Many weddings take place at the Shree Narayani Dham temple in Lonavla. As we visited the temple in December we documented some of the pageantry of this one. Here we are sitting with part of one of the extended families attending the wedding. (7 Dec 2014)
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Women waiting for the wedding. (7 Dec 2014)
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The groom sits in his traditional wedding clothes with well wishers. (7 Dec 2014)
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The bride and groom along with the maid of honor. For some reason principals of Indian wedding parties often do not have big smiles. (7 Dec 2014)
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More women waiting for the wedding. This temple had at least one wedding, some times more, every week during the time we were in Lonavla this year (30 Nov 14 to 7 Jan 15).(7 Dec 2014)
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Petra, Beatrix, and several more members of the wedding party. (7 Dec 2014)
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The Indian groom always arrives at his wedding on his horse. This one stands resting after delivering the groom to another wedding at the Narayani temple some days later. (17 Dec 2014)
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The typical music at an Indian wedding is provided by one form or another of a contraption like this jeep decked out with keyboard, electric drums, generator, and bull horns. They blast away all semblance of silence in a wide neighborhood. This wedding was also accompanied by a drum and bugle corps. (17 Dec 2014)
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Petra and Beatrix, a friend from Amsterdam, at the temple on the wedding day. (7 Dec 2014)
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Petra and Beatrix are included in a group photo at the wedding. Indians like to take pictures of Westerners they do not at all know. They very often come up and ask to take your picture. [I guess I am doing that too with these pictures and I didn’t even ask!](7 Dec 2014)
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One of the beautiful fountains at the temple. (7 Dec 2014)
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Two proud ladies dressed in their wedding best. (7 Dec 2014)
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Christmas lights in the courtyard at Kaivayadhana. (26 Dec 2014)
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Petra and I are about to attack a ghee dosa in a Pune restaurant on the way to Lonavla. The waiter told us to get this because it was bigger and better than two regular dosas. He was right. It took us a while to finish it. A dosa is a thin, crusty, wheat pancake that one usually eats with some spicy sauce and often potatoes and/or vegitables. (30 Nov 2014)
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On the road near the wedding temple an oxcart carries a workman to or from his work. (1 Jan 15)
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Petra stands outside the Kailash Parbat Netra Fast Food open-air restaurant near Kaivalyadhama where we often had tea and toast. In a Hindu land it is decorated for Christmas. (24 Dec 2014)
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And this is the inside decorations on Christmas Day. (25 Dec 2014)
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A Netra Fast Food restaurant waiter hamming it up Christmas Day. Everyone had the hats to celebrate. Some were a bit self counsious. This guy wasn’t. (25 Dec 2014)
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The crew of the Netra Fast Food Restaurant. (7 Jan 2015)
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