Travel-Blogue Day 14: Monsoon Wedding Reception

Posted by: Steve Hamm on July 31

The way I found my way to the wedding reception was to tell the auto rickshaw driver that I wanted to go to the Venkatramana Theatre in Kachiguda. Then I looked across the street for Balajirathaniel Sweet House. Nearby, I found the Munur Kapu Sangam function hall, where Gautam and Lina Akula were holding their reception for friends, family, and business associates in Hyderabad. They had actually been married the day before in one of India’s holy cities. Gautam rode in on a horse.

Before you decide that Gautam and Lina are traditionalists, consider this: Gautam grew up outside of Albany, New York; Lina grew up in Beirut, Lebanon; and they both work as school teachers in Beirut. These are some of my global tribe.

The function hall is basically a big theater with a stage upstairs and a big hall for serving food downstairs. On stage, a priest conducted a short blessing and ceremony for those who had not made it to the wedding. Then, while a band played crazy loud music, guests filed up on the stage and congratulated the couple, dropping sprinklings of yellow rice on their heads.

Downstairs you took a huge metal plate (counted later by the caterer to tally the bill) and made the rounds of tables laden with all sorts of South Indian delicacies. At tables, moms fed their children by hand, like they were baby birds. I talked with a private equity investor (Former Enron; still loves the company), an energy entrepreneur, a psychiatrist, a surgeon, several school teachers, and several social entrepreneurs.

The most fascinating food was one of the deserts. A cook squeezed dough out of a cloth sack and spun pretzel-like swirls in hot oil. When it was cooked, he dipped the pretzels in warm honey, then set them on a tray to cool.

I grabbed one too fast. Sizzling fingers again.

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