Charlevoix county herald., 1916-11-10
Strange Ceremony in New York
Marks Romance Begun in
PARKWAY India.
BOTH ARE COLLEGE STUDENTS
Incense and Flowers Are Most I'm.
portant Feature of the Ceremony
instead of Ring, Bride and
Groom Exchange Garlands.


the Hindu priestly caste, both students
at Columbia university. The bride was
Miss Radhabai Pawar, a Brahminee,
who lives at Whittier hall, and the
bridegroom was Shankar M. Pagar, a
Brahmin, both sent to this country by
the government of Baroda to complete
their education.
The ceremony was celebrated at the
Vedanta society's meeting place, 1885,
Central Park West, and lasted about
20 minutes. A formal Brahmin cere-
mony takes up three days, but Mr..
Pagar and his bride have adopted
many Of the American customs and
they welcomed the shorter ceremony.
To be married in an orthodox Brah-
min temple they would have been
obliged to travel to Boston or to San
Francisco, so they decided to be
welded by a member of the Vedanta
society.
About so persons were present, in
Guiding some Of the brides classmates,
and group Of young Hindu students
who are finishing their education at
Columbia and New York university,
all friends of the bridegroom.
The ceremony was impressive, and
for a short time it seemed. as If the
mysticism of India, the spirit of Veda,
had settled upon this quiet corner in
Central Park West.
Wear Native Costumes.
The couple wore their native bridal
costumes. The bride, who is twenty
six years old, was dressed in a white
silk sari, while the bridegroom, her
senior by one year, wore a turban,
shawl, and dhOti.
1t was a ceremony of love, of flow
ers, of incense. In all East Indian
ceremonies incense is most necessary
thing, and it hung in purplish clouds
over the young couple who sat while
the priest, Swami Bodhaianda, read
verses from the sacred books of In
dia, the Mantras of the Vedas. In
stead of the ring ceremony, the bride
and bridegroom exchanged garlands of
flowers. There were flowers every
where, it seemed.
women, but this is the first marriage
on record In this country where
Hindu youth married a Hindu maid.
After the ceremony the bride and
bridegroom, followed by their intimate
friends, were whisked off in American
style to the Hindustan Association of
America, which occupies plain
brown-stone house at 1854 West 12Gth
street, where supper of Indian
dishes was served.
But before the wedding feast the
guests assembled in the large meet
ing room and blessed the bride with
speeches. There also the mysticism of
India and the materialism of America
intermingled.
On small table, soft golden light
fell from Buddha lamp, and in an
other corner an electric light glowed
through an urn of alabaster, casting
white light upon the bride. She was
surrounded by fragrant flowers, and
upon her ears fell the songs of her
native land, mostly love songs. And
some of them came from phono-
graph, and other love melodies were
sung, accompanied by parlor organ.
Feast of Indian Dishes.
All sorts of rare and highly spiced
dishes relished by the Hindus were
prepared by Hindu chef for the feast.
The bride and bridegroom sat at the
head of the table, the bridegroom,
meantime, having changed the robes of
his land for American dress.
Later the newlyweds left on their
honeymoon, and like other American
bridal couples, they tried to keep their
destination q secret.
The bride took the degree of Bache-
,lor of Science last year, and is now
trying, for the degree of Master of Arts.
She is specializing in pedagogy. Mr..
Pagar Is graduate of Wisconsin uni
versity, and has already taken the de-
gree of Master of Arts at Columbia.
This year he expects tC take the de-
gree Of Doctor of Philosophy.
Both were born I'm the state of Baro-
da, India, and they have known each
other since childhood. Their childish
friendship ripened into love, and four
years OF separation did not lessen their
affection. Mr.. Pagar came here six
years ago after winning scholarship
at the University of Bombay, and his
bride has been student at Colum-
bia for two years. They plan to re-
turn to Baroda next summer, and will
take up educational service for the
government.
To the uninitiated In a wedding in
Sanskrit, Ii was impossible to deter
mine whether the word 'obey" was
part of the ceremony. One of the
Hindu students present at the we'd \,
ding. however, explained that the sa-
credness In which the ceremony was
held by the Hindus obviated any en-
phasis on this point. So sacred is the
ceremony, I'm fact, that only to those
for whom the ceremony Is being per-
formed are its secret canons revealed.