I just got back from a friend’s wedding in Kolkata.

This is a very old friend, one who I have known for 15 years, who I met when I first moved here through fandom and fanfiction of all things, and whose parents also took me under their wing when I was young and struggling.

This is the first wedding I’ve attended where I’ve properly been there as one of the bride’s friends (otherwise friends either aren’t marrying or were married before I met them) and it was a delight. I cried when maternal aunts sang and danced for her, I laughed at her micro managing her own wedding even while going through each ceremony, and I hoped with all my heart that her husband will be a worthy partner to her (and that her mother-in-law will not meddle as mother-in-laws tend to do).

Things I loved about the wedding:

- They had a female pandit conduct the ceremony, who also translated the shlokas into English and Bengali

- They skipped the kanyadaan ritual because a woman is not an object to be given away

- There was so much love and warmth from her side of the family, so much affection for the girl whose marriage they were celebrating

- The food. Bengali weddings are the best for the food. So much fish. So delicious.