Uma Guptan

Being rooted in Kerala., it's a dream come true. A wedding at Varikkaseri Mana!!!

This one thing excited me so much that I spent days imaging how will the shoot be , what to shoot etc. Days before wedding I made time to visit and explore the place and this is something i am going to cherish a life time.

And about Varikkaseri Mana. The Mana was built by Varikkassery Ravi Namboothirippad in the early twentieth century. Varikkasseri Mana is one of the oldest traditional Namboothiri's Houses (illam). This is a must visit if you are passing via Palakkad.

Coming to the wedding, this is the first and to my knowledge the only wedding to have happened in the Varikkaseri Mana.

A kerala brahmin wedding with all its beauty and details, that's what happened when Uma met Guptan.

Apart from capturing the memories I had the opportunity to witness and capture rituals and its essence in its purest form. I always believe in capturing the raw beauty and character so that the memories stay true over the years.It was like documenting and preserving the real traditions .I feel blessed to be part of this.

Uma's cousin sister , Uma was my junior at college ( i call her Umamo to avoid confusion ) and that's how i got into this wedding. So when Umamo's cousin was getting married , she had to refer the best photographer option around ;)

When I got a call from Guptan ,the level of honesty and enthusiasm was enough for me to get joshed up for the assignment. I couldn't wait to meet both of them.

The wedding day :

We arrived at Mana and things were not quite like usual weddings. No hurry , no crazy uncles :) ,, everything was moving in 240 fps slomo that we took sometime to adjust with the slowpace.

We were getting pictures near the beautiful pond and the next moment, I was getting pedicure done by the fishes in the pond. :P

Guptan arrived and started off the proceedings with prayer at the near by temple.

He was super cool about the day and was enjoying how we were directing him sometimes for the shots.

No matter what we say , he would'nt say no as an answer and my whole team was happy with what they captured.

Uma came in the traditional wear along with her fulltime-fun-mode-on friends. So our job was half done, she was laughing non stop and we were clicking nonstop. Uma is naturally beautiful and she has an aura which makes her more beautiful.Simple yet elegant, may be that defines her best.

After a while I realized we were in need of something different. A few shots came into my mind and I just loved creating them.

It was time for the rituals to start and all ladies gathered around the bride for her mylanchi

Few shots from the rituals that followed.

above is one of my favorite shots of the day. It reiterates my love for ambient light shots.

Uma left for her attire change and we went for the shots of the Groom

A few rituals started with Guptan and it was followed by a lot of squats for him. A long queue of elders was waiting to bless him.

It was time for some selfies and family pics. The family pics with the grand Mana behind them were something special. Without cousins there is no Fun and this wedding was no exception.

It was time for wedding and everyone entered the naalukettu area. Stage was set and Uma's makeup lady just wouldn't let us capture her makeup shots. So I had to go for a few posed portraits .