But wedding bells rang yesterday on the steps of South Building as Patel and Delvillar jokingly tied the knot in a cross-cultural celebration. The event — co-sponsored by Sangam, UNC’s largest South Asian awareness organization, and CHispA, the Carolina Hispanic Association — was aimed at jointly celebrating Indian and Latino culture. The ceremony featured traditional food, dress, and wedding practices from both cultures.
Patel and Delvillar are not the first “couple” to get married on the steps of South — according to Sangam cultural co-chairwoman Navina Venugopal, the organization has been putting on mock weddings for several years, partnering with a different cultural organization each time.
Sangam cultural co-chairwoman Saumya Goel thinks the rotating partnership is one of the best facets of the event.
“I love that we incorporate all these different cultures,” Goel said. “The traditions vary every year, and so every year it’s a different wedding. No two crowds ever see quite the same thing.”
The variety of cultures featured speaks to the ultimate purpose of the wedding — a celebration of cultural diversity.
“I think mock wedding is about showing people a blending of traditions while celebrating differences,” Venugopal said. “Sangam is primarily about Indian and South Asian cultures, but through mock wedding we can see so many different cultures that we aren’t familiar with. That’s a really special thing to celebrate.”
And the word celebrate is no exaggeration — past weddings have involved the jubilant procession of the baraat, the bridegroom’s wedding party in a traditional Indian wedding, through the Pit to begin the ceremony.
“When we had the wedding in the Pit, random people would walk by and ask about the wedding and the traditions, and hopefully they learned something new,” Venugopal said.
