SIKH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY, LONDON
Having married to a beautiful Sikh girl, the Sikh cultures and traditions have become very dear to me. I really relish the long eventful and exciting affair of a Sikh wedding, “Anand Karaj” – a holy union between two souls.
Right from the inception, when the bride gets ready at the wee hours, I love Capturing some classical style portraits of the bride in her red Lengha, the red and ivory chooda [bangles] and the delicate Kaleere. Coming from a non-Sikh background, It’s quite exciting to capture the delightful moments over at the groom side where all his sister and sister-in-laws get together to do the Soorma and Kalgi which in itself is beautiful to witness.
I love everything that takes place in Gurudwara. From the graceful entrance of the Groom and his family which I personally feel like a Maharaja entering a Darbar. The detailed luxuriated artwork on the groom’s sherwani, the Kirpan [sword] and the Turban which sits like a crown.
I really enjoy documenting and capturing these fleeting moments. The Laava ceremony is very special to me. It’s so unique and emotional compared to many other Indian wedding traditions. The powerful background blessing hymn played by gyanis [priests] and all brothers giving their sister away in marriage. Although these moments are quite emotional to observe, they are equally electrifying to capture. Which flows beautifully to the bhangra party. It’s hard to find communities who party harder than the Sikhs. Often the dance floor is so vigorous that I get pushed & shoved, but who cares! There’s imagery to steal with every twist of the hand and every kick of the feet to highlight the sheer energy and dancing power of the Sikhs.
Sikh weddings are not a sprint, rather they’re a steady changing marathon of events and ceremonies. A typical wedding day consumes 17-18 hours of creative and dedicated photographic coverage. Rather than the resultants aches and pains the next days, I consider it a pleasurable sign of a job well done!.