*The age old (probably a british legacy) rifles that our policemen sported fighting the "terrorists" armed with grenades and AK 47s.Thank god for the NSG & Army.
*The new age "english" news channels telecasting terror attack 24/7 punctuating it with "these shots are exclusively shown on xxxx" (c'mon guys show some shame!!)
*Reporters showing us the aftermath of the attack on Taj and crying over burnt antique carpets and rare books and historical heritage pieces,when an equal number of lives were lost at CST.(probably a businessman's life or an antique carpet lost is equal to 5 aam aadmi's life in their world)
*A British survivor narrating her tale says "i was relieved when I saw the Indian gurkha arrive" ..My dear honourable lady ,for christ's sake he was a policeman and not a "gurkha"..take off your imperialist blinders for a moment please!!!
*Mr.Mammohan Singh in his address to the nation saying this attack comes from a "neighbouring country"!! oh that is such a great find!! i felt like shaking him at that precise moment !!with all due respects to his education and qualifications,I would've cheered if he had said that this came from militants in pakistan and we would not spare them even at the risk of sounding like george bush. To hell with his oxford and cambridge diplomacies!!
*the talk of "Spirit of Mumbai" and "spirit of India"...c'mon,after all this I have no spirit left in me at all.and if you are suggesting that the common man going back to work shows his spirit then you have got it wrong.what would a man earning Rs 20 a day,without a semblance of savings , do for his next meal if he doesn't go to work the next day after an attack?? it is not about spirit but survival.and btw it is only the business bigwigs surviving the attack who sat at their home watching TV and narrating their tales of survival,who could afford to not work till things get back to normalcy.
*Lighting candles for the martyrs!!! how long are we going to be doing these stupid symbolic Rang De basanti gestures !! If you really want to show your anger and distress march to the parliament/assembly and sit till those stupid politicians propose measures for tackling the issue and see to it that they implement it.
*people who say "I'm tired of indian politics,that's why I never vote".Guys,are you so stupid that you don't understand?? If you don't vote ,your vote will be cast by somebody for a party you don't support.ok if you don't support any party then don't complain.you have to choose a lesser evil,that's the choice we've got.
You can only choose between an inactive congress and a hyperactive BJP (at the national level),if you don't like them,then come up with an option,else don't complain.Just because you don't vote,these puppets in the parliament don't care about you and are not wary of you and they only cater to the so called voting masses and patronise them.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Madurai Veyil
the first thing that hits you(literally) as soon as you land in madurai is the heat !!! "madurai veyilla kazhudai kooda suthadhu" were words that rang in my ears(courtesy:my granny) almost everyday that i came back home roasted,burnt and dehydrated after all the "oor suthal". meaning not even donkeys roam around in madurai heat.
but paati,what do you do if the weather report reads hot,hotter and hottest all through the year!! stay at home she would say, but i chose the other option ..roam around as much as you can and get to the point where you no longer feel the heat ,you and the heat become one and the same ..
yeah chennai is also hot,infact the whole of tamilnadu except for those summer getaways kodai & ooty are always hot.but madurai veyil(heat) is something unique.feel it to know it. anyway it never deterred us from exploring the nook and corner of this city and we got so used to it that the once in a blue moon showers had us whining !!
the daily "ilaneer" (tender coconut) outside our college,the jigardhanda(a drink unique to madurai),the mug full of fruit juice in pazhamudircholai near periyar bus stand,the juicy,mouth watering melon pieces near arasaradi which we ate (licking the juice flowing to the elbow as if our life depended on it) all the way through the walk back home ...i bet you can't get these in a cool country !!
but what stays on are these..the paati selling the ilaneer dispersing some "gems"(!!) on how girls should behave seeing us girls giggling away , the annas selling juice at pazhamudhircholai and the akka at the melon shop ( not a shop really just a "thallu vandi-mobile trolley kind of ) saying endearinlgy" nalaikku kuudu da , parava illa" in that typical madurai lilting tamil( you can give it tomorrow dear,its ok)when you don't have the Rs 2 change for a piece of melon..
but paati,what do you do if the weather report reads hot,hotter and hottest all through the year!! stay at home she would say, but i chose the other option ..roam around as much as you can and get to the point where you no longer feel the heat ,you and the heat become one and the same ..
yeah chennai is also hot,infact the whole of tamilnadu except for those summer getaways kodai & ooty are always hot.but madurai veyil(heat) is something unique.feel it to know it. anyway it never deterred us from exploring the nook and corner of this city and we got so used to it that the once in a blue moon showers had us whining !!
the daily "ilaneer" (tender coconut) outside our college,the jigardhanda(a drink unique to madurai),the mug full of fruit juice in pazhamudircholai near periyar bus stand,the juicy,mouth watering melon pieces near arasaradi which we ate (licking the juice flowing to the elbow as if our life depended on it) all the way through the walk back home ...i bet you can't get these in a cool country !!
but what stays on are these..the paati selling the ilaneer dispersing some "gems"(!!) on how girls should behave seeing us girls giggling away , the annas selling juice at pazhamudhircholai and the akka at the melon shop ( not a shop really just a "thallu vandi-mobile trolley kind of ) saying endearinlgy" nalaikku kuudu da , parava illa" in that typical madurai lilting tamil( you can give it tomorrow dear,its ok)when you don't have the Rs 2 change for a piece of melon..
the nostalgia express
have been doing so much of blog hopping for the past 2 weeks and found a bunch of really interesting blogs.it was while reading one of these that i found myself going back in time...(imagine old movies' style tortoise mosquito coil going round and round).
It sucked. Dabbler hit the nail when he said nostalgia sucks..it means that you are growing old and things you grew up with are slowly but surely disappearing. anyway am not so old (!!) and i still have time to say all these things.still, a trip down the memory lane sure does give you a "i- don't- know- how -to- say- it- but- you- have- to- feel- it " kind of feeling!!!
after reading these blogs of mostly original,agmark tamilians i found the love of "chennai" run through their blogs..and this triggered a flurry of thoughts which threaten to explode my head if i don't put them down!!
Madurai !!! one word that can make me sit up from the deepest of sleep (well..that's a bit of an exaggeration!! ) and strain my ears to the point of them of growing an inch bigger even if i hear a passing reference to it.
i can go on and on on this place where i spent the best 6 years of my life ...but one post would not be enough. so will just put up things as and when they pop in my head and excuse me if i sound biased,coz i can't help it..
It sucked. Dabbler hit the nail when he said nostalgia sucks..it means that you are growing old and things you grew up with are slowly but surely disappearing. anyway am not so old (!!) and i still have time to say all these things.still, a trip down the memory lane sure does give you a "i- don't- know- how -to- say- it- but- you- have- to- feel- it " kind of feeling!!!
after reading these blogs of mostly original,agmark tamilians i found the love of "chennai" run through their blogs..and this triggered a flurry of thoughts which threaten to explode my head if i don't put them down!!
Madurai !!! one word that can make me sit up from the deepest of sleep (well..that's a bit of an exaggeration!! ) and strain my ears to the point of them of growing an inch bigger even if i hear a passing reference to it.
i can go on and on on this place where i spent the best 6 years of my life ...but one post would not be enough. so will just put up things as and when they pop in my head and excuse me if i sound biased,coz i can't help it..
Thursday, October 09, 2008
...
“If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you ever got.”
stumbled upon this when reading something from somewhere !!! found it interesting ...
stumbled upon this when reading something from somewhere !!! found it interesting ...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Omnipotent
there is one thing in this world that is omnipotenet and omnipresent. no i'm not talking about god.this exists even for atheists.this has made people fight,steal,beg and even kill each other.there are stories dating back to 2nd century B.C ..well forget it...it's hunger.
it starts clawing at around 3.45 in the evening( my stomach what else..) and then it starts rumbling and grumbling and howling.. i've tried eating anything and everything..from the junk ones to the msot healthy ones..chips,biscuits,cake and everytime it only pretends to calm down only to result in a cramp that doesnt go off till dinner.
still, unwilling to give up i tried a golden vegetable quick soup today.first sip,hmm..not bad. 2nd sip.. i push my taste buds to their extreme..send them on a taste finding mission.they come back with this.. salt + lots of hot water + a few leaves (dried) + lots of tiny stuff in red,green and other attractive colors.they couldn't really find out what they were.
now it was left to my eyes to complete the mission.and i should tell you that they did a great job .those tiny little,colored bits were actually ..hold your breath ..VEGETABLES!! can you believe it..cut into unidentifiable pieces, lives squeezed out of them,dried and flattened,those poor veggies had been slaughtered.they were dead and floating.
after such a tiring mission my eyes and tongue deserved a treat and they did get it..hot & steaming bowl (cup) of golden vegetable quick soup.
it starts clawing at around 3.45 in the evening( my stomach what else..) and then it starts rumbling and grumbling and howling.. i've tried eating anything and everything..from the junk ones to the msot healthy ones..chips,biscuits,cake and everytime it only pretends to calm down only to result in a cramp that doesnt go off till dinner.
still, unwilling to give up i tried a golden vegetable quick soup today.first sip,hmm..not bad. 2nd sip.. i push my taste buds to their extreme..send them on a taste finding mission.they come back with this.. salt + lots of hot water + a few leaves (dried) + lots of tiny stuff in red,green and other attractive colors.they couldn't really find out what they were.
now it was left to my eyes to complete the mission.and i should tell you that they did a great job .those tiny little,colored bits were actually ..hold your breath ..VEGETABLES!! can you believe it..cut into unidentifiable pieces, lives squeezed out of them,dried and flattened,those poor veggies had been slaughtered.they were dead and floating.
after such a tiring mission my eyes and tongue deserved a treat and they did get it..hot & steaming bowl (cup) of golden vegetable quick soup.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Tagged!!
well,got a lot of things to write about but unable to make myself do it.so taking the easy way out by accepting the tag by sriram !!
LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER: "No country for Old men" at a theater in Athlone. a psychotic thriller with just 6 more people for company in a 100 seater screen.had nightmares that night and had to read the wiki the next day for the actual story(which turned out to be quite different from what i had understood!!!)
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING: none..the last one was Ayn rand's "Fountain head" 2 months back.
FAVORITE BOARD GAME: is "paramapadham" (snakes & ladders) considered a board game??
FAVORITE SOUND: birds chirping on a quiet morning/evening,nothing can beat the serenity of this.
WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD: loneliness
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE: oh!! what to cook for lunch ???
FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE: Bethleem pizza -right opposite our home,delicious pizzas & burgers (even a non pizza lover would love them)
FUTURE CHILD’S NAME: girl -Deekshanya boy- Aaditya
DO YOU DRIVE FAST? Do I drive ???
DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? not really ;-)
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? well, i don't own a car all by myself..so my dad's first car was maruti omni and ours was a (my husband & mine) Volkswagon Polo saloon.
FAVOURITE DRINK: ginger & elaichi tea
DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? never tried a broccoli,often wondered how it would taste
IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? red!!! that would be outrageous !!!
FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH: cricket (once upon a time..now only the scores),tennis and football occassionally.
ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU: ok..do i really have to answer this ?? ;-) anyway..for all the 100 different things he does,talks about or blogs..i definitely think he has a stable head at a not so stable age !!
WHAT’S UNDER YOUR BED? mostly slippers
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN? yes of course...may be with a less active tear gland!!
MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL? a bit of both..depends on what keeps me up or gets me to wake up
FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX? on the bed,with the duvet pulled up and with a movie on the laptop.
LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER: "No country for Old men" at a theater in Athlone. a psychotic thriller with just 6 more people for company in a 100 seater screen.had nightmares that night and had to read the wiki the next day for the actual story(which turned out to be quite different from what i had understood!!!)
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING: none..the last one was Ayn rand's "Fountain head" 2 months back.
FAVORITE BOARD GAME: is "paramapadham" (snakes & ladders) considered a board game??
FAVORITE SOUND: birds chirping on a quiet morning/evening,nothing can beat the serenity of this.
WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD: loneliness
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE: oh!! what to cook for lunch ???
FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE: Bethleem pizza -right opposite our home,delicious pizzas & burgers (even a non pizza lover would love them)
FUTURE CHILD’S NAME: girl -Deekshanya boy- Aaditya
DO YOU DRIVE FAST? Do I drive ???
DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? not really ;-)
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? well, i don't own a car all by myself..so my dad's first car was maruti omni and ours was a (my husband & mine) Volkswagon Polo saloon.
FAVOURITE DRINK: ginger & elaichi tea
DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? never tried a broccoli,often wondered how it would taste
IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? red!!! that would be outrageous !!!
FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH: cricket (once upon a time..now only the scores),tennis and football occassionally.
ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU: ok..do i really have to answer this ?? ;-) anyway..for all the 100 different things he does,talks about or blogs..i definitely think he has a stable head at a not so stable age !!
WHAT’S UNDER YOUR BED? mostly slippers
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN? yes of course...may be with a less active tear gland!!
MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL? a bit of both..depends on what keeps me up or gets me to wake up
FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX? on the bed,with the duvet pulled up and with a movie on the laptop.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Princi !!!
As he came in,hands folded behind,face stern and angry with the meek peon following him with a cane in hand,the class just fell silent in fear. " who is the class leader?? " he grunted..and i stepped up shaking ,with tears just about to stream out any moment."is this the way you monitor the class?" " sorry sir " i said. "ok.give me the names of all the students who were speaking in Tamil". "ok sir" i said and he left.
"i hate him".that was my first impression of him.i hated him from the bottom of my heart. he was our new principal Mr.Shanmugam.we had just entered the 6th class,came into the new "senior school" from the junior one (which had classes KG to 5) thrilled and excited.basically both the junior and senior schools belonged to the same institution,just physically separated.the senior one being situated in the outskirts of our small town,in the midst of a beautiful and scenic location.(more about the school in a different post).but now, all that excitement was dampened by just one factor, the new princi.
he was a lot different from the previous ones we had.here was a man for whom "discipline" ,"order","punctuality" were not just words.he was tall,well-built and had a powerful personality with a voice well suiting it.he was widely travelled,well educated,had worked in a number of distinguished schools,the last was as a principal of a school in Fiji.
my first thought was, "what is he doing here??" i mean, ours was a small school,by no means popular except for the fact that it was run by the chinmaya mission and this was a "small" town somewhere down in south tamilnadu. we sat in groups during our 10 min breaks, the lunch breaks and basically wherever we met, discussing about him,moaning and cursing him."why didn't he go to chennai?"." why did he come here?".
well the list of complaints against him were long.but most of all he broke all the traditional rules for a principal.
principals were supposed to sit all day in their office doing some crap,just show their face in assemblies, render some speeches on things nobody cared to listen and just smile when they meet students.
he travelled in the school bus , got in at the first stop and sat in a two seater occupying 3/4 of the seat with "The Hindu" occupying him ( or so we thought) for the whole journey. we lost our freedom to gossip and shout in the bus.
he walked around most of the day,shrewdly observing everyone and everything he saw.his daily assembly talks were always about the bad things he had noticed the previous day.
we were made to pick up garbage (like plastic bags etc) wherever and whenever we saw them.
we were not supposed to chase peacocks around for feathers( yes peacocks!!).
worst of all, we had to talk in english, always !!!
now this was something unheard of in our school's annals,nobody had ever laid such a rule.english was just a subject,but how could we talk in it for 8 hours??? "you can speak good english, only when you think in it",he said in the assembly once. "oh ,there he goes" we thought,now he has started policing our thoughts too!!!
the assemblies now had 1 student talk on some interesting topic for 2 mins and another one read the news headlines.so now we had to break our heads for the assembly topic and my legs shook when i stood before the school addressing it.(there was once a funny episode when a student didn't have the time to write down the news and started reading it out right from the newspaper in the assembly.the principal's face was a sight to watch !!! )
he started teaching the english paper 2 classes.the only class which was fun and full of stories and didnt have to be taken seriously was now filled with his baritone reading out "the mayor of casterbridge" and others, to a class forgetting to even blink for a moment. we did not utter a word in his class for fear of our english being corrected by him.we had to write character sketches of all the characters in the story and each one had to be unique.no copying!!.
the school timings were increased by an hour in the evening.he introduced student clubs for journalism,quiz, dramatics and gardening which got together twice in a week after classes.so 2 days of our play time gone!!!
well, the list was endless. he had spoilt every minute of our school life.there were rumours that even the teachers hated him.
so when he left the school,after 4 years of his reign,we were delighted and overwhelmed with happiness.
slowly,things changed. my legs and voice didn't shake as much as before, in the school day plays and elocution contests.i could write on any topic thanks to my journalism club activities.my quiz club participation had definitely sparked off a small interest and my general knowledge was better than before (which was 0!! ) though limited to GK books. most of all,the small,insecure underconfident girl who was just good in academics was beginning to take slow steps towards other actitivities. he had made me discover things about myself which i would have never done on my own.
when i got the best all round student award in my last year in school, a lump rose in my throat. he had passed away, cruelly,in a road accident in chennai some time back. how i wished i could take back all my curses and the bitter remarks.how i wish i could just meet him once and tell him all that i wanted to say and watch that rare smile brighten his face.
i don't believe in heaven and hell but i know that he lives in my memories.
"i hate him".that was my first impression of him.i hated him from the bottom of my heart. he was our new principal Mr.Shanmugam.we had just entered the 6th class,came into the new "senior school" from the junior one (which had classes KG to 5) thrilled and excited.basically both the junior and senior schools belonged to the same institution,just physically separated.the senior one being situated in the outskirts of our small town,in the midst of a beautiful and scenic location.(more about the school in a different post).but now, all that excitement was dampened by just one factor, the new princi.
he was a lot different from the previous ones we had.here was a man for whom "discipline" ,"order","punctuality" were not just words.he was tall,well-built and had a powerful personality with a voice well suiting it.he was widely travelled,well educated,had worked in a number of distinguished schools,the last was as a principal of a school in Fiji.
my first thought was, "what is he doing here??" i mean, ours was a small school,by no means popular except for the fact that it was run by the chinmaya mission and this was a "small" town somewhere down in south tamilnadu. we sat in groups during our 10 min breaks, the lunch breaks and basically wherever we met, discussing about him,moaning and cursing him."why didn't he go to chennai?"." why did he come here?".
well the list of complaints against him were long.but most of all he broke all the traditional rules for a principal.
principals were supposed to sit all day in their office doing some crap,just show their face in assemblies, render some speeches on things nobody cared to listen and just smile when they meet students.
he travelled in the school bus , got in at the first stop and sat in a two seater occupying 3/4 of the seat with "The Hindu" occupying him ( or so we thought) for the whole journey. we lost our freedom to gossip and shout in the bus.
he walked around most of the day,shrewdly observing everyone and everything he saw.his daily assembly talks were always about the bad things he had noticed the previous day.
we were made to pick up garbage (like plastic bags etc) wherever and whenever we saw them.
we were not supposed to chase peacocks around for feathers( yes peacocks!!).
worst of all, we had to talk in english, always !!!
now this was something unheard of in our school's annals,nobody had ever laid such a rule.english was just a subject,but how could we talk in it for 8 hours??? "you can speak good english, only when you think in it",he said in the assembly once. "oh ,there he goes" we thought,now he has started policing our thoughts too!!!
the assemblies now had 1 student talk on some interesting topic for 2 mins and another one read the news headlines.so now we had to break our heads for the assembly topic and my legs shook when i stood before the school addressing it.(there was once a funny episode when a student didn't have the time to write down the news and started reading it out right from the newspaper in the assembly.the principal's face was a sight to watch !!! )
he started teaching the english paper 2 classes.the only class which was fun and full of stories and didnt have to be taken seriously was now filled with his baritone reading out "the mayor of casterbridge" and others, to a class forgetting to even blink for a moment. we did not utter a word in his class for fear of our english being corrected by him.we had to write character sketches of all the characters in the story and each one had to be unique.no copying!!.
the school timings were increased by an hour in the evening.he introduced student clubs for journalism,quiz, dramatics and gardening which got together twice in a week after classes.so 2 days of our play time gone!!!
well, the list was endless. he had spoilt every minute of our school life.there were rumours that even the teachers hated him.
so when he left the school,after 4 years of his reign,we were delighted and overwhelmed with happiness.
slowly,things changed. my legs and voice didn't shake as much as before, in the school day plays and elocution contests.i could write on any topic thanks to my journalism club activities.my quiz club participation had definitely sparked off a small interest and my general knowledge was better than before (which was 0!! ) though limited to GK books. most of all,the small,insecure underconfident girl who was just good in academics was beginning to take slow steps towards other actitivities. he had made me discover things about myself which i would have never done on my own.
when i got the best all round student award in my last year in school, a lump rose in my throat. he had passed away, cruelly,in a road accident in chennai some time back. how i wished i could take back all my curses and the bitter remarks.how i wish i could just meet him once and tell him all that i wanted to say and watch that rare smile brighten his face.
i don't believe in heaven and hell but i know that he lives in my memories.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Postscript
whew..feeling better now after completing the epic on my wedding.i tried my best to make it short,but i didn't want to leave out the details either.
looking back, i feel that i really enjoyed my wedding even though i felt drained and tired at that point.yeah i do feel indian weddings are fun whatever way you see them.
these posts are more of something which i can go back and read a few months or even a few years later and relive the experience. of course if someone happens to stop by to read and likes them in some way it is a bonus !!!
looking back, i feel that i really enjoyed my wedding even though i felt drained and tired at that point.yeah i do feel indian weddings are fun whatever way you see them.
these posts are more of something which i can go back and read a few months or even a few years later and relive the experience. of course if someone happens to stop by to read and likes them in some way it is a bonus !!!
Day 3 ..and a half
the last day of the wedding began on a more sobre note compared to all the hype the previous 2 days.only a few relatives were left in the mandapam.i had to draw the 'kolam' in front of the groom's room(my new home ;-) ) .after changing over into another (and the last!! ) saree,the final ritual began.all the ladies (including me,no longer a girl!!)dissolved the 'paalikai' (a mixture of various grains) in water ( not sure what it meant though).
it was time for us to leave for our new home(the actual one).i didnt know what i had to tell my parents and i felt that the formal good byes were just unnecessary.my dad being the emotional man he was,stayed away from me the whole morning,for fear of breaking into tears.
my sister managed to lighten the situtation by cracking a few jokes.i never thought i would cry,though i am a very sensitive person who could cry at the drop of the hat.but somehow,the emotion of the moment was too much to bear and i broke down at the steps of the mandapam hugging my dad.thank god for someone managed to pull me away and gathered myself up.
off we went to our new home and a new life!!
it was time for us to leave for our new home(the actual one).i didnt know what i had to tell my parents and i felt that the formal good byes were just unnecessary.my dad being the emotional man he was,stayed away from me the whole morning,for fear of breaking into tears.
my sister managed to lighten the situtation by cracking a few jokes.i never thought i would cry,though i am a very sensitive person who could cry at the drop of the hat.but somehow,the emotion of the moment was too much to bear and i broke down at the steps of the mandapam hugging my dad.thank god for someone managed to pull me away and gathered myself up.
off we went to our new home and a new life!!
Nalangu -end of Day2
my dad patted comfortingly on my shoulders.he was feeling all that a girl's dad would have felt at that moment.proud,happy and relaxed after the hectic five months preceding the wedding.
congratulations poured in and everyone shook hands with everyone !!
me and S were back to the final set of rituals.my mami slipped the 'metti' (silver ring) on my toes.we then performed the 'sapthapathi' ,the 7 important steps.each one signified a commitment to support each other through happiness and sorrow,health and illness and so on.i stepped on the 'ammi' (the grind stone) and saw the star (din mein taare!! )..or pretended to see the star 'arundhathi'.
coming down from the mandapam,we performed the namaskarams to everyone.it was almost a chase down at the end,with people hurrying for lunch and we hunting them down with 'akshadhai' ( the sacred rice) in hand ;-)
we were now led into the groom's room for 'grihapravesam'. this was because my in-laws home was not in chennai and the change room was now my 'new home' !!!.almost all the ladies present crammed themselves into that room. the power was not restored in that room yet and it was a stampede in the dark. more paal and pazham followed.
went up for lunch and another round of food-phobia continued with me eating as little as possible.i think the payasam was good.anyway,i finally retired to the cool comforts of my room.shut out everyone from there and unloaded the weight off my head.changed into another saree,this was my 8th in 1 1/2 days (what a feat!! ).i dozed off with random thoughts running on my mind.
people started knocking and i was out of my sleep in 10 mins.i looked on as my friend(sree) and sis folded up the sarees and clothes lying around.my cousin sriram came in.i still feel bad that the only time we could meet, happened to my wedding.we have conversed so much on emails and chats that i found it strange that i couldnt think of anything to talk about then.
he declared that the crowd was too old for him,to which i could agree,but that he was enjoying being at a wedding for 2 days for the first time.showed me a gadget( guess it was an mp3 player),to which i managed to show some interest.( he couldn't have chosen a worse person to show it off).
time for another change over,this time it was the 'nalangu'.this was supposed to be a relaxing event,after all the tiring rituals over 2 days. however it turned out to be a never ending one.
with people looking at us from all sides and my athai and dad's mama sitting beside us to instruct, the nalangu began.
it was fun to begin with, me and S rolling the coconut and then trying to take it from each other's hand.we then broke the 'appalams' over each other's back.then came my most dreaded moment,the one where the bride had to sing.i had often wondered in the past few months over how to tackle this and my reactions ranged from walking out to just staying silent.i couldn't do any of that now.to add to my misery,my mil was a trained classical singer,and most of my in-laws family could sing.
i did learn to sing for 3 years,but all that was less than a memory now.well, i managed to mumble out 'muda karatha' and before anyone could realise what i sang ,i ended it with a sheepish smile. now all the athais and paatis were asking me to continue in a louder voice. to my relief my mil came to my rescue and asked S to sing. he 'sang' paartha mudal naale,in his loudest voice and no one wanted to him to carry on.still i admired his courage.
people then started singing,dancing and performing skits that it began to resemble an school day performance.i thought i could doze off by just sitting there.finally,it was over to our relief.
wishes and goodbyes followed.things started to sink in as people began to leave one by one.a pang of loneliness hit me,not sure why.i felt all alone among new faces. i would not be going back to my home now, i had a new home,new amma and appa,new chithis and athais.everyone was showering love but i felt sick. sick of this whole stuff and of leaving my home,my dad and mom and sis, my cupboards and everything.
wonder how guys feel during this time,given that most couples stay away from both their parents now a days.S told me later that he did feel strange but it was not that bad.i was emotionally drained.
congratulations poured in and everyone shook hands with everyone !!
me and S were back to the final set of rituals.my mami slipped the 'metti' (silver ring) on my toes.we then performed the 'sapthapathi' ,the 7 important steps.each one signified a commitment to support each other through happiness and sorrow,health and illness and so on.i stepped on the 'ammi' (the grind stone) and saw the star (din mein taare!! )..or pretended to see the star 'arundhathi'.
coming down from the mandapam,we performed the namaskarams to everyone.it was almost a chase down at the end,with people hurrying for lunch and we hunting them down with 'akshadhai' ( the sacred rice) in hand ;-)
we were now led into the groom's room for 'grihapravesam'. this was because my in-laws home was not in chennai and the change room was now my 'new home' !!!.almost all the ladies present crammed themselves into that room. the power was not restored in that room yet and it was a stampede in the dark. more paal and pazham followed.
went up for lunch and another round of food-phobia continued with me eating as little as possible.i think the payasam was good.anyway,i finally retired to the cool comforts of my room.shut out everyone from there and unloaded the weight off my head.changed into another saree,this was my 8th in 1 1/2 days (what a feat!! ).i dozed off with random thoughts running on my mind.
people started knocking and i was out of my sleep in 10 mins.i looked on as my friend(sree) and sis folded up the sarees and clothes lying around.my cousin sriram came in.i still feel bad that the only time we could meet, happened to my wedding.we have conversed so much on emails and chats that i found it strange that i couldnt think of anything to talk about then.
he declared that the crowd was too old for him,to which i could agree,but that he was enjoying being at a wedding for 2 days for the first time.showed me a gadget( guess it was an mp3 player),to which i managed to show some interest.( he couldn't have chosen a worse person to show it off).
time for another change over,this time it was the 'nalangu'.this was supposed to be a relaxing event,after all the tiring rituals over 2 days. however it turned out to be a never ending one.
with people looking at us from all sides and my athai and dad's mama sitting beside us to instruct, the nalangu began.
it was fun to begin with, me and S rolling the coconut and then trying to take it from each other's hand.we then broke the 'appalams' over each other's back.then came my most dreaded moment,the one where the bride had to sing.i had often wondered in the past few months over how to tackle this and my reactions ranged from walking out to just staying silent.i couldn't do any of that now.to add to my misery,my mil was a trained classical singer,and most of my in-laws family could sing.
i did learn to sing for 3 years,but all that was less than a memory now.well, i managed to mumble out 'muda karatha' and before anyone could realise what i sang ,i ended it with a sheepish smile. now all the athais and paatis were asking me to continue in a louder voice. to my relief my mil came to my rescue and asked S to sing. he 'sang' paartha mudal naale,in his loudest voice and no one wanted to him to carry on.still i admired his courage.
people then started singing,dancing and performing skits that it began to resemble an school day performance.i thought i could doze off by just sitting there.finally,it was over to our relief.
wishes and goodbyes followed.things started to sink in as people began to leave one by one.a pang of loneliness hit me,not sure why.i felt all alone among new faces. i would not be going back to my home now, i had a new home,new amma and appa,new chithis and athais.everyone was showering love but i felt sick. sick of this whole stuff and of leaving my home,my dad and mom and sis, my cupboards and everything.
wonder how guys feel during this time,given that most couples stay away from both their parents now a days.S told me later that he did feel strange but it was not that bad.i was emotionally drained.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Day2-The D day
The day started early.woke up around 4 am,brushed,bathed and put myself in the hotseat for yet another round of make up.this time i was determined to not let it be overdone.so i literally begged the beautician to tone it down to which she pretended to have listened.this time it was a more traditional hair do. lots of flowers, nethi choodi( on the forehead) , rakkodi ,chandra and surya prabhai and with the lady sticking shining white bindis to resemble stars, i was carrying the entire solar system on my head.
my mama garlanded me and i was led to the front of the mandapam accompanied by my athais,chithis and cousins.i have seen these events in numerous weddings but to actually go through them in one's own wedding is quite an experience.i was nervous and stiff so much so that i wasn't even smiling.i was telling myself that i ought to be happy now, but all i could wish for was all this to be over soon .i was becoming too conscious.
out in the front of the mandapam, S was waiting with a huge crowd of people after being brought back by my father half way through the ceremonial "kasi yatra".wonder why we stick to a few customs even when they are not really relevant in today's world. still it was a sight to see him in pancha kacham carrying the umbrella and the decorated fan.he still teases me saying "i wish your dad hadn't stopped me".
we exchanged garlands amidst the ladies singing "maalai maatrinal".when i had to be lifted up, my mamas couldn't really muster enough strength.but my dearest cousin ramana managed to lift me up really high, single handedly and he had to bring me down a few inches for S to reach me.that was fun and i felt a little relaxed after that seemingly childish and light hearted ritual.
we were made to sit on the "oonjal"(swing) and then started the intake of "paal and pazham"( milk and bananas).Every known/unknown person(strictly ladies) had to give us 3 spoons of this protein rich diet.thanks to my mother's idea that we could use some small "kinnams"(containers) instead of the hand , my saree was saved from being spoilt by dripping milk.
S was eating all of that happily and poor me.. i couldn't even raise my head enough to swallow the fruit due to the heaviness of my hairdo and had to be content with sipping the milk.we had to fast(starve!!! ) till the time the wedding was complete.in his enthusiasm S started swinging the oonjal fast enough for me to feel that i was going to throw up.
with the ladies singing "kannoonjal aadi irundal" (one of my fav wedding songs),small coloured balls ( not sure what they were made of, but something definitely soft and slippery) were thrown around in all directions.S actually thought that the yellow coloured ones were laddus and opened his mouth big enough to catch one of them.( Guys!!! )
we went back inside the mandapam and on the decorated stage. the "vaathiyar"(priest) started reciting the manthras which S had to repeat,which he did sincerely but it was damn funny.he has no inclination what so ever to the slokas and manthras and he was just blurting them out like a robot without the much needed stress on the words.i could barely control my smile.
i was given the wedding saree ( the 9 yards silk saree-also called madisar or onbadhu gajam) by S after duly falling on his feet( should have seen his face then!! :-) ).
time to wear the 9 yards..or should i say for others to wrap it around me while i stood absolutely clueless.
thank god for rajam aunty( our long time family friend),who was an expert in this.she managed to tie it around me in no time, and made sure that it wouldn't give up when i performed the countless namaskars and all that.i really tried my best to follow the method, but i could barely remember how she started and ended.anyway,i was decked up with more jewellery now.
nervous about my saree more than anything else, i went up the mandapam to sit with S. more manthras followed and then it was time for 'mangalya dharanam'.
i sat as lightly as i could on my dad's lap !!!( a ritual started when child marriages were the norm). first a wooden rod was placed on my head with mango leaves on it, and a few manthras were recited. the priest explained that the rod was like the one placed on neck of the bullocks in a bullock cart. this ritual signified that we had to balance our matrimony just like the bullocks did when one of them felt tired or that the burden was too much to bear.
a few miutes later the priest announced that 'mangalya dharanam' was to take place and nobody is supposed to shake the hands of the couple once it is over in enthusiasm, as we are not supposed to part hands.and then amidst a shower of flowers S tied the mangalyam and made the first knot, the second and the third were done by my 'nathanars'(sister in law).
everytime i try to recollect what exactly went through my mind at that point, i go blank..coz that was exactly how i felt.i tried to tell myself that i should feel elated, happy or atleast nervous.but i just went blank.i guess that is what one feels at the height of emotions.
my mama garlanded me and i was led to the front of the mandapam accompanied by my athais,chithis and cousins.i have seen these events in numerous weddings but to actually go through them in one's own wedding is quite an experience.i was nervous and stiff so much so that i wasn't even smiling.i was telling myself that i ought to be happy now, but all i could wish for was all this to be over soon .i was becoming too conscious.
out in the front of the mandapam, S was waiting with a huge crowd of people after being brought back by my father half way through the ceremonial "kasi yatra".wonder why we stick to a few customs even when they are not really relevant in today's world. still it was a sight to see him in pancha kacham carrying the umbrella and the decorated fan.he still teases me saying "i wish your dad hadn't stopped me".
we exchanged garlands amidst the ladies singing "maalai maatrinal".when i had to be lifted up, my mamas couldn't really muster enough strength.but my dearest cousin ramana managed to lift me up really high, single handedly and he had to bring me down a few inches for S to reach me.that was fun and i felt a little relaxed after that seemingly childish and light hearted ritual.
we were made to sit on the "oonjal"(swing) and then started the intake of "paal and pazham"( milk and bananas).Every known/unknown person(strictly ladies) had to give us 3 spoons of this protein rich diet.thanks to my mother's idea that we could use some small "kinnams"(containers) instead of the hand , my saree was saved from being spoilt by dripping milk.
S was eating all of that happily and poor me.. i couldn't even raise my head enough to swallow the fruit due to the heaviness of my hairdo and had to be content with sipping the milk.we had to fast(starve!!! ) till the time the wedding was complete.in his enthusiasm S started swinging the oonjal fast enough for me to feel that i was going to throw up.
with the ladies singing "kannoonjal aadi irundal" (one of my fav wedding songs),small coloured balls ( not sure what they were made of, but something definitely soft and slippery) were thrown around in all directions.S actually thought that the yellow coloured ones were laddus and opened his mouth big enough to catch one of them.( Guys!!! )
we went back inside the mandapam and on the decorated stage. the "vaathiyar"(priest) started reciting the manthras which S had to repeat,which he did sincerely but it was damn funny.he has no inclination what so ever to the slokas and manthras and he was just blurting them out like a robot without the much needed stress on the words.i could barely control my smile.
i was given the wedding saree ( the 9 yards silk saree-also called madisar or onbadhu gajam) by S after duly falling on his feet( should have seen his face then!! :-) ).
time to wear the 9 yards..or should i say for others to wrap it around me while i stood absolutely clueless.
thank god for rajam aunty( our long time family friend),who was an expert in this.she managed to tie it around me in no time, and made sure that it wouldn't give up when i performed the countless namaskars and all that.i really tried my best to follow the method, but i could barely remember how she started and ended.anyway,i was decked up with more jewellery now.
nervous about my saree more than anything else, i went up the mandapam to sit with S. more manthras followed and then it was time for 'mangalya dharanam'.
i sat as lightly as i could on my dad's lap !!!( a ritual started when child marriages were the norm). first a wooden rod was placed on my head with mango leaves on it, and a few manthras were recited. the priest explained that the rod was like the one placed on neck of the bullocks in a bullock cart. this ritual signified that we had to balance our matrimony just like the bullocks did when one of them felt tired or that the burden was too much to bear.
a few miutes later the priest announced that 'mangalya dharanam' was to take place and nobody is supposed to shake the hands of the couple once it is over in enthusiasm, as we are not supposed to part hands.and then amidst a shower of flowers S tied the mangalyam and made the first knot, the second and the third were done by my 'nathanars'(sister in law).
everytime i try to recollect what exactly went through my mind at that point, i go blank..coz that was exactly how i felt.i tried to tell myself that i should feel elated, happy or atleast nervous.but i just went blank.i guess that is what one feels at the height of emotions.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Day one-continued...
the vratham turned out to be very interesting.It was kind of a recap of my entire life till that point.my father had to say my name in my ears thrice just as he would have done during my naming ceremony.there were a lot of other rituals like these and finally my father tied the "kaappu"(sacred yellow thread) on my hand.on the other side S was going through a similar routine.
the rituals done, i began chatting away happily with my friends deepak,sreeparna and her mom who had just arrived.
another thing you could notice in weddings is that everyone wants to talk to the bride and the groom.granted that everyone is curious, but i was damn nervous that i shouldn't blurt out something by mistake." do you know me" is the first question you face.with a memory which fades away lightning quick especially in the matter of faces and names i'm always dumbfounded when faced with this question.depending on my luck i either say "oh yes" or " oh no" .the "yes" is followed by " ok then tell me my name" and " no" by a look which says " how could you???"
my mind says,why the hell do you want me say your name..you should know it very well by now.or ..why do you put up a long face...you are no george bush by the way.
and i hush up all my thoughts and smile as sweetly as i could before some one else starts off the questionnaire again..
i managed to lie down for a few minutes and then the preparations for the engagement started.make up, change of saris and then the engagement began. the "muhurtha pathrikai" wedding schedule was read out and i was given another saree to wear.back to my room, another quick change of saree..( make the pallu longer she has to tie a coconut in it ..somebody shouted) and then back to the crowd.
the customary photographs done.now i rushed back into my room for an extended make up session for the wedding reception.it went on for more than an hour..and when i looked into the mirror i could hardly recognize myself.i had never had so much of cosmetics on my face ever..the most i had was a dab of compact and kajal.oh i just didnt want to go out of the room.i was feeling so self conscious.but people had already become restless outside. i was 30 mins late and had kept S waiting.just then the photographer barged in.i was so nervous that i coudn't even smile for the pics..but somehow managed to do that.with my mil almost as restless as me due to the delay i dragged myself out, walked quickly and got on the dais even before S.
then started the endless row of friends and relatives with gifts and posing for the pictures.i smiled till my jaws ached .finally it was all over by around 10, then the tireless photographer again took us into the room and photoshoot started all over gain with me and S. after 30 mins of clicking we finally had dinner.
my apetite just vanished on seeing the food though everyone had said that the food was wonderful.it had been so from the morning and it continued. guess it was my nerves.
the so called dinner over..now it was back to the room.taking off the make up was worse than putting it on.there were around a 100 pins on my hair and it felt like horse hair.all done and my hair breathing again .thanks to my sweet sis..we got to bed.
and guess what..the power went off again.but i was too tired to even notice this and went back to sleep.
came to know next morning that my sis had walked and jumped over all those people sleeping in the hall and spoke to a couple of guys standing outside and made them switch on the generator.how sweet..
the customary photographs done.now i rushed back into my room for an extended make up session for the wedding reception.it went on for more than an hour..and when i looked into the mirror i could hardly recognize myself.i had never had so much of cosmetics on my face ever..the most i had was a dab of compact and kajal.oh i just didnt want to go out of the room.i was feeling so self conscious.but people had already become restless outside. i was 30 mins late and had kept S waiting.just then the photographer barged in.i was so nervous that i coudn't even smile for the pics..but somehow managed to do that.with my mil almost as restless as me due to the delay i dragged myself out, walked quickly and got on the dais even before S.
then started the endless row of friends and relatives with gifts and posing for the pictures.i smiled till my jaws ached .finally it was all over by around 10, then the tireless photographer again took us into the room and photoshoot started all over gain with me and S. after 30 mins of clicking we finally had dinner.
my apetite just vanished on seeing the food though everyone had said that the food was wonderful.it had been so from the morning and it continued. guess it was my nerves.
the so called dinner over..now it was back to the room.taking off the make up was worse than putting it on.there were around a 100 pins on my hair and it felt like horse hair.all done and my hair breathing again .thanks to my sweet sis..we got to bed.
and guess what..the power went off again.but i was too tired to even notice this and went back to sleep.
came to know next morning that my sis had walked and jumped over all those people sleeping in the hall and spoke to a couple of guys standing outside and made them switch on the generator.how sweet..
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wedding - Day one
our weddings are always spread over 3 days !! i know this would sound shocking for a lot of people.all i could hope and pray was for me to come out of this in one piece and keep myself sane througout the length of all the rituals.
so onto day 1 ..Aug 30th,2007
the alarm went off and i woke up with a start..where was i, why did i wake up so early ..oh i was so confused. i could hear voices in the kitchen and then everything came back to me.we had to reach the mandapam before 5.30 am. i shot out of the bed, only to find that the power had gone off and there was very less water coming out of the taps as the overhead tank was almost empty and no power to fill it up.things couldn't get worse than this!!!
everyone was running around, thankfully the kitchen tap yielded little more water than the other ones.so we filled up the buckets from there and headed to the bathrooms.
the power had still not come back and the worst nightmare for a girl, dressing up with an emergency lamp for your wedding ( well not quite the wedding yet ). Anyway, managed to dress up in the dark and then me, my parents and my granny started off for the mandapam while the others followed a little later with the suitcases and boxes.
the agenda for the day went on like this.
vratham - from morning till noon
engagement - from noon till evening
reception- evening till night
and hopefully some sleep afterwards..
so onto day 1 ..Aug 30th,2007
the alarm went off and i woke up with a start..where was i, why did i wake up so early ..oh i was so confused. i could hear voices in the kitchen and then everything came back to me.we had to reach the mandapam before 5.30 am. i shot out of the bed, only to find that the power had gone off and there was very less water coming out of the taps as the overhead tank was almost empty and no power to fill it up.things couldn't get worse than this!!!
everyone was running around, thankfully the kitchen tap yielded little more water than the other ones.so we filled up the buckets from there and headed to the bathrooms.
the power had still not come back and the worst nightmare for a girl, dressing up with an emergency lamp for your wedding ( well not quite the wedding yet ). Anyway, managed to dress up in the dark and then me, my parents and my granny started off for the mandapam while the others followed a little later with the suitcases and boxes.
the agenda for the day went on like this.
vratham - from morning till noon
engagement - from noon till evening
reception- evening till night
and hopefully some sleep afterwards..
My wedding-preparations
March 28, 2007:
This was my " ponnu paakara" day!!! Sundar (S) and his family came down to my place to meet my family and formally "see" me.It sounded so formal and cinematic, more so that I have been knowing S for so long, that I just wanted to laugh out aloud at the drama that was happening, but managed to maintain a dignified silence. After all the regular high level talks, a few clicks of the camera,bajjis and filter coffee, everybody was happy.
April,2007 ( not sure of the date)
The D - day was fixed at August 31st,2007 :-)
April 14,2007 till the wedding
The best part of any wedding ( atleast for the girl ),SHOPPING !! we started it off on this auspicious day of tamil new year.bought some jewellery for me . this was just the beginning of almost 3 months of intensive shopping.we shopped only on the weekends. i can still remember how much fun all those days were.we( me, my parents and my sis) would start off from home after some heavy b'fast and go from shop to shop buying sarees and other dresses( for me ,family and relatives),jewellery, vessels( copper,stainless steel,silver),things needed for the marriage ceremonies.....the list was just endless.
well, shopping was just one part, getting things stiched was the other and more painful part. The tailors are always over flowing with things to stich, they always run out of people to stich things and perfection is never acheived..either the sleeve is long or short, tight or loose,and it is oh so frustrating. I remember that I was waiting for my stuff even o the day before marriage.
During this period, me and my parents finalized on the traditional wedding card( pink and yellow one in tamil). Me and S wanted the card which was meant for our friends to be something different. But the price you have to pay for " something" different was always on the higher side.
Then we would wonder if we had to spend so much on a card when we could spend it on something useful (already planning, you see!! ). Anyway, we settled to card that didn't too ordinary and at the same time didn't make a hole in our pockets.
Now for what to put on it..we googled and googled ..from shakespeare to every anonymous person who wrote something on love, wedding...and almost anything.from english to tamil to sanskrit..you name it we searched for it..and finally we just gave up.
what finally appeared on the card was a mish mash of verses taken from all the sample cards the shop had, however it turned out to be pretty good.
well, all this shopping went on almost till 2 weeks before the wedding, and i was part of all of it, when my grandmother stepped in to show her authority by saying that the bride-to-be is not supposed to roam around in this fashion.
So i finally took a leave a month's leave from office,and settled down to the cool comforts of home, with everyone from my mother to aunt to granny falling over each other to make me comforatble( in my own home).I was fed with grt food,fruits and juices, didnt have to move a finger and chat and gossip endlessly.What more can anyone want!!
A week before the wedding we packed all the dresses and vessels and everythign needed for the marriage in suitcases and boxes,labelled them and kept them aside. Sounds simple and neat, but the confusion that took place before doing all this was unbelievable.anyway, we were done with that.
August 29th,2007
Woke up early to find that it was just pouring outside.Everyone was upset and worried if this would continue till the wedding. i was excited coz today was my mehndi day.nothing like the north indian weddings.but me and my sister went to the beautician to get it done. back home we sat with our hands and legs spread out under the fan while my mother fed me( this is bliss!! )..butsoon it started getting painful . finally when i took out the mehndi , the beautiful red color turned the pain into joy.
not much to be done on that day. when we finally went to bed, none of us could sleep. atleast i couldn't bat an eyelid. it was raining like hell,the thunder and lightning adding up to all the excitement. my sis told me that this would be my last night at home and suddenly all of us started feeling awful.somehow one by one we started talking about my childhood, my pranks and about those good old days. we talked and talked till we dozed off unknowingly.
that night would remain in my memory forever.
This was my " ponnu paakara" day!!! Sundar (S) and his family came down to my place to meet my family and formally "see" me.It sounded so formal and cinematic, more so that I have been knowing S for so long, that I just wanted to laugh out aloud at the drama that was happening, but managed to maintain a dignified silence. After all the regular high level talks, a few clicks of the camera,bajjis and filter coffee, everybody was happy.
April,2007 ( not sure of the date)
The D - day was fixed at August 31st,2007 :-)
April 14,2007 till the wedding
The best part of any wedding ( atleast for the girl ),SHOPPING !! we started it off on this auspicious day of tamil new year.bought some jewellery for me . this was just the beginning of almost 3 months of intensive shopping.we shopped only on the weekends. i can still remember how much fun all those days were.we( me, my parents and my sis) would start off from home after some heavy b'fast and go from shop to shop buying sarees and other dresses( for me ,family and relatives),jewellery, vessels( copper,stainless steel,silver),things needed for the marriage ceremonies.....the list was just endless.
well, shopping was just one part, getting things stiched was the other and more painful part. The tailors are always over flowing with things to stich, they always run out of people to stich things and perfection is never acheived..either the sleeve is long or short, tight or loose,and it is oh so frustrating. I remember that I was waiting for my stuff even o the day before marriage.
During this period, me and my parents finalized on the traditional wedding card( pink and yellow one in tamil). Me and S wanted the card which was meant for our friends to be something different. But the price you have to pay for " something" different was always on the higher side.
Then we would wonder if we had to spend so much on a card when we could spend it on something useful (already planning, you see!! ). Anyway, we settled to card that didn't too ordinary and at the same time didn't make a hole in our pockets.
Now for what to put on it..we googled and googled ..from shakespeare to every anonymous person who wrote something on love, wedding...and almost anything.from english to tamil to sanskrit..you name it we searched for it..and finally we just gave up.
what finally appeared on the card was a mish mash of verses taken from all the sample cards the shop had, however it turned out to be pretty good.
well, all this shopping went on almost till 2 weeks before the wedding, and i was part of all of it, when my grandmother stepped in to show her authority by saying that the bride-to-be is not supposed to roam around in this fashion.
So i finally took a leave a month's leave from office,and settled down to the cool comforts of home, with everyone from my mother to aunt to granny falling over each other to make me comforatble( in my own home).I was fed with grt food,fruits and juices, didnt have to move a finger and chat and gossip endlessly.What more can anyone want!!
A week before the wedding we packed all the dresses and vessels and everythign needed for the marriage in suitcases and boxes,labelled them and kept them aside. Sounds simple and neat, but the confusion that took place before doing all this was unbelievable.anyway, we were done with that.
August 29th,2007
Woke up early to find that it was just pouring outside.Everyone was upset and worried if this would continue till the wedding. i was excited coz today was my mehndi day.nothing like the north indian weddings.but me and my sister went to the beautician to get it done. back home we sat with our hands and legs spread out under the fan while my mother fed me( this is bliss!! )..butsoon it started getting painful . finally when i took out the mehndi , the beautiful red color turned the pain into joy.
not much to be done on that day. when we finally went to bed, none of us could sleep. atleast i couldn't bat an eyelid. it was raining like hell,the thunder and lightning adding up to all the excitement. my sis told me that this would be my last night at home and suddenly all of us started feeling awful.somehow one by one we started talking about my childhood, my pranks and about those good old days. we talked and talked till we dozed off unknowingly.
that night would remain in my memory forever.
I'm back...for good !!!
Yes..I'm back.I know this is the nth time i'm saying this, having disappeared from this space far too often.but this has been the longest, 15 months to be exact.Incidentally, these 15 months have been the most eventful ones in my life.my title has changed from Miss to Mrs, we've moved abroad, the latter being the most unexpected.
life has definitely changed and I'm constantly trying to keep pace with it.
anyway, i hadn't planned on writing about anything specific till the time i started typing. but now i so badly want to recount my wedding and the experiences and events leading upto the most memorable day in my life.
this might not be as interesting as an abhi-ash wedding !!! but somehow all indian weddings are fun..and so was mine.
i know that my cousin sriram (something to chew on) has already given a detailed account of it in his blog, but i would still like to go ahead.
so happy reading !!!
life has definitely changed and I'm constantly trying to keep pace with it.
anyway, i hadn't planned on writing about anything specific till the time i started typing. but now i so badly want to recount my wedding and the experiences and events leading upto the most memorable day in my life.
this might not be as interesting as an abhi-ash wedding !!! but somehow all indian weddings are fun..and so was mine.
i know that my cousin sriram (something to chew on) has already given a detailed account of it in his blog, but i would still like to go ahead.
so happy reading !!!
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