ABSTRACT
Our jeep was often drafted into service for weddings in Dharmnagri and Jhakri. Roger would go to the bride’s village with the barāt to participate in the wedding festivities and bring the newly married couple back to the groom’s home. As with Ritu’s wedding, the bride’s departure from her parents’ home was always a protracted affair with the men restlessly pacing while the women said long and tearful farewells. Eventually, the bride would be bundled into the waiting jeep with the groom and several members of the barāt. To Roger’s discomfort, many a journey home would be in virtual silence, punctuated only by the bride’s stifled sobbing.
