The White Cloth

I recently attended a wedding for a close friend and was asked to hold the 'antarpat' with my sister in front of the groom. For many who don't know, a antarpat is a white piece of cloth held in front of the groom before the bride arrives to the mandap in a Hindu wedding with a swastika and some designs on the front side. I searched to see what the significance of it is and some describe it to be symbolizing that the groom will be seeing the bride for the very first time and others have described it to mean that two individuals are on either side of the antarpat and once it's released they are on their way to becoming one. Well, all this aside as we were holding the antarpat up (for which seemed to be a very long time), the pandit was reciting his shloks and all of a sudden the groom just starts laughing. I'm not talking about the 'LOL' and "HAHAHAHA" type of laughing, he just started giggling and laughing at the same time in a hushed manner. Good thing for the antarpat which had him hidden from everyone's view. When I asked him if he was nervous, he replied back saying he wasn't nervous and didn't think anything was funny, but couldn't help but laugh. The shloks were still being recited for a few more minutes and then the groom states that staring at a plain white piece of cloth is not entertaining. In fact, he stated that there should've been some magazine articles hanging from the back of the antarpat so the groom doesn't get bored and has some entertainment while the bridal procession is happening. I told him we'll keep that in mind and have something entertaining for the next person getting married. 

How many grooms felt that there should be something entertaining behind the antarpat? 

For anyone who's held up the antarpat, any creative / easier ways to hold it up?   

I'm inserting a picture of what the groom stares at for approximately 5 - 7 minutes. (Please note this picture is not of the groom described in this post.) 

*Photo by Chhaya Studios