The final day, we had a short walk, for about an hour or so and made our way across another couple of suspension bridges. The last one was guite high and swaying as we walked.
A car was waiting to take us back to Baktapur and the Dragon House. We were all exhausted, even Rajkumar was, although he was loath to admit it! When you know you can rest, fatigue sets in.
Kriti made us lunch then we washed up and rested. Kriti invited us to a wedding reception of a relative that evening, again this is acceptable in Nepali culture and quite an honour. Don’t ask me what the relationship was because they often call cousins and uncles brothers and sisters. Anyway we made ourselves as presentable as possible, which in all honesty was pretty shabby. Kriti and Rajkumar looked amazing, Kriti was in Tibetan Buddhist dress (the picture I took was not flattering so unfortunately you cannot see it), Rajkumar a modern man about town!
The wedding was in a huge building with a white and red tented effect inside. We were quite early but it filled up quickly. The Bride and Groom sat on a throne on a dais looking resplendent and the guests sat in various positions of importance around it. We managed a nod to the couple and then we were introduced to the couple’s parents, Kriti’s father and a couple of her brothers.
After a while watching the guests go up to the couple to bless them with sticky rice, by putting it on their foreheads and placing a shawl around their necks, it was our turn. Eek!
I managed to get rice everywhere and knocked most of it off the Groom, he was very gracious about it. I did a better job with the Bride. We also gave them envelopes with cash.
In Nepal the Bride wears red. We were told this was an arranged marriage although love marriages are common here too nowadays. The couple were a bit older, about 30 years and I don’t think this is common. Both Sabin and Rajkumar married in their early twenties and Kriti was seventeen I think.
We had delicious snacks, although I was rather full from lunch. Then later we went to another area to dance and this was such fun! All these lovely little girls and women all wanting to dance with us. All acting out the songs with very complicated movements. One absolutely gorgeous little thing said to me “you’re so pretty” referring to Clare and I. That was the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard but, she meant it. I guess we are as exotic to them as they are to us!
Leaving was quite difficult the dancers hugging us, Clare was chatting to someone and I was accosted by a rather drunk young woman from Darjeeling who wanted me to sit with her. Kriti was having similar distrstions. It wasn’t late but Clare and I felt so tired by the time we got into the taxi..
The Travelling Bee 