Time full of moments,
A year full of events,
Some brought cheers,
Some got my eyes brimming with tears
No time for tears today,
Spreading smiles and love
A big hug to friends I made
I celebrate my WordPress of 5 months
Let’s read a small story
Starting with a dame called Scifihammy
Smiles, surprises and happiness we shared
First friend and forever there
I thank you for all the love and care
Nhien & ladysighs,
Sometimes joy, sometimes pain
Made my world full of emotions
With their beautiful songs
FaburKhloe, a breath of fresh sweet air
Is she Winnie-the-Pooh, I wonder..
Eachday I hear our giggles in wind
Tinkling like little chimes
Sucheta & Trablogger,
We like to talk and talk and talk
While Sucheta I share our love for food and more
Picture perfect Trablog gives tips of abstinence and wander!
Violet writes comics
Chopstix write recipes,
Thank you for the delightful treats
Loved the beautiful stories and some heavenly delicacies
Crooked tracks wishes for Snow and more snow
Aditix’s visual delights are a rare sight
It’s fun to see Mrs.Bearfoot’s farm visits
Ouachita wishes in woods for an early spring
Garfield loves hugs and prayers
With a soul who feel for others
Ishkishmish as sweet as her name
Brings joys with ‘Smile project’
on a day mundane
Me in 8 inch heel versus unbolt in gumboots
A dance awaits this New year
I would have spared her feet
but she made me step on a spider
As a new year approaches
A token of Thank You to all
Sorry if I left out a friend
But do forgive and forget
As friendship never ends
A wish, a prayer
For a new tomorrow
Bidding farewell for a year about to leave
Thanking for the beautiful moments it gave me
New dreams,new hopes at the door,
With a happy heart
I wish you Happy New Year !
Special thanks to Eti whom I met briefly few days back and she happily posed for me . And without her,I wouldn’t have got this New Year Special 😀
Today,I started a ‘5-Day Monochrome Photo series‘ in Color Palette,my photo blog. Lately,I have being kinda obsessed with monochrome images,so this post is a result of that obsession.
Dreams of an Amatueur
Let me begin my 5 day monochrome with a dream. Few days back,at midnight I found myself in grandpa’s village and I saw a shopping mall in the heart of village! That area still requires a decent grocery shop ! Since last few weeks Ann,my cousin abroad has been pestering me for some ethnic clothes,so I entered and shopped. As I came out ,I started walking and suddenly I found myself infront of a mysterious building.
Someone said,it was a shortcut to my house vicinity.So,I entered and next moment all I saw was big hallways,round stair cases,sunlight seeping sporadically and the entire building was in monochrome of grey scale. I begin to lament on why did I leave my camera with Dad(I had flashbacks of handing it over ! ) I was in a trance and went on seeing one amazing architecture after other. Suddenly,I came to senses,I still hadn’t found a way out. I started searching for exit and after few minutes I knew I was lost. I searched for someone to guide me towards a way out but then I begin to notice,there was almost no one,so far I had seen only 2-3 people !
After walking for sometime,I found a man sitting on a staircase,eyes half opened as if he was subconscious. With fear in heart I asked him if he knows how to go out . He said,”Wait for them,they will come and will show you” “Who ? Who will come ?” I shrieked. And I got no more answer as he had disappeared. I frantically tapped every wall and bit of ground. The monochrome of the walls and things were making it an infinite puzzle and the charisma had turned into dread. After what seemed to be a long time,I finally heard footsteps and saw two old men approaching. I tried to talk to them but they took no notice of me as if I was non-existent. Somehow I knew I had to follow them. After walking behind them for sometime,suddenly they stopped and one of them pushed a point in the wall.The wall opened and light flooded in and they went in. I too pushed the same area and it opened ! I stepped out and at first all I saw was white and suddenly I found myself in a crowded place flooded with colors and also found some friends ! While they chatted with me,I kept thinking of how nice it was to be back in the world full of loved ones,full of colors. 🙂
I have never written a story when I am awake, but who knew I write in my sleep. I know this is a bizarre story with loop holes all over but I had fun remembering it which seldom is the case.
A small kid is angry with mom for some reason and he is sitting outside on a bench in a huff with a bag with the intention of going away. Grandfather comes and sits besides him and asks him,’Are you still angry with Mommy ?” The kid with puffed cheeks nods his head. Grandfather whispers,” But Mom is making hot Jalebis,I suppose we will eat that as you are going” Immediately the kid’s face lights up and he exclaims,”Jalebi !!” The next moment it is seen that Jalebis are being fried in oil and with nice background music the Grandfather and the kid are shown to return and the kid happily munching on Jalebis. 🙂
This was no story but a TV commercial ! And it was about a certain brand of cooking oil. The ad did create a cute and happy feeling and increase the sales. As I was a kid then,my entire attention was on two things, those hot Jalebis and the tag line so that we kids could sing it( Dhaara Dhaara…Shuddh Dhaara !) 😀 . Sadly,mom was not influenced enough to make this advertisement an immediate reality !
Since,it’s Christmas and last few days I have been looking at the Christmas recipes by fellow bloggers with ravenous look,I couldn’t just sit with mouth drooling every time. So,this Sunday, I relived my childhood by trying this for second time ( 1st trial was 2 years back and it’s better left unspoken !) Mom did made this few times as I got older,so I did remember the process vaguely and big thanks to internet(recipe).
The results were much much better this time 🙂 Beware,if anyone wishes to make it ,throw out the health book for a day ! And toughest part is making the swirls,so don’t worry if you get stars or world map instead, in the end taste rules !
So,here’s a Merry Christmas to everyone with tons of sweetness and cheer ! 😀
First of all,the answer to yesterday’s quiz,” It is a Pomegranate blossom” Please notice the shiny portion behind the red petals,doesn’t it looks exactly like a pomegranate fruit’s outer skin?
And we have two winners !!! to Sucheta and Creekrose . Congratulations !!
Many Many thanks to All for participating ! 🙂 Here are the consolation prizes. Enjoy !
The Curse That Became Boon
Once upon a time,in a small village there was a man called Rama who sold mangoes from his orchard for a living. Everyday,he would carry a basketful of mangoes to the nearby town and sell them. To reach the town,he had to cross a jungle. It was rumored that the forest harbored wild animals,bandits and even spirits. That’s why Rama was always cautious while crossing it and made his returns before dusk.
One afternoon,Rama was returning in a happy mood having sold all his mangoes. Suddenly, while in forest he felt his basket felt heavy. He lowered the basket from his head and saw it was empty as it should be. He lifted it up again and started walking. He felt the same weight again; now he was scared. Then he heard a gentle voice,” Are you scared? Don’t be. Just put the basket down near that big tree ahead. ” Rama was a bit relieved to hear the sweet voice and did what he was told. Before his eyes, a shape of woman started forming and finally he was able to see a very beautiful deity like appearance. The woman spoke,” I am the spirit of this tree.Everyday,I take a walk around the forest. Today,I was a very tired,hence sat in the basket for sometime. Thank you for carrying me. I wish to give you something in return. Ask me anything. “
Being a simpleton, Rama said,” All the fruit vendors in market sell the same kind of mangoes like mine. Please give me some nice mangoes so that all of them will be sold tomorrow and I will return without a heavy basket.” The Goddess sighed,” Fool,you could have asked wealth …. Anyways, I am filling your basket with the juiciest and sweetest mangoes in the world” and she vanished.
When he reached his home and told everything to his wife, she was cross with him for not asking wealth. Later on, when she tasted one mango, she found them heavenly. She advised that Rama should sell each mango 10 times the usual price. Next day in market,when Rama said the price to his customers,they started mocking and went to other sellers. Later on, a rich man asked for a piece to taste and upon sampling it,immediately bought a dozen mangoes. Seeing this, other customers too tried it and with in few minutes his basket got empty. That night,the couple was very happy but the next day when he tried to sell his usual mangoes,customer said,” These mangoes are available every where. Why don’t you bring the yesterday’s variety again?” And he returned with a full basket and heavy heart to the tree where the spirit resided.
‘ O Spirit of tree, where are you ‘ he asked.
The Goddess made herself visible and inquired the reason of calling. Rama sobbed about his problem. The goddess said,” You wasted a boon on petty things. Anyways, I will grant you another boon. Choose wisely” “My wife wanted gold and jewels,please give me that” Rama answered.
“Alright, All your mangoes will turn into gold and jewels but it’s last boon so use it properly”
Rama gaily walked towards the village.After some,distance,suddenly a bandit jumped from shadows and asked,”What have you got there ? ” Rama replied in fear,” Jewels !” “Are you joking with me! open it”. Upon finding the jewels,the bandit threatened Rama,” Leave the basket and don’t return or else you will die. Do you know who I am ? I am Veer Singh, the fiercest of all !” Rama knew the notorious name from the wanted posters and the rewards announced to catch the bandit,so he knew he was lucky to be alive till this moment.Rama bolted from there and ran back to the Goddess again and called her,” O Goddess,whatever boons you are giving me,they are useless ! If you don’t give me a good boon this time, I will tell everyone you are not a true Goddess” The Goddess became angry and said,” Imbecile! because of your stupidity you lost everything. You say my boons are worthless. Then,I am giving you a curse,whichever face you first see before sunset,will die ,now go and never come here! “
Rama started wandering in the forest so that he will reach his home after sunset or else his wife’s life would be in line. Suddenly,he heard a voice from the back,” Hey,where did you get those jewels from? Tell me or I will kill you. ” He turned and saw Veer Singh. That very moment Veer Singh gave a sharp cry and fell down. Rama heaved a sigh of relief and carried him to King’s palace and collected the huge reward.Though,the boons didn’t help Rama much but the curse did change his life in the end.
Source- Chandamama
Did you like today’s story ? Watch out for more Saturdays full of fun,simple stories. 😀
Just as Model, I don’t know what he is. And I am glad of it.
He stood first in the class,
Yet he could hear whispers
He became a Scientist,
The murmurs didn’t stop..
He ran and ran and climbed Mt. Everest
He could still hear them in echoes
He made a company and met many Presidents,
The co-workers still laughed
and talked behind his back,
There he lies dead now,
yet,you can hear the sounds in the air,
Someone speaks and someone nods
‘he could do all this because he was
An Untouchable ”
A bit of explanation– India is a country of diverse culture,religions and castes and has the biggest political system in the whole world. So,the elections are fought on many basis like progress,education etc etc but the biggest agenda is ‘RESERVATION’. While the caste system is an ancient burden on the society(atleast I feel so), the increase demand/supply of reservations based on religion,castes has created a bigger rift among people than before.
How did it all started ?? In ancient era(lets say when Indian civilization started),caste systems did exist but people were defined on the basis of profession. For example a teacher was deemed as Brahmin and a businessman was taken as Vaishya. However,if the son of the teacher was warrior, he will belong top the class ‘Kshatriya’. Slowly,these class systems were manipulated for personal gains,and class became a birthright. And began the era of ignorance,arrogance and suppression. Brahmins were deemed the highest irrespective of what they did and ‘Shudras’ became the lowest as they did dirty works like cleaning drains etc etc.
The Suppression played a major role in deteriorating the lifestyle in lower castes and the upper classes established dominance and refused to touch the lower class thus the term ‘Untouchables’ or ‘Dalits’. Even seeing a an untouchable while you are stepping out of home was considered to be ominous. The Untochables were not allowed to visit public baths or any such places. They were to keep distance from temples while walking by,let alone ever visiting. The efforts by some brave people throughout the history were futile as the upper classes who were powerful in every respect quelled those attempts. During Indian Independence moment, Mahatma Gandhi brought into light the plight of untouchables.He renamed them as ‘Harijan’ or ‘The kin of God’. He worked with them and so did a few more. A temporary unison to thwart the foreign suppression.
The Freedom movement ended with India becoming Independent on 15th Aug 1947. Now, Political reforms were made to raise the wretched lifestyle of the backward classes and release them from the clasps of Upper class. ‘Reservation’ was born. It would have worked fine if it didn’t become a game of power. Personally,I feel every society whichever class they belong to has people who are greedy of power,want to grab as much and by any means. Very less classes in India are considered to be Forward classes(a subtler name for Upper Class), naturally the society will not change easily with this difference.
Later on, those power hungry among the backward classes demanded more attention and more reservations. And the initial motive of freedom of backward classes changed into grabbing the opportunities just because they belong to backward class. The government jobs and education system saw that reservations brought in more ineligible candidates. Naturally,people started hating the system and insulted the candidates. If out of 20 backward candidates, 5 were truly deserving class or no class,they will suffer the wrath because of this and whatever they do they will still be called undeserving. And the irony is these 5 never wanted reservation in first place !
The mentality of people is getting worse and worse and the education system has got the biggest blow in all this. Its full of arrogant of upper class, non-deserving reserved students/workers and some deserving students from both the parties and the middle classes who have worked hard for who they are, with no privileges as they are normal class but they will never be acknowledged by the upper. Now,more different types of reservations have popped as as political moves to woo voters. And I begin to wonder, If I should proudly say ‘India is a country of Unity in Diversity’ a slogan which I used to give as a child in Republic Day speech.
Thank you for reading. 🙂 A bit hurriedly written because I was having Anger management issues after seeing the recent clashes because of reservations. Am I hating Humankind? may be a bit… What do you think of all this ? Say something or anything ….
Happy Monday to Everyone. I came across this sweet real life story today. It’s about a parent and child. I am sure,all the parents out there would love this. And all the others,you will recall some of your sweet memories too.
My lovely mane flowing with the wind,WAIT !! Is that my EAR ??
So,this is what my Sunday morning started with.Overcast skies since two days threatening everyone by various means.So,the first agent was WIND ! As I stood in the terrace like a brave warrior facing the Icy wind, this scene made me smile 🙂
Hello,I am RAIN !! Miss me ?
So,this year,we missed Rainy season.Afternoon,it decided to pay us a visit along with winter.Double surprise !! And above is my miniscule attempt to capture it.
The After rains
So,here’s my cup of Green Tea in evening to unfreeze my fingers and brain and share my day with you.
One day Keshav paid a visit to a relative in city’s Asylum.When he arrived there,he came to know that he had to wait for an hour for some reasons. So,he sat in a bench while he waited. There was another guy sitting next to him. Gradually a conversation started.
Amidst talks,the man explained,” I have been staying here since few months. The Doctors say that I am mentally unwell.” Keshav thought that till now their talks have been normal,the man is behaving politely and speaking as any sane person. He asked,” You seem to behave quite properly then why are you being treated? “
“I am not sure if I really need treatment.Sometimes I wonder if the Doctors are a bit mentally unbalanced to recommend it.Anyways,what do you prefer: Leather Sandals or shoes ?”asked the man.
Keshav replied that he liked Leather Sandals as they were more comfortable. The man asked next,” I like them fried rather than steamed.what about you ?” For a moment Keshav felt his head reeling. Then he made a quick exit.
Source- Chandamama
Did you like this story ? Don’t forget to watch for next Saturday for another SS 🙂
You will see in bottom ‘Skydive with Santa’. Click on it and you will find such a beautiful and colorful world and you get to play some cool games,yes,you,the above 15 too can’t resist them 😀 https://santatracker.google.com/?utm_source=VillageHPP#calendar (this is the game link with many many games in case you miss it in the village page)
Need a push ? You get to do a ‘beard’ makeover to Santa with scissors and hair dryers and much more and he speaks ‘Ho ho ho’ and ‘ooohhhhh’. 😀
Sorry for the double post today, don’t miss visiting my photoblog Colorpalette today.It looks amazing against snow flakes 🙂
I am sitting in the terrace and all senses focused on the story book and suddenly I hear a small lisp,”Whel is my daughther” (Actually I have translated it from my local dialect but this is how the speaker would have pronounced had she known English ). Oh, she is here,she follows me everywhere,I can see her head as she grabs a step and levitates herself to it and another and another,until she is before me. And here comes my around 2 feet, 2 year old Aunt !!! You read it correct. 😀
It’s summer vacation in late 90’s and am loving my stay at grandpa’s village,Kumbhari. And surrounded my numerous grandpas,grandmas and aunts and uncles. The family tree is a biiig one. My grandpa used to tell me the story of ‘Once there was an old man named Giridhaari and he had 4 sons…. (Fast-fast forwarding) now we are all the decedents of a,b,c,d,e etc etc and we all stay as neighbors,as every cousin had different life cycles, that’s how I come to have uncles and aunts varying from age 50 to age 0. Naturally, its no comfort to call a 2 year old mausi(aunt) and it’s more embarrassing when she calls me ‘daughther’ (who taught her that !! ) So,I made the rules,anyone younger than me or slightly older than me,call using names,so it’s ok now.
It was the time when Television was tv and not THE TV, so I enjoyed playing games with my so called aunts. Slightly differing in ages,we came along well. Playing cards was a game we all enjoyed on hot summer afternoons. I was a bit ignorant with different plays but I managed to learn two types,don’t know how you name them,we called it ‘3-2-5’ and ‘Color’ .
3-2-5 needed 3 players and the game goes like this,if you are supposed to win 3 tricks in a round,the one to your left should win 5 and the other to your right should win 2. So,if you win only 2 tricks instead of 3 and the right person wins 3 instead, she will pick a card from your set the next round and will give you one of her own cards.Oh no,they always manage to pick the big cards like Aces etc. and return a 2 or 3 😦 The 3-2-5 are rotated in every round. Nightmares come true when you have to win 5 tricks and you have already given away your 2 best cards because of last round loss.
There’s an alternative though,you deliberately loose all tricks and then the game will begin afresh with you start at 2 instead of 3 or 5 (2 is the best position to win more and grab from others.) But there’s a catch,you are at zero so you will be awarded with the title ‘Donkey’ and several hands will ruffle your head and shout “Boo Boo….” For some, they would rather keep donating their best cards than to die in shame.Not for me,I would rather be a donkey and start a new round and get the best cards from others.It wasn’t championship among strangers so I didn’t mind ruffling and the boos because I knew next round I will be winning even if they keep saying me donkey 😀
Color was the game where a single suit will dominate the other three suits so even a 2 of the ‘color suit’ can win over ‘Ace of another’. The players can be in any numbers. So,the afternoons,cots were aligned such a way that aunts and grandmas varying from 16 to 60 will sit around and play it. It was game of thrill,cheating,quarrels and yet fun 😉 They would hide their best cards so that opponents can’t pick them.Where ? Folds of dresses,sarees,below mattress etc. Also if someone has set the Joker as color,it means,once one starts win a trick and then plays with a suit no one else has,she will keep on winning. Once,it was found out, the outcry of cheating and defenders trying to wriggle out of it was fun to watch.
Many times,the quarrels led to abrupt stop in game and few would leave in huff but next day everything was forgotten(after all they are all one big family) and another game of cards.
Once I saw Ricky glancing at me frequently in middle of game.’ I wondered but kept quiet. After winning several times, She revealed in end,’We could see every card of yours in reflection from your specs’ ‘Tricksters !!!!’ I roar.And then all of us giggle 🙂
Summer vacations were so different with different friends,a different place. Now I remember the mementos long forgotten and cherish it all.
Final part.Latecomers ? No worries ! Click on part1,part2 and part3 and share a laugh with wedding Chronicles. 🙂
By now, you have attended the grand feast,guarded the bride’s treasures,break-danced with groom like imps,now its time to listen to my sob stories. Don’t worry,you get to laugh at my expense. 😀
I usually am reluctant to attend weddings because of sooo many people hustling and bustling around.So,apart from the handful of family weddings,and few more which I attended as kid(just the feast part),I can only remember 3 weddings at most where I was in active role.
Why do I hide ? Every wedding,in regular intervals,someone will get hold of me and giggle and ask,” Tell me who am I/we ? ” I have a very bad memory and it doesn’t extend beyond my immediate paternal/maternal family,so if you are the sister-in-law of my cousin whom I met last year,I can’t tell.Further,I met half of them when I was less than a year old,so no use of straining my infant brain leftovers. The questions have modified over years,now a second questions is added after ‘Who am I’ talks,’When will we get to attend your wedding !’ ………Unmarried guy/girl,you were born to fulfill the wishes of your relatives,get married so that they can have the grand feast
A question,"Who preserves the wedding moments like fresh for years and years ? "
Yes,the photographer who captures each moment so that we can smile and relive them when we see them again and again.There ends the good part. 👿
All set for my mamu’s(maternal uncle) wedding. The photographer of the village was moving with an air of importance and shooting the rituals.I began to notice,he was shooting more of the known/unknown relatives and the family was nowhere to be found in the shots! He actually,lowered the camera or diverted it elsewhere where grandma or mom etc. performed some customs! I had to ask him,why are you not shooting them,he replied in a huff,”I am doing my job,do not disturb me” I began to think if he had some aversions to the family(hey, WE are paying you !) but it was not my place to give strict instructions.The elders were busy.So,I started clicking with my miserable camera phone.And that’s when my eyes started stalking the photographer.
Oh the horrible times! Some relatives standing next to mamu(uncle/groom),click-click and grandpa posing with mamu(hey,where’s the photographer,call him to take a shot !). And when he arrives,he doesn’t wait for them to pose,’Ready .. 1….click’ and he is gone ! (after 1, a 2 does come 😮 ) A repetitive process which started irking mom and others too.
During feast, I discovered his malicious motives. He did want to shoot us but only when we were in weird poses,doing odd things. I was enjoying the feast with Ann and Ash(my cousins,remember ‘The man who captured happiness‘ and ‘A pop of color‘ ?) ,and suddenly I looked up and saw the photographer’s camera directly towards me ! And I was about to devour a large size fritter. My hands froze ! Out of the entire time of wedding,is this the only way I come before camera ? I immediately hid my face on the pretext of drinking water. I warned the other two that he is out to capture us in nice dress but shoving like pigs at some rare moment ! Who would listen that I don’t eat that much like it looks in video. So,with a cautious watch,we were able to finish our dinner. Happy ending ? No…. 😦
A few weeks later,the video and the photos came out. I could only find the family in only around 20 photos out of the hundreds ! And the video….. he had had the last laugh 😈 There I was trying to gobble a large piece of mutton. Even today, I feel like wringing his neck … The entire family was disappointed to see almost zero appearances of them and they had to pay for all those endless photos and video… how much ? A whopping 12000 rupees !
Weddings ARE sweet and full of emotions and more but then you know it already, this was an attempt to share some funny moments . Much more to it but for another day in future …
So,with this Wedding chronicles come to end. Give me a shout if you enjoyed them.If you have any special wish/curiosity about my country/my little town,tell me more and I will try my best to work on it 🙂
Missed the earlier fun? click on part 1 & part 2 and enjoy the wedding chronicles.
After the astute guests and vigilant bride’s side,there has to be some mess and mayhem.Luckily,the groom’s side gladly accepts the role.
Majority relatives gloat in the prospect of being from groom’s side and they demand expect to get special treatment in terms of welcome and food. If the groom’s parents doesn’t you know well, you can still proudly say in front of bride’s side, how important and close you are to groom’s parents and how the groom worships you ! And they like to have a say; create a little chaos by saying, in our side this is not how its done, we were not given coldrinks/ice-cream(I saw you asking the catering boy for a second helping !) 😛
I find this group dull so lets jump to the procession, actually that is the only important part from groom’s side. So,the groom sits in white/cream long car decorated with flowers and if its a long distance, the rest travel by bus/jeeps etc. The population usually estimated beforehand ends up as nearly twice in original. Where did they come from,go find out one by one,or … leave it !
Blessed are those souls from whose streets/villages/towns ,this caravan just passes through. If you are inside the 5 Km radius,you know you are a part of wedding just by being in your bed. Majority of the Hindu weddings take place at mid-night or later,so 2-3kms beforehand from the wedding place,time somewhere after 9-10pm,the fleet comes to a halt,the elders go ahead for announcing their arrival and begin rituals. Now,come the commanders of the fleet ‘the music band’ who are going to steer the rally for next 2-3 hours . 😉
The songs are generally old or numerous hit-lists post 90’s and some recent additions,and the procession gets excited like monkeys. Neither the band is bothered about rhythm or their play’s perfection,nor are the listeners. Begins a competition of street-dancing.
While the groom has to refrain from alcohol or smoking or any such thing,his friends have already shelled out a wad of moolah from his pockets.”If we don’t drink in your wedding,where’s the fun in that !” So while he wistfully sees his money fly,local and branded water flows around . (Not everyone drinks,only 10% !) Join the fun with some famous dance moves-
The Bhangra clowns: No,they have never been to Punjab,the birthplace of Bhangra but they have seen it on TV. So hands up in the air,raise one leg ,hook that leg with another person’s and merry go round round.(try it 😉 )
The snake-couples: Two guys trying to be different,face each other and twist like snakes mating,hiss towards each other with palms as hoods, the band knows it has to play at least one snake-tune resembling lute.Wanna try it ? Click here. Don’t blame me if you too start hissing !
The wrigglers:They are the ones who can be described by one word,”Drunk”. So,they love to sweep ground and wriggle in a state of ecstasy and end up in giving poses of hips-push- up exercise.
The freestylers: Expect anything and expect nothing ! It comprises of rotund bellied uncles who are dragged to show a move or two and they desperately try to shake it up like Shakira. The other notables are those who are not drunk,yet they manage to contort their body in different directions and still keep smiling ! If I had not known them,I would have assumed they are wrigglers. I mean how can you hop like drunkard if you never ever had a sip !
The Simply Handsomes: The name suggests who they are and what they do. They dress well in tailored coats (James Bond) or sherwanis(Hritik Roshan),dance with style and can’t have clothes soiled or sweaty,they have to be ready to flirt or if possible find a ‘Love at First sight’
The elegant others:Nothing special,mostly elders when insisted a lot or they have to cross from one side to the other,they just hold their hands in the air and move them a bit till they cross.
Everyone is important in a wedding ! Now,these are the guys in charge of crackers who occasionally join as bhangra clowns/snake-couple but most of the time,they shoot out missiles in the sky and bomb the lanes. After listening to those crackers alongwith the blaring trumpets for few minutes,you ears will stop filtering any other voices,so try learning lip movements or language of expression instead. The funniest part of all this is even a turtle walks faster than the procession !
Weddings are full of chaos,hectic times,sleepless nights and yet if you are with others,you will forget everything and have fun and some moments for lifetime !
Next on Wedding Chronicles finale,Poor me and weddings ! Stay tuned 😉
The last time, I talked about the guests aka auditors,today lets take a closer peek on the bride’s side.
Weddings are supposed to be fun and frolic but all this comes at the expense of bride and groom ! They have to follow the idea of ‘No pain, No gain’. While everyone else is munching and laughing around, both of them have to fast since morning, sit/stand when told, bend zillion times on every arrival of relatives to touch feet (Oh,my poor back !), smile with everyone and cameras clicking non-stop and finally when the rituals end somewhere early morning 3-4AM next day, who would have the energy to masticate even a biscuit !
The long line of relatives that arrive from far towns and villages, they stay with the hosts. Usually rooms/wedding halls are booked but if you have biiiiig house,that too is fine. So what are those relatives like ?
The All Knowers : The old aunts, grannies who are not interested in helping, they like to sit around the bride,gossip all day long, give instructions which makes it all hectic.”You are changing the age-old rituals !” “Girl(bride), don’t stretch your legs, relatives are coming, decorum is important”. All timid protests of body ache because of sitting like a statue faints. The bride has some girl friends too; its really a killjoy when they have to sit silently and listen to the all-knowers all day and helplessly stare at each other. 😥
The Temporary Kleptomaniacs: Believe me, they are from good families, its just that the occasion brings out the Cat-woman inside. An expensive looking lipstick or mascara left in washroom by chance, it vanishes in a matter of minutes .I have not been very fortunate, I lost two semi-expensive rings twice; I know the culprit but they are the daughters of sister of uncle of —– –, you get the idea. 😉
The Watch-women aka Observers : While relatives are chatting merrily in every room and enjoying the free food and ACs, the immediate family is frantically racing around, managing things. At that moment, you need some extra pair of right hands, so Enter the trustworthy observers, these ladies see that all the goods are in the right place, keep track of storerooms. This year, I attended a friend’s wedding and I was given a brief charge of clothes room, I had to make packets of several sets of attires to be gifted to groom’s family. Before aunty(bride’s mom) gave me the keys,she instructed me, ”NO ONE, not even a child should enter the room and make sure room is absolutely locked after you finish the work”. (Here,I am an adult ! Mom should see this 😈 )More than feeling proud over being given a charge, I ended in jitters over some invisible entrants !
The Loving Mothers: They have kids ranging from age zero to age 12 and it must be a difficult task to keep an eye on their heroic fights with one another and participate in the juicy backbites. But is it REALLY a matter of choosing ? In the end its all laughter express in room, hollers of tiny tots outside, stuffs ranging from flowers, sweets to decoration bits scattered around.
The Damsels in dreams : Be it the small town girls from restricted families or the working divas, they are dressed in colors and shimmers with a romance and thrill bubbling inside, what if they meet ‘The One‘ today or… even several gazes would be rewarding for so much effort in make-up and dressing! (google it to see the beautiful maidens!)
Weddings differ from region to region,class to class.What I am talking here is about middle-class weddings, so it’s not exactly what you see on Indian films where it’s a lavish affair.
What happens in the groom’s citadel ?? Coming soon… 🙂
Here’s the link to part 3 (the best part in the series) and part 4.
Onset of winter and beginning of colorful festivals and then there are the Indian weddings which outshine any festival !! While festivals aim at finding happiness, cozy family moments and thanking God; Indian weddings aim for the same in a different style. Joys with a huge chaos and cacophony; the entire world becomes a family with hundreds of arrivals of uncle, aunt, friends, cousins, bros and sis(es) and known, unknown relatives. God too is thanked in form of prayers during the ceremony or while in talks when the ladies congratulate bride’s mom for finally seeing her daughter married and all that by the grace of God !
Every wedding has a regular part and some weird additions. Customary crowd consists of impatient kids ready to destroy everything in sight (they know it’s not theirs! ), aunties loaded in heavy gaudy sarees and umpteen pounds of Gold jewellery and uncles in their office attire of bland colors (with changing trends many have adapted to coat and tie though, these days, so much for tradition ! 😦 ).
If you can’t wear red, green, blue, yellow all in one dress out of fear of being called clown, make your children wear them and they will be termed as ‘Cute’ ! And the weirdos,I will come back to it later.
It’s the season where relatives mushroom out from every corner of the region. New relationships are formed like this.”Namaste aunty(some woman), meet my sister-in-law abc” And the next few minutes passes in vigorous brain storming of their backgrounds, both the parties churn out the ancestral data until one of them delightfully shrieks , ‘Oh,so you are the granddaughter of xyz, he and my uncle used to study together’ or ‘My mother-in-law belongs to the same village of yours (every bit counts !) ‘; you will be surprised to find even lengthier inventions of new-found relations. Frankly, you lost me after the first, ‘Hello’ 😛
Guests enter with the astuteness and alacrity of an auditor and an immediate survey starts,”Hmm,decorations are ok,could have been better” remarks a husband, “Beverages and snacks are alright but there is no Pani-puri stand, wife whispers back to husband. ”Lets go and give the envelope to the bride & groom and rush to dinner area or else, the good items might get exhausted”. After a frantic eating spree, they will come out. ‘Paneer was good but non-veg items were tasteless, naans were like rubber’ are the whispers you can clearly hear if you are standing amidst them. (Actually,they want it to be heard; Why did you eat so much then ? 😉 ) Heaven forbid if it’s a completely vegetarian menu and majority of your guests are die-hard meat lovers. The tag of Stinginess is imminent and many might start getting itchy over the envelope already gone out of hand. Even misers who have gifted around 21 rupees utter the sigh of man who lost a big treasure !
Wedding chronicles are not over yet, so many things to share, mostly laughter and some jokes on me. Stay tuned for more giggles ! 😀
Here’s the link to part 2, part 3 (the best part in the series) and part 4.
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