Shelby's Social Diary
Indian wedding wows bring out power players and dazzling gowns
The sensual riches of Indian weddings provided a vivid cultural immersion for guests of the Houston Arts Alliance, which hosted a vibrant opening reception for Anointed & Adorned: Indian Weddings exhibition at Alliance Gallery.
The exhibit of photos by Sohil Maknojia, audio interviews by Rati Ramadas Girish and video by Dylan Reid represents the latest in HAA's Folklife + Traditional Arts Programs and remains on view at the Allen Parkway gallery through June 12.
For this special evening, the gallery was dressed in all manner of Hindu wedding finery including an elaborate altar, endless garlands of chrysanthemums and a five-foot diameter rangoli created by artist Sangita Bhutada. Traditional wedding drums sounded and Bombay Brasserie provided a redolent sampling of traditional wedding foods. For those among the 300 guests who were game for a little body adornment, Soniya Gheewala Ekici applied mehendi (henna designs) to their hands.
Internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer and master teacher Rathna Kumar provided bridal attire modeled by seven students from her Samskriti Indian Performing Arts dance school. Their dazzling gowns represented seven distinct Indian wedding traditions.
Sampling this evening flavored with the sights, sounds and cuisine of India were HAA board members Suresh Raghavan with wife Sasi, Fatima Mawji, Michael Trevino, John Guess Jr. and Minnette Boesel plus Judy Nyquist, Divya and Chris Brown, Ajit and Vimla Paralkar, Lois Zamora with Carl Lindahl, HAA CEO Jonathon Glus with Alton LaDay and Mickey Rosenau.