Chloe McKendry

College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University

OGL 350: Diversity and Organizations

Professor Faith Oberstein

February 11, 2022

Cultural Immersion

I was very excited to learn about the opportunity OGL 350 presented with this cultural

immersion activity. I decided that I would choose an event unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

While I’ve attended a handful of weddings in the United States, the dominant religions present at

those events were Christianity and Catholicism. So, for this exercise I decided to watch a

YouTube video from 2018 about a traditional Indian wedding presented by Refinery29. I have to

agree with the title, “This Traditional Indian Wedding Is Insanely Beautiful” as right away I was

shocked by how gorgeous the venue was (Refinery29TV, 2018). I was a bit taken back when I

heard the mention of an elephant in the service, plus the outfits worn not just by the bride and

groom, but the entire wedding party were absolutely stunning (Refinery29TV, 2018).

The video begins with a background on the bride and groom. Sonya, the bride, mentions

how she insisted on her fiancé, Harsh, petitioning her parents for approval before asking for her

hand in marriage, as culturally this is an expectation held by the mother and father prior to the

wedding of their daughter (Refinery29TV, 2018). The couple then explains that among those

who practice Hindu, “some are meat eaters” (pointing to themselves to note that they do eat

meat) and others are not (Refinery29TV, 2018). While watching this YouTube video I learned
that there a quite a few differences among the Hindu practices in Northern India and Southern

India.

The groom refers to his family’s area of origin in Southern India, joking that the religious

and cultural traditions are “some might say nerdy” with much stricter expectations than in

Northern India, where the bride’s family is from (Refinery29TV, 2018). The bride even mentions

“I think it’s more about what our parents and grandparents want” showing the importance of

tradition and family values not only for Hindu weddings, but for the religion entirely

(Refinery29TV, 2018). As I heard this it reminded of reading “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who

am I?’” where the author considers a series of questions one might ask to determine their

identity, one being “Who do my parents say I am?” (Tatum, 2010). Clearly, for both Sonya and

Harsh, this question was a large one in developing their identity. The bride mentions that she is

Punjabi and explains how weddings for Northern Indians differ from those in Southern India

where “the ceremony is the focus of the wedding, the wedding being somewhat of a spiritual

event” (Refinery29TV, 2018). In contrast, for Northern Indians it is not uncommon for people to

be at the bar or buffet while the wedding ceremony is going on off to the side (Refinery29TV,

2018). During the planning stage, the couple makes a goal to merge the two styles together for

their wedding.

I was surprised to learn that the entire process is 72 hours, where the couple “dance[s] to

Bollywood’s greatest hits, get[s] covered in turmeric, and ride[s] a wild animal” and perhaps

what was even more shocking to me was that the couple would not be kissing at their wedding

(Refinery29TV, 2018)! On each table is a large, gold bowl-shaped decoration filled with water,

where flower petals and small candles float. I hoped these would be further explained, but
unfortunately the video, just 9 minutes long, didn’t include information about these alluring

centerpieces. I learned about the Sangeet which is referred to as a “big carnival”, that

traditionally included only women (Refinery29TV, 2018). Modern Sangeet celebrations include

both genders. On the morning of the wedding, the Haldi ceremony (turmeric ceremony) is

performed to purify the bride and groom as well as provide blessings and “ward off the evil

eye” (Refinery29TV, 2018).

Next, red and gold bangles are given to the bride to be worn during the Choora ceremony

(Refinery29TV, 2018). The groom wears a gold sherwani (royal coat), as red and gold are

“traditional auspicious colors for an Indian wedding” and the bride wears a lehenga, which she

describes as a big skirt and a crop top (Refinery29TV, 2018). The bridal procession is known as

the baraat and while the bride wanted an elephant, the groom chose to go with a white horse

which he will ride from the neighbors house to the house of the bride representing going from his

“village” to the other “village” to find his bride (Refinery29TV, 2018). The bride’s family must

decide when they have been paid enough, and then the groom is allowed to fully enter his bride’s

“village”. When the bride finally walks down the aisle (a non-Indian tradition which Harsh’s

Southern Indian parents accepted, typically the bride and groom do not see each other), her

brothers escort her, carrying a chaadar (sheet made from mother’s wedding Sari) above her

(Refinery29TV, 2018).

Just before the marriage is officiated, a terasalla (curtain) is placed between the bride and

groom for the rest of the ceremony. During this time, the couple takes bitter and sweet herbs

placing their hands on each other’s heads, with the different flavors “representing the joys and

struggles of life” (Refinery29TV, 2018). In Southern Indian weddings this process, the Jeelakarra
Bellam, is the main event (Refinery29TV, 2018). Then, the teresalla is removed and the couple is

pronounced husband and wife.

As I reflected on the vision of the wedding, I thought about social stratification and how

Indian-Americans are considered in US society. In Chapter 9, “Social Stratification in the United

States”, social stratification is defined as, “a society’s categorization of its people into

socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power” (“Social

Stratification in the United States”, n.d.). Initially I saw Indian Americans as having an

advantage over some other minorities like Latino Americans or African Americans who often fall

victim to negative stereotypes, with fancy, expensive, respected traditions and careers instead. I

thought that many Americans have beliefs that these individuals are intelligent, dedicated, and

honest and are likely to hold a higher socioeconomic status. Upon further consideration, I

realized that these are likely my own beliefs and interpretations of Indian culture, with bias in my

own positive experiences with Indian doctors and other health care professionals. This provided

an opportunity for me to explore these biases and examine how I might apply these positive

assumptions to other races, since I also hold a slight preference for African Americans over

European Americans, data I collected by taking the implicit association test (IAT) for race.

While watching “This Traditional Indian Wedding Is Insanely Beautiful” by Refinery29, I

was infatuated with all aspects of the event. The venue, the bride’s family’s home in New Jersey,

was gorgeous, the inclusion of a live animal, the outfits, and the cultural activities with turmeric

and bangles all filled me with joy and excitement. I enjoyed watching the families dance and the

merging of the two families’ traditions. Overall, watching this Indian wedding opened my mind

to the beauty within other cultures. I hope one day I will have the pleasure and privilege of
attending an Indian marriage live, but until then I will revisit Refinery29’s YouTube video to get

my fix of the wonderfully unique Indian culture.

 References

OpenStax College. (n.d.). Ch. 9 Social Stratification in the United States - Introduction to

Sociology. OpenStax. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://openstax.org/books/

introduction-sociology/pages/1-introduction-to-sociology

Tatum, B. D. (2010). The complexity of identity: “who am I?” Retrieved February 11, 2022,

from http://endinjustice.gmu.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/1600/files/2015/05/05-The-

Complexity-of-Identity-Beverly-Tatum.pdf

YouTube. (2018). This Traditional Indian Wedding Is Insanely Beautiful. YouTube. Retrieved

February 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmWeUL_J-oI.