KNIGHT ON A WHITE HORSE?

Saturday evening, while so many of the wedding guests were virtually freezing at the venue for the evening's events, the groom and his school chums - about twenty young men, arrived at the outside gate of the Vista Hotel - most likely by warm cars, and then the groom mounted a beautiful white horse that was adorned by a jewel encrusted blanket and head dress and saddle. They were accompanied by a brass band with drums and a string of chandeliers in groups of three on each side of the roadway. The lights in the chandeliers were all powered by a portable generator, carried on a truck that eased its way along the entrance beside the groom's entourage.
The drummers and the brass players continued with an assaulting cacophony of rapid fire percussion and trumpeting, much as you would hear from a charging bull elephant. The intensity strengthened and then diminished and what should have taken a total of ten minutes lasted more than two hours. Even the groom's mother seemed a bit perturbed as to how long the procession was taking to reach the portico that had been beautifully decorated with cascades of stephanotis blossoms appearing like rain, as well as garlands of marigolds and roses and gerbera daisies. All of the groom's party seemed to be smoking cigars and sharing a large bottle of scotch whiskey they passed from one to another. Finally, the party arrived and processed up the portico into the venue. Those of us who were standing on either side of the processing group showered them in rose petals and marigold petals.
The festive atmosphere pervaded the entire venue, with the color scheme of purple and gold being followed throughout the tented areas outside, as well as the ballroom inside.
Upon the arrival of the groom's party, the bride and groom proceeded to the stage, where they received blessings and prayers from the priest. They then moved onto a separate tented area, where seven sets of prayers and rituals continued for about two hours. All the while, guests mingled and ate and drank. Eventually, we all entered the ballroom and were treated to a variety of native dishes, as well as Oriental cooking.
As everyone can imagine, and those especially who have seen MONSOON WEDDING, the festivities went on into the wee hours of the morning, when the bridal couple finally departed - at about 2:00 in the morning. Our driver, Rakesh, took us back to our guest house and we got to sleep at about 3:00 in the morning. After all, we had to take rest, since we were expected to be in attendance at yet another event the following morning, hosted by the groom's family, at the India Habitat Center in Delhi.
Still trying to get some photos uploaded.