
tarragon, prayers headed out.
Praise me, everyone, for I have eaten real food for lunch! Sort of! I made nachos, and it’s the frist even slightly spicy thing I’ve eaten in a month. I feel very brave.
Could we cancel summer? It’s damn hot.
I wish we could have stretched out spring a little longer. I had to close up the house yesterday, and it’s oppressive outside today. I don’t expect to be able to open the windows again till maybe September. <sigh>
**tarra ** - good thoughts coming your way.
Yeah… ouch! But what did they really expect putting it in the racino? I mean did they really think the trendy crowd was going to walk by the old ladies at the slots to go to a club?
Sorry to hear about your brother and SIL.
The Indian wedding stuff is really cool to learn about! Thanks for the info.
A friend of mine just had a baby last Tuesday. She was expecting a boy (based on the ultrasounds) but the website that her husband put together never mentions boy or girl! I sent them a “congrats on the baby boy” thing from Popcorn Factory before realizing this fact. I hope it actually was a baby boy! Yikes! :eek: