My Wedding in Pictures

Hi everybody, Its been a while since our wedding, and I know a lot of you have been waiting to see this space updated. Thanks to all of you who could make it for the wedding. It was great having you all around. There were many among you who couldn't make it there, for various reasons. I hope this post will make up in part for what you missed.

Unlike previous posts, I`d like to post this one as a picture album with comments, so here goes:

The nerves are high just before leaving my house for the church. My brothers Chacko (Jacob) and Ousepachan (Joseph) do the finishing touches on my Sherwani (wedding suit).

At Rosa`s place, she is all decked, looking pretty as a bride can be.

Rosa gathers with her family for a prayer session...

..giving "Sthuthi" to her parents.

..and I do the same for my parents, at my house.

Both our wedding cars decked up to ferry us to church.

Rosa`s flower girls almost stole the show!

I pose for a picture with My bothers and sisters-in-law. Joseph, Japna, Diya and Jacob.

Rosa`s gets a hug from her brother Avira

I`m all set for the journey ....

The Church at Kanjirapally

Rosa disembarks from her bridal car at the church

...and joins my side to be led into the church

the flower girls lead the way to the altar

The Manthrakodi (sari), Wedding rings, Thali and Rosary, waiting to be blessed

All set to begin the wedding, we stand at the altar.

The priest arrives

...to begin the ceremony...

I tie the knot

Rosa and I exchange rings

..I drape the "manthrakodi" over Rosa`s head

we take our vows

and are blessed as man and wife

a view of the church

After the wedding we head over to sign our wedding for the record

...and step out married!

a traditional "Chingari melam" display begins as we walk past ...

..to the reception hall where we are garlanded

...and escorted onto the stage..

...for a customary "mathuram nullal", which kicks off the wedding feast

...and a new life begins for Rosa and me.

P.S:

More pictures can be accessed at this link

Lead up to the wedding- an update

Its been ages since I last posted and I guess its time for a quick update.
Its been an agonizing 5 months but finally, the countdown has begun As I write this, there`s just 9 days left to head home and 17 days for my wedding!
Its amusing to think that within that time I`m going to make the transformation from bachelorhood into a full fledged family man!
Preparations for the wedding are going on at home in my abscence, there's little I can do from here, but I guess, there's work to be done after i reach India... shopping for a wedding garment will be high on the list of priorities!

I`ve sent out email invitations to all of you whose emails I had, but if you havent got one its only because I didnt have your email with me. Rosa and I came up with the design of the card, which was then transformed into reality by my brother - Chacko. For those who are yet to see it, I`m embedding it below.

As some of you were aware, I was sporting a beard. I am now back to my clean-shaven-younger-than-ever looks! A standard question I get asked in relation to that is if it's because Rosa asked me to take it off! O.K, so here it is, for the record. No! Its because I thought, years from now when I look back at my wedding pictures, I think I`d prefer seeing a younger me (compared to the older bearded looks!).


I know a lot of you prefer the beard on, but hey, it grows back!

Two of my friends Morgane and Jolanda, who may be familiar to some of you through this blog will be joining me in India for the wedding.
While Jolanda (left) will accompany me when I fly down, Morgane (right) will join us on 20th. After the wedding they plan to explore a bit around Kerala and get to know its sights, sounds and tastes (especially the last!). If any of you have ideas to entertain them, do get in touch.

Lastly, Rosa and I have been discussing possible honeymoon locations and high on the list is a place called Vythiri tucked away in the pristine forests of Wyanad. While it is not well known to most south and central Keralites, it is surprisingly popular on the internet. If any of you have been there or know more about it, please shoot me a mail.

I`m really excited at coming down and am imaptiently counting down the days. I hope to see most of you at my wedding or before that for Chacko`s wedding on 17th. Please do try and make it. Until then...holding my breath!

Cycling to Severn Beach

Make hay while the sun shines they say. It maynot be very relevant in a country like India where sunshine is taken for granted, but in UK sunshine can make the diffrence between a sleepy weekend indoors or an active outdoor pursuit. And so it was that I was having my leisurely weekend sleep until 10:30 in the morning, and on waking I opened my window to gaze at the perfect weekend weather.
Since the weather forecast was for a rain day on the morrow, I decided to make the most of it and continue my cycling-birdwatching. However, this time I decided to stay clear of the MOD and head the opposite way. I`d been thinking of cycling to the Severn beach sometime and I decided that time would be today.
View Larger Map
And so, with a quick look on google maps to gauge my route, I set off on what would turn out to be close to 4 hours of cycling for about 24 miles back and forth!
The first few miles was along cycle paths on the road side, but that soon came to an end and I got onto the No 4 National Cycle network . The National Cycle network is a series of cycle paths connecting the entire UK and is entirely free of other traffic, except sometimes - horse riders!
Some of the route is quite scenic and leads past almost deserted countryside and I was able to see quite a few birds. The unique ones among them being a Coot, a Grey heron and a Kestrel.

Inspite of well posted signs along the cycle network , it took me a while to find my way. The fact that I have Google maps installed on my phone, helped me find my bearings, but having not charged my phone the previous night, I was soon out of battery and one wrong turn I`d be lost in the middle of nowhwhere.

However, inspite of a few wrong turns I finally ended up at severn beach. The beach is not really much of a beach as most of us would know it. Firstly it is not sandy but rocky and slushy, and secondly the water body is not a sea but an estuary - the Severn estuary. Well, my geographical knowledge was not that great so I was quite surprised to see the muddiest "sea" you`d ever see. The colour of the water was a dirty brown. However what really takes one`s breath away is the Severn crossing bridge- a bridge connecting England with Wales.

Having finally reached my destination, I was starving and tired. I hadnt anticipated such a long ride and hadnt even had breakfast! besides, it was really windy there and the chilly wind was getting to me. I would have liked to stay on and explore the place, but I thought it would be better on another occasion, when Im better prepared and thus I decided to turn back on a never ending ride back home.

There are many things to do along the severn. Bird watching is a popular hobby there and the severn beach is home to many unique birds. Besides that there is a unique phenomenon that occurs at the highest tides along the river Severn - called the Severn bore. The severn Bore is a tidal bore- in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the current. As such, it is a true tidal wave or a mini tsunami. This video will give you a better impression.
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I hope someday I`ll be able to head back there and watch both birds as well as the severn bore. Until then I`m recouping from the incredible body ache that yesterdays cycling has caused!