My sister's wedding

This one's a long post. I want it to serve as a reminder of the past few days. Days I'm gonna treasure for eternity.

The day before
3^rd 0330: I’m awakened by my alarm clock. It’s hardly been ½ n hour since I went to sleep. The excitement of flyin home for my sis’s wedding keeps me awake till the wee hours of morning. The flights at 6:40, which means that I should ideally check in by 5:40, specially since it’s an international flight. Besides my phone alarm and my regular clock alarm, I’ve asked Chetta n Mayank to wake me if they’re awake, which Mayank does. We were up last nite deciding how best to go for Intaglio, without missing laterals. We’ve qualified for the operations case presentation, optimum.

The security guard comes at 0400 to tell me that the ricks arrived ½ an hour early. I check my baggage. I have two pieces of hand baggage and one suitcase. My eyes are drooping so to keep awake, I have an early morning bath. It’s pretty cold outside and the last thin I want is a cold. I rummage through my stuff and find a nice maroon pullover which is kinda musty, due to lack of use. Some juniors (who lately seem to be studyin day n nite) enquire whether I need any help which I of course politely refuse.

The rick ride is weird. The driver seemed very happy on finding that I can speak his tongue. However I’m too preoccupied to have any conversation with him. The road is dark and the ride bumpy and yet I barely notice it. I have this nagging feeling that I’ve left something very important behind. A quick check reveals that all the essentials are in place. Guess I’m just paranoid.

I reach the airport at 0515 and am greeted with a large Haj crowd. I show the ticket to the guard and walk in. The security at the airport considers me really harmless or influential since nobody checks me or any of my baggage. My idea of a quick check-in is spoilt by the Indian airlines counter being closed. However they offer to take care of my suitcase, while I wait.

The flight is late by ½ an hour. I board the flight at around 0715 and am greeted by a lady who has this most plastic smile. The lady’s got on enuff make up to start a small beauty shop. She seems most irritable and the passengers are told to sit wherever they can find a place. However her associates seem most cheerful and ensure that we’re well settled.

The flights via Goa. The take offs nice and smooth and the flight banks towards the left to give a really beautiful view of Calicut. Were soon over the sea and the view is most magnificent. Unfortunately, we soon fly into turbulence which means that I have a very shaky breakfast which consists of a nice croton and some bad uttapam, fruits n juice. The landing at Goa is uneventful and awesomely beautiful. The sun kissed sea and the beautiful sky is a sight for sore eyes. Alas photography in Indian flights is against the law. Goa sees a few people alighting, a cleaning crew vacuum cleaners in tow causing a major ruckus. The flight soon takes off with quite a few additions and another breakfast is served. The landing at Mumbai’s bumpy with one ac vent and one roof panel coming off. The pilot taxies the flight too close to the terminal which means a further delay. Guess I just struck IA off my most preferred airlines list.

Finally I reach Terra Firma, pick up my bag and catch a rick home. The rick driver is urged to speed home. He’s quite the conversationalist and turns around to talk which is unnerving considering Mumbai traffic. So any further conversation is firmly discouraged by me putting on my headphones.

I reach home to be greeted by a very happy sister, a very relieved looking mom n dad and the Madhavamangalam family (Maa’s side of relations). The Rao family are all settled in and around Mumbai and hence will arrive directly for the wedding. Everyone seems most happy to see me, though Maa’s relations are a lil concerned with how much I’ve grown horizontally. My sister is ecstatic. Dad n Mom seem relieved. I turn down the offer to have another breakfast, yet within an hour prepare myself a quick brunch of a cheese sandwich n Top Ramen Curry. Reaching home’s quite the anticlimax, since nothing seems to be happening. The only change is some painting and the upholstery which looks all floral and girlish. I decide to take a nap which is interrupted by my sister. She wants me to go and check out the wedding venue. She tries playing the emotional card which fails and then just keeps poking me till I finally have to give in.

The venue’s 5 kms from home. We’ve booked Club Aquaria for the wedding. Aquaria is more famous for the numerous film shootings. Infact there’s a wedding, some conference and a shooting all happening at once there. It looks absolutely magical n there’s only sis’s wedding scheduled for the next day. I make some well appreciated suggestions and head back home. The night is reserved for gossip, news and happenings while I wasn’t there. Apparently the Mehendi ceremony ceremony was too good to be true.

We (My two uncles, cousin and me) are parcelled off to a neighbour’s empty house, where I (being the host) have to sleep on this couch which is too short n narrow for me. I’m too tired to care. I do wake up once or twice at nite. But sleep’s generally good.

D day

My biological clock wakes me as usual with five minutes to go for my alarm. I contemplate waking the others but decide I better rush home. My granny, aunt n maa are busy preparing breakfast. I volunteer to polish the car but have to give up half way. There are numerous chores to do. Thanks to my Dad’s friends and his cousin I have a fleet of SUVs at my disposal. However none of the drivers know the area. Somehow everyone seems to have been waiting for me to arrive to get their work done. I buy milk, bread, search for photo frames, buy myself a belt and then supervise the decoration of Dad’s Palio. The decoration’s nowhere near my levels of aesthetic beauty. I cajole them into doing a slightly better job but seriously can’t spare the time to do anything myself.

It’s around 1600. Sister has to get out before Rahu kalam which begins at 1630. The house is full of relatives, photographers, etc. for the Puja. Maa n sis get all emotional as if my sister were going to Kargil or something. Even I am not feelin too good.

I’m forced to make around 5 trips to and fro ferrying relations, bringing cosmetics, change of clothes, etc. The venue is divided into two areas. The wedding is to be conducted at the tennis court while the reception’s at the wave pool.

The wedding’s the normal Hindu wedding with all the customs and all. The Pujari turns out to be quite the linguist explaining the Kanada/Sanskrit rites to my sis n future bro-in-law Dhananjay. The wedding’s quite serious till I’m involved into the rites. I actually manage to get a smile on the nervous faces of the couple with some wise cracks. There’s this custom wherein My bro-in-law’s supposed to take my permission to be with my sister. I have half a mind to say no just to see his reaction, but reconsider my decision considering there are a zillion people watching. A few more customs, a few rounds around the ceremonial fire and the marriage’s over. Shilpa Rao is now officially Shilpa Uppoor. Frankly she sounds like a small village now. Just try it for yourself “ Rampoor, Sitapoor, Shilpauppoor” :))).

Meanwhile Guests are busy trooping in to the venue. What started as a small trickle seems like one huge river now. Most of my friends have arrived but I can’t spend too much time talking to them. I play perfect host, smiling at even those people I can hardly stand otherwise :D. My sister and bro-in-law dress for the reception. My sister’s looking most beautiful (guess its genetic :)). The Uppoors are outnumbered by our rather large Rao family. Dad’s six siblings could be attributed to the absence of quality entertainment (no TV) in those days, but that’s besides the point. The large family means plenty of cousins and uncles and aunts, most of whom who help out in the wedding arrangements.

The reception is vegetarian as per custom much to the chagrin of my pure non vegetarian sister. Infact, my two cousins, Pooja and Dev and I are the only veggies amongst close family. However the spread leaves little to be desired. There are umpteen stalls for food, ice creams, juices, deserts, mukhwaas, fruit stalls, chaat stalls, etc. Surprisingly I’m not feeling too hungry.

The crowd begins thinning out around 2330ish. The two families and the couple sit for dinner. The girl then has to be taken to the boy’s house where the girl’s maternal uncle hands her over. The girl’s family are most elated when my mallu uncle does the needful while speaking in chaste kannada. My sis and I are amongst the several who have no clue to what’s being spoken. We troop out of the house and back home which is just 7 kms from my sis’s inlaws. There’s another function for the next day. We finally sleep at around 0330.

The post wedding celebration

Mangalorees have this tradition wherein close relatives and friends are treated to another feast the day after the marriage. This feast has a non veg component which means my sister is finally happy. The boy’s family is supposed to drop the girl home before this function. I really can’t understand this ping pong with the bride but am glad to find my sister back home. Since my uncle’s heading home the next day, we all join him in a spot of shopping. Dad and sis are most tired and Granny can’t walk too much. So they head home while we take uncle to big bazaar.

Shopping over we head home, where I’m supposed to again take my sis back to her in-laws house. We get a trifle late which means I have to bear the brunt of her anger. The driver’s quite quick though and we reach her in-laws house in no time. I head off back home, change into a kurta and head out to the venue.

Dinner’s nice and the atmosphere’s much more relaxed. All of us cousins catch up with happenings in each other’s lives. My nieces (My cousins’ kids) and my younger cousins have a whale of a time chasing each other around,

The dinner ends. Apparently its time for the last transfer wherein my sis goes to her hubby’s house. Everyone gets a lil emotional. Even I have this odd feelin in my tum, even though I know my sis lives so close. I hold her tight not daring to speak anything and head home. Life won’t seem the same ever again. Never again

To my sister,

You promised that you’d never go away,
I promised that if you did, I’d never cry.
We both broke our promises today.
But as usual ‘you started it’.

It’s with a heavy heart I see you go,
You know how I hate to say goodbye.
This strange emotion of happiness and sadness,
Wish I knew the right way to react.

As you walk along this new path,
I wish you all the happiness in life.
And wish the very best to the lucky guy,
Who is so fortunate to have you as his wife.

The story of your life and your times,
Has now moved to a new chapter.
Though I already know the last line which reads,
‘…………And they lived happily ever after’

Yours,
Pranay