The rule is simple. Anyone whose job is the ceremony travels with the family, because there is no local substitute and a substitution is not acceptable anyway. Anyone whose job is sound, light and power is found here, because flying a rig to Morocco is an expensive way to move loudspeakers.
Who flies and who is found
Get this list agreed in month three. Every line that moves from one column to the other after month six costs money, and two of them cannot move at all.
| Flown or found | Note | |
|---|---|---|
| Pandit | Flown, with the family | Usually the family's own. Book the flight when you book the date |
| Granthi | Flown | Along with the arrangements for installing the Guru Granth Sahib properly |
| Jain vidhikarak | Flown | Jain munis do not travel by vehicle at all, so this is never a local question |
| Dhol players | Flown, mostly | Local percussion exists and is excellent, and it is not dhol. For the Baraat, fly them |
| Bollywood artist or singer | Flown | With their own requirements, which arrive as a rider and need reading early |
| DJ | Either | A travelling DJ knows the family's music. A local one knows the rig and the curfew. Many weddings use both |
| Sound, light, staging, power | Found here | It exists in quantity. Freighting it makes no sense |
The Guru Granth Sahib
Where there is an Anand Karaj, a room is set aside and treated as the Darbar Sahib for the duration: the Guru Granth Sahib installed on the palki sahib, a granthi to do sewa and read, heads covered, shoes off, and no alcohol or meat in that space at any point.
That is a floor plan decision and a staffing decision as much as a religious one, and it is settled with the venue at contract rather than explained to a duty manager on the morning.
The rig, and the curfew
Sound is hired here and specified against the events rather than against the guest count. A Sangeet with choreographed performances needs monitoring and rehearsal time on the actual rig, not a soundcheck twenty minutes before. A Garba needs coverage across a wide floor rather than a stage. A Baraat needs nothing at all except dhol.
Every one of these ends against the venue's music curfew, so the running order is built backwards from that hour. Find out whether the curfew is a house rule, which can sometimes be extended with a late licence, or a municipal one, which cannot.
Power, which decides all of it
A stage, a kitchen and a lighting rig on the same property at the same time exceeds what most venues here supply, so a generator is normal rather than exceptional. It has to be specified, sited far enough away not to be audible in the ceremony, and fuelled for the whole night.
A silent generator costs more and is worth it. There is no version of the Pheras that is improved by a diesel engine forty metres away.