Guest at a Parsi wedding

I have had the privilege of attending many Parsi weddings / Navjots due to my stint in Godrej early in my career. 

Each pangat used to take one hour and ten minutes ( yes, I timed it). 

But let's start from the beginning. The weddings / Navjots ( thread ceremony, for both boys and girls) are held only in the evening. Guests flow in and usually head for the Bar. The bride and groom are left alone on the dais; why do they need anyone except the priest? 

The bar pours only Parsi pegs, which is the equivalent of a Patiala peg. The Parsis can outdo the Punjabis in drinking, and cursing. Not being called BC / MC by a Parsi friend means he doesn't love you. By the way, there is no water in the bar, or anywhere else. The wife wanted water once, and after much consultation, they directed her to the backside of the kitchen, and I am not making this up.

A typical Parsi Pangat is served on banana leaves - talking of which by the way, this modern tendency to have a "buffet" is complete nonsense - the only real meal is the sit-down meal. 

The guests would all head for the meal with their drinks in hand. You are first served "lagan nu achar", a special sweet and tangy pickle made just for weddings", and then it starts. The first course is always fish, Patra nu Machli used to be my favourite, followed by one more course of fish.

This is followed by a Chicken course, say Tangdi Kabab, followed by another round of Tangdi Kabab.

Then follows the Mutton Biryani followed by another round of Mutton Biryani.

Then comes the dessert, a top favourite used to be Kulfi from Parsi Dairy. 

The whole thing takes a little more than an hour. The others don't mind waiting, since the bar is always open. 

There is always provision  made for the vegetarians, and it's nice food too.

But who in his right mind would eat vegetarian food at a Parsi wedding? 

It's been years since I have attended a Parsi wedding. I quit Godrej in 1994, and after that have not had the opportunity. 

Now is the time in life when all my contemporaries are inviting me for their children's weddings. 

I think I need to call all my Parsi colleagues of Godrej and renew the friendship, in order to wrangle an invite for their children's wedding. 

Yes! The more I think about it, the more appetising that seems!

( Posted to my blog; 

https://www.dineshgopalan.com/