I am the part of a lost generation
I refuse to believe that,
I can change the world
I realize this may be a shock but
"Happiness comes from within"
is a lie, and
"Money will make me happy"
So in 30 Years I will tell my Children
they are not the most important thing in my life.
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family
I tell you this
Once Upon a time
Families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era
this is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
30 years from now i will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making
In the future
Environmental destruction will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth
It will be evident that
My generation is apathatic and lethargic
It is foolish to presume that
There is HOPE...
And all this will come true unless we choose to reverse it... ( read it from bottom to top now) !!!
We have to decide should we be the LOST GENERATION ???
My Answer is "NO" there is still time and hope...!!!! reverse the destruction..save the planet..!!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The Lost Symbol –
The only ‘thing /one’ that seems to be lost in the novel is the ‘unfortunate reader’. Despite the hype that surrounded its release, the book could hardly be called a best seller as far literature is concerned. It seems that the Author is trying to carve a niche for himself in the good books of the Vatican after his first novel very clearly earned its wrath. ‘Spirituality and Suspense’ is a tough combination to put together for a masterpiece. It has been tried in the past as well but Dan Brown in the latest book misses the bulls-eye by 3000 miles and 2 centuries (in his own words).
Being a Dan Brown book and with Robert Langdon as its protagonist, it does validate the hype with regards to academic potential and raw volume of facts presented to the user. With a detailed description of the architecture of Washington D.C and its connection to Rome, the current developments in ‘Neotic Science’ where harnessing the minds infinite potential is the supreme objective, the secret society of Masons and Smithsons, their illustrious legacies and symbolic yet shocking initiation rituals and the frequent reference to various religious texts from various parts of the world are quite the read. It would be unfair to say that the author did not do a complete research on his subject. The detailed descriptions of the various aspects mentioned above are mind boggling.
What the Author missed is on the plot. There is the ultra modern and highly sophisticated unit of the CIA investigating a ‘national emergency’ and yet at various places one can find their behavior more childish than amateurish. CIA seems to have the technology to have an EMP gun mounted on a helicopter yet not the presence of mind to triangulate a simple phone call. One of the most influential persons in the world did not get a postmortem or a DNA test done on the dead and mutilated body of a person whom the prison authorities in Turkey claimed to be his son. This list of goof ups in the plot is endless.
If one has read the Author before then it can be seen that there is not much difference in the narration style with sudden last moment revelations of various obviously ‘staring at your face but you dint notice’ kind of facts. As is with most of his books there are a lot of puzzles involved most of them pertaining to symbols and its history and its relevance to the Human history.
Be that as it may, what separates this book from the rest of Dan Brown’s work is that the centralized theme here is the ‘power of human mind’. There are discussion in depth about the so called “wisdom of the ancient mysteries” which deals basically with spirituality and its implication in the day to day world and about people who knew about the importance of Spiritual Intelligence and its awesome constructive as well as its destructive powers. Most of this spiritual learning, in this case is based on the “Bible”; though there are reference to other religious texts as well. It does seem like a futile effort on the part of the Author to glorify the spiritual side of the “Bible’.
The ending is quite unlike Dan Brown. The book has around 115 chapters and the major plot (the plot to rescue the world from total chaos) ends by the 111th chapter. The remaining 4 Chapters which consume around 50 pages are like an epilogue which, to the user might initially seem like a treasure hunt but as it progresses; one can find the treasure does not actually exist, there is just the illusion of its presence. One almost feels like reading a Spiritual text and not a Suspense Thriller.
To summarize, the book is like the quest for ‘wisdom’ for the uninitiated; a maze where every corner promises to reveal a great mystery but instead reveals the location to another magical corner and the seeker is lost in this never ending maze. As for those who have actually acquired it (wisdom) this book is no “Armageddon”.
Being a Dan Brown book and with Robert Langdon as its protagonist, it does validate the hype with regards to academic potential and raw volume of facts presented to the user. With a detailed description of the architecture of Washington D.C and its connection to Rome, the current developments in ‘Neotic Science’ where harnessing the minds infinite potential is the supreme objective, the secret society of Masons and Smithsons, their illustrious legacies and symbolic yet shocking initiation rituals and the frequent reference to various religious texts from various parts of the world are quite the read. It would be unfair to say that the author did not do a complete research on his subject. The detailed descriptions of the various aspects mentioned above are mind boggling.
What the Author missed is on the plot. There is the ultra modern and highly sophisticated unit of the CIA investigating a ‘national emergency’ and yet at various places one can find their behavior more childish than amateurish. CIA seems to have the technology to have an EMP gun mounted on a helicopter yet not the presence of mind to triangulate a simple phone call. One of the most influential persons in the world did not get a postmortem or a DNA test done on the dead and mutilated body of a person whom the prison authorities in Turkey claimed to be his son. This list of goof ups in the plot is endless.
If one has read the Author before then it can be seen that there is not much difference in the narration style with sudden last moment revelations of various obviously ‘staring at your face but you dint notice’ kind of facts. As is with most of his books there are a lot of puzzles involved most of them pertaining to symbols and its history and its relevance to the Human history.
Be that as it may, what separates this book from the rest of Dan Brown’s work is that the centralized theme here is the ‘power of human mind’. There are discussion in depth about the so called “wisdom of the ancient mysteries” which deals basically with spirituality and its implication in the day to day world and about people who knew about the importance of Spiritual Intelligence and its awesome constructive as well as its destructive powers. Most of this spiritual learning, in this case is based on the “Bible”; though there are reference to other religious texts as well. It does seem like a futile effort on the part of the Author to glorify the spiritual side of the “Bible’.
The ending is quite unlike Dan Brown. The book has around 115 chapters and the major plot (the plot to rescue the world from total chaos) ends by the 111th chapter. The remaining 4 Chapters which consume around 50 pages are like an epilogue which, to the user might initially seem like a treasure hunt but as it progresses; one can find the treasure does not actually exist, there is just the illusion of its presence. One almost feels like reading a Spiritual text and not a Suspense Thriller.
To summarize, the book is like the quest for ‘wisdom’ for the uninitiated; a maze where every corner promises to reveal a great mystery but instead reveals the location to another magical corner and the seeker is lost in this never ending maze. As for those who have actually acquired it (wisdom) this book is no “Armageddon”.
Monday, September 28, 2009
India and the Champions Trophy –
“In India cricket is not just a sport, it’s a religion”. This is a statement that one can come across numerous times in various blogs and newspaper articles. It seems that the very people who are supposed to uphold the pillars of this religion and lift them to the sky are the one’s digging its grave. The high priest of this religion aka – The Indian Cricket Team, a squad of elite few who are chosen from a crowd of millions to carry on the light of this religion to the future seem to be faltering in their journey. It was quite obviously a marketing decision to put arch rivals India and Pakistan in the same group and if that wasn’t enough, India’s opening match of the tournament was also against them.
Winning or Losing has always been part and parcel of any sport. What matters most is the attitude of the sides playing. India were the hot favorites as they were ranked ‘1’ in the ICC cricket ranking (surprisingly..!!). That’s the thing with the ICT, when they start as hero’s they have this unique knack of making a fool of themselves and it has been proved time and again. This time was no different. The beauty of this game is that even-though it takes a total 100 overs to complete a match, however sometimes one can decide the outcome even before a single ball is bowled, i.e, at the toss. Whatever may be the cause, the team lost and with the last match being washed off due to rain the chances of India reaching the Semi’s are not only difficult but rather impossible(true Bollywood style).
The attitude is the most important part of any team, winning or losing regardless. One of the reasons that the ICT could make to the top if the ICC table of rankings was also due to their fearless attitude. However they seem to be loosing it. The excuses given by the captain for the defeat were poor even by previous ICT’s standards. He should have been bold enough to confess that they played real poor cricket and let the country down. Had they focused more on the game than on scoring game on television, the result might have been different. This confession at-least would have helped them score some points with the public of the country for admitting their failure and taking responsibility for it. Instead he made a mockery of himself by saying “I did not know so many runs could be scored at the backward point region (priceless..!!!).” Or “We were three bowlers short (yes as most of the teams these days play 8 bowlers and the team consists of 14 players.)”. It was sad that they lost but what was worse was the attitude towards the defeat. May be the team should be shown video’s of their previous exploits where they had played like true champions and probably that might help them see the light. Whatever be the course of action if the team does not get their attitude back on track, they downfall is eminent.
Winning or Losing has always been part and parcel of any sport. What matters most is the attitude of the sides playing. India were the hot favorites as they were ranked ‘1’ in the ICC cricket ranking (surprisingly..!!). That’s the thing with the ICT, when they start as hero’s they have this unique knack of making a fool of themselves and it has been proved time and again. This time was no different. The beauty of this game is that even-though it takes a total 100 overs to complete a match, however sometimes one can decide the outcome even before a single ball is bowled, i.e, at the toss. Whatever may be the cause, the team lost and with the last match being washed off due to rain the chances of India reaching the Semi’s are not only difficult but rather impossible(true Bollywood style).
The attitude is the most important part of any team, winning or losing regardless. One of the reasons that the ICT could make to the top if the ICC table of rankings was also due to their fearless attitude. However they seem to be loosing it. The excuses given by the captain for the defeat were poor even by previous ICT’s standards. He should have been bold enough to confess that they played real poor cricket and let the country down. Had they focused more on the game than on scoring game on television, the result might have been different. This confession at-least would have helped them score some points with the public of the country for admitting their failure and taking responsibility for it. Instead he made a mockery of himself by saying “I did not know so many runs could be scored at the backward point region (priceless..!!!).” Or “We were three bowlers short (yes as most of the teams these days play 8 bowlers and the team consists of 14 players.)”. It was sad that they lost but what was worse was the attitude towards the defeat. May be the team should be shown video’s of their previous exploits where they had played like true champions and probably that might help them see the light. Whatever be the course of action if the team does not get their attitude back on track, they downfall is eminent.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
“Almost Single”….A Review!!
For those of you who like “sex and the city” and were wondering if an Indian version of it would ever be available, there is good news. “Almost Single” comes pretty close to the Indian version of it. If I could summarize the book in one sentence it would be “Sex and the Indian City with a happy ending”. There is a lot less of ‘sex’ but pretty much the same amount of melodrama and bitching as the original American version.
The protagonist in this case happens to be from the “Hospitality Industry” The story revolves around three single women in their late twenties or early thirties living in the big bad city all by them-selves. Though they have a traditional upbringing; all of them broke free of the regional fetters in the search of a life which they would lead on their own terms. The ‘single and ready to mingle’ status of their personal life also brings them to lock horns with their traditional belief system and the modern lifestyle they seem to have so naturally adapted to. Another important and very widely know fact that this book underlines (especially for men) is that women are “complicated” so trying to decipher them is not only difficult but rather ‘impossible’. Most of the times even women find it difficult understand each other, what chance could a Man have then.
As the story unfolds; there are many instances that the reader might find that the character’s are in a state of moral or ethical dilemma. Their intellect; being the source of their pride and ego tells them to act in self interest while their heart, the seat of their emotional intelligence tells them to act in self less interest. Thus we have a series of events where there is an identity crisis between the Modern day working corporate woman and the traditional home-making women as both these personalities are manifested in the characters.
The language used very simple and straight forward and the use of humor with a slight touch of sarcasm is also refreshing. There are some lines that were really worth the read such as – “These days when women say the word ‘dil-do’ the certainly aren’t taking in ‘Hindi’ and most definitely not talking about the ‘heart’” or “ There comes a time in a women’s life where she has to go from searching for Mr. Right to going for Mr. Right Now.”…..etc. It also highlights the viewpoints of the present day youth with regards to life, love and marriage where ‘sexual compatibility’ with a probable husband is as important as their ‘horoscope compatibility’. There are some instances in the narration where the author has gone a little over board with a situation and made it look like a scene out of a ‘Bollywood flick’ but then keeping in mind the target audience its not that atrocious. There is also a highlight on the difference between the western dating system and the Indian system of arranged marriage with pros and cons discussed in depth with examples for both. The icing in the cake here is that the book has a Happy Ending or at least the reader is made to believe so and that adds a feel good factor to the book. To summarize, not a bad read especially if you want to catch up with the gossip and lingo of the cosmopolitan India.
The protagonist in this case happens to be from the “Hospitality Industry” The story revolves around three single women in their late twenties or early thirties living in the big bad city all by them-selves. Though they have a traditional upbringing; all of them broke free of the regional fetters in the search of a life which they would lead on their own terms. The ‘single and ready to mingle’ status of their personal life also brings them to lock horns with their traditional belief system and the modern lifestyle they seem to have so naturally adapted to. Another important and very widely know fact that this book underlines (especially for men) is that women are “complicated” so trying to decipher them is not only difficult but rather ‘impossible’. Most of the times even women find it difficult understand each other, what chance could a Man have then.
As the story unfolds; there are many instances that the reader might find that the character’s are in a state of moral or ethical dilemma. Their intellect; being the source of their pride and ego tells them to act in self interest while their heart, the seat of their emotional intelligence tells them to act in self less interest. Thus we have a series of events where there is an identity crisis between the Modern day working corporate woman and the traditional home-making women as both these personalities are manifested in the characters.
The language used very simple and straight forward and the use of humor with a slight touch of sarcasm is also refreshing. There are some lines that were really worth the read such as – “These days when women say the word ‘dil-do’ the certainly aren’t taking in ‘Hindi’ and most definitely not talking about the ‘heart’” or “ There comes a time in a women’s life where she has to go from searching for Mr. Right to going for Mr. Right Now.”…..etc. It also highlights the viewpoints of the present day youth with regards to life, love and marriage where ‘sexual compatibility’ with a probable husband is as important as their ‘horoscope compatibility’. There are some instances in the narration where the author has gone a little over board with a situation and made it look like a scene out of a ‘Bollywood flick’ but then keeping in mind the target audience its not that atrocious. There is also a highlight on the difference between the western dating system and the Indian system of arranged marriage with pros and cons discussed in depth with examples for both. The icing in the cake here is that the book has a Happy Ending or at least the reader is made to believe so and that adds a feel good factor to the book. To summarize, not a bad read especially if you want to catch up with the gossip and lingo of the cosmopolitan India.
The Day that Wasn’t ..!!
Now that I have successfully accepted the fact that my undergraduate degree for which I had slogged for 4 years (not necessarily studying but there sure was a lot of slogging) is not enough anymore for either the personal or the professional market, I have finally decided to do something about it. The recent recession that has taken the worlds financial markets along with it for a ride has indeed created a creator in our lives and consequently also raised the bar for employability. Hence eventually after a lot of debate, (mostly with my mom, though she wants me to do the MBA for a totally diff reason) I have finally decided to give the GMAT.
Its quite an irony to see that while the recessions was at its peak with salary cuts and no perks all lined up to make the life of everyone miserable the so called ‘working class’ that is ‘us’ managed to attend office more regularly than usual. As we near the end of the financial year people are worried about the lapse of the leaves that they so willing did not take. This has led to the so called ‘ I am not well and wont be coming to the office today’ syndrome though in reality the only thing that is not well is the leave planning ability of such people which so very obviously includes me. Thus to conclude I took a day off yesterday for no apparent reason except for all the outgoing calls from my other end were free and frequent(if u know what I am talking abt) but that’s hardly a reason for a leave.
I tried to invest my free time for my career as I decided to check out the various GMAT coaching centers, the course material and of course do my laundry as well. A skill that is of utmost important for GMAT is the ability to write a good essay. Not just write whatever comes to your mind, but to write it in such a way that the frustrated reader also gets a piece of your mind. The worst part is that there is a word limit, and I do believe that is fair as well. You can’t expect the reader not to have a life, though most of them don’t but then you cant be sure. So I start with this lame attempt to write the events of the day into a structurally well crafted blog so that with time I improve in writing and am able to write a decent SOP if required. The tone of this blog might seem very pessimistic but that’s the effect the office and a really crappy manager might have on you. I promise to improve in the future blogs.
Taking time off just for the sake of it is a relatively new concept. However in a very short duration of its arrival it has accumulated quite a following. The only sad part is that if you are single and are into the habit of reading; such a time off might end up fueling your melancholy and thus driving you into further frustration; so always make sure there is something or someone to keep you company.
The highlight of the day for me yesterday however was the class I had at the end of the day (and of course the traffic jam I was in, on the way). Finally we have started on the “Samba” my favorite amongst the latin dances. I was quite happy to begin with as my moves were quite appreciated by my fellow dancers but very soon I saw my pride take big tumbling when My Teacher reprimanded me for some audacious moves that I was doing thinking it would be cool. Be that as it may the class was pretty cool and the coffee after the class was also ok. I need to open up more to the people in the school. Its hard sometimes to change your habits so quickly but for me now it’s a necessity and that ladies and gentlemen is the grandmother of invention. Lets Hope things turn up for the better tomorrow. All fingers crossed.
Its quite an irony to see that while the recessions was at its peak with salary cuts and no perks all lined up to make the life of everyone miserable the so called ‘working class’ that is ‘us’ managed to attend office more regularly than usual. As we near the end of the financial year people are worried about the lapse of the leaves that they so willing did not take. This has led to the so called ‘ I am not well and wont be coming to the office today’ syndrome though in reality the only thing that is not well is the leave planning ability of such people which so very obviously includes me. Thus to conclude I took a day off yesterday for no apparent reason except for all the outgoing calls from my other end were free and frequent(if u know what I am talking abt) but that’s hardly a reason for a leave.
I tried to invest my free time for my career as I decided to check out the various GMAT coaching centers, the course material and of course do my laundry as well. A skill that is of utmost important for GMAT is the ability to write a good essay. Not just write whatever comes to your mind, but to write it in such a way that the frustrated reader also gets a piece of your mind. The worst part is that there is a word limit, and I do believe that is fair as well. You can’t expect the reader not to have a life, though most of them don’t but then you cant be sure. So I start with this lame attempt to write the events of the day into a structurally well crafted blog so that with time I improve in writing and am able to write a decent SOP if required. The tone of this blog might seem very pessimistic but that’s the effect the office and a really crappy manager might have on you. I promise to improve in the future blogs.
Taking time off just for the sake of it is a relatively new concept. However in a very short duration of its arrival it has accumulated quite a following. The only sad part is that if you are single and are into the habit of reading; such a time off might end up fueling your melancholy and thus driving you into further frustration; so always make sure there is something or someone to keep you company.
The highlight of the day for me yesterday however was the class I had at the end of the day (and of course the traffic jam I was in, on the way). Finally we have started on the “Samba” my favorite amongst the latin dances. I was quite happy to begin with as my moves were quite appreciated by my fellow dancers but very soon I saw my pride take big tumbling when My Teacher reprimanded me for some audacious moves that I was doing thinking it would be cool. Be that as it may the class was pretty cool and the coffee after the class was also ok. I need to open up more to the people in the school. Its hard sometimes to change your habits so quickly but for me now it’s a necessity and that ladies and gentlemen is the grandmother of invention. Lets Hope things turn up for the better tomorrow. All fingers crossed.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Twitter – the Public Private life of people…
Tooter and some of my misinformed friends call it this day has turned out to be a major global phenomenon. Initially I joined in to see what the fuss was all about, now that I am almost addicted to it, I still cant figure it out. Whats the fun in micro-bloging anyway. There is only so much that one can convey and more often than not its either WTF or a proverb copied from some website ( usually the first one u get on Google search). Be that as it way people flock to it like mosquitoes to sewage. May be its that people are getting a platform to vent out their frustration and hence come to know abt ppl who are even more frustrated then derive a sadistic pleasure out of it or may be it’s the sense of excitement that comes in making ur very private life public or reading abt somebody else’s private life and in the process satisfying the voyeur in you. In either case I don’t see any positive outcome from it. I still prefer the good-ol blogging culture where for writing one you really have to sit down storm your brain and then find words to match ur emotions and then pen it down. May be I am sounding too damn negative but that’s probably because of the cold from the previous blog hasn’t felt me but I have resolved to break the silence though.
Cold Silence…
Yes I have a cold and believe it or not I spent the whole day in silence. Usually my trips to the Mumbai Airport are eventful with me happening to have a glance on some celebrity or another. I love to travel but I equally hate traveling alone and most of my trips to Mumbai Airport, the one’s where I take the flight have been alone. What was worse this time was that I had a cold as well. I don’t think there is anything interesting abt getting a cold and traveling and in the process risking all the other passengers on board to ur disease, especially with pigs flying in the air, but WTF I had to go home and come what may I would.
Airports have two things that make it a place apart from any of the other traveling station, firstly they are very clean, we don’t want to give the firangs who land here the wrong impression, at-least not this soon, and secondly they are very expensive, after all we do want to make the firangs feel at home. Just out side the Airport terminal in Mumbai there is a coffee shop. Just 10 steps away from the terminal and very well camouflaged by a huge tree. Somehow I picked up its scent (despite the cold) and had my breakfast there for just 35 bucks. Well I was impressed, not with the taste; that was pathetic similar to what they have inside the airport, but instead with the contrast. Here we have all the ground crews of all the airlines having their good ‘ol time-pass laughing, gossiping, smoking… where as inside the ccd’s and Baristas, we find the cabin crew and the likes do their tp mostly in silence or hushed tones. This place though looks and feels shabby also made me feel at home unlike the inside where ppl don’t talk, not even smile.
Anyways moving along I finally got aboard my aircraft and for the first time in my Airlife I got to sit next to a girl or a lady. And what do I do, I spend the rest of the flight in absolute silence, contemplating what I should have done and what would have resulted out of it much like the film ‘next’. On my defense the lady was also not very talkable as well (if you what I mean).
There is one thing that I had always wondered when I am flying. Why do people put cotton in the ear’s when flying? This was the flight that the Devine chose to reveal that secret to me in all its glorious form much like what Krishna did to Arjuna in middle of the krukshetra war. I had an ear pain so bad I though being deaf would have been a better option. Partly due to my cold and the other part due to my ignorance which I so arrogantly flaunt. Touching ground never felt so soothing and relieving after the almost frigid woman sitting next to me and my excruciating ear pain, oh and did I mention there was a baby in the seat just behind me. And what do baby’s do in a flight, they don’t cry they roar. To put it in a nutshell and throw it out of the window, my journey sucked ..big time.
Airports have two things that make it a place apart from any of the other traveling station, firstly they are very clean, we don’t want to give the firangs who land here the wrong impression, at-least not this soon, and secondly they are very expensive, after all we do want to make the firangs feel at home. Just out side the Airport terminal in Mumbai there is a coffee shop. Just 10 steps away from the terminal and very well camouflaged by a huge tree. Somehow I picked up its scent (despite the cold) and had my breakfast there for just 35 bucks. Well I was impressed, not with the taste; that was pathetic similar to what they have inside the airport, but instead with the contrast. Here we have all the ground crews of all the airlines having their good ‘ol time-pass laughing, gossiping, smoking… where as inside the ccd’s and Baristas, we find the cabin crew and the likes do their tp mostly in silence or hushed tones. This place though looks and feels shabby also made me feel at home unlike the inside where ppl don’t talk, not even smile.
Anyways moving along I finally got aboard my aircraft and for the first time in my Airlife I got to sit next to a girl or a lady. And what do I do, I spend the rest of the flight in absolute silence, contemplating what I should have done and what would have resulted out of it much like the film ‘next’. On my defense the lady was also not very talkable as well (if you what I mean).
There is one thing that I had always wondered when I am flying. Why do people put cotton in the ear’s when flying? This was the flight that the Devine chose to reveal that secret to me in all its glorious form much like what Krishna did to Arjuna in middle of the krukshetra war. I had an ear pain so bad I though being deaf would have been a better option. Partly due to my cold and the other part due to my ignorance which I so arrogantly flaunt. Touching ground never felt so soothing and relieving after the almost frigid woman sitting next to me and my excruciating ear pain, oh and did I mention there was a baby in the seat just behind me. And what do baby’s do in a flight, they don’t cry they roar. To put it in a nutshell and throw it out of the window, my journey sucked ..big time.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Insignificant....I dont think so
Its quite an irony how some of the most important things and specifications in the world are a direct aftermerth of the most insignificant events.....well everyone knows the specifications of the modern day transportation is derived from the width of a horses ass that the Roman charriots were built on....i can give numerous such examples to proove my point ...this leads to a conclusion that apparently nothing in this world is insignificant......wht made me ponder at this point is a recent meeting we had with our supervisors in the US. He apparently wanted to build a team in a domain that the whole company and probably later the whole industry might want to emulate.....the paradigms set were very straight forwrd .....and it was us who would have to strive to make it a reality..
None of us take our work lightly (period)...but the continuous hype and the unwanted tech jargon associated with the team that is being built sometimes makes us wonder if its all gonna be just heat with no light comming out of it.....slowly but surely we did realise that the materialisation of the team was insignificant for us and hence we gave the least thought and priority for its formation........we were expected to build the fondation for what is supposed to be a mighty castle made of stone....and wht we are building is the foundation for a roadside temporary shelter......compared to the requirement of the original task our efforts are infact insignificant...but it is for that very reason that i believe that....the formation of this team would be inevitable....not only that it would be such a success that sooner or later it would be a standard....and we would have been the poineers of it.......little does the world realise how insignificant we the poineers consider this task to be.......!!!
None of us take our work lightly (period)...but the continuous hype and the unwanted tech jargon associated with the team that is being built sometimes makes us wonder if its all gonna be just heat with no light comming out of it.....slowly but surely we did realise that the materialisation of the team was insignificant for us and hence we gave the least thought and priority for its formation........we were expected to build the fondation for what is supposed to be a mighty castle made of stone....and wht we are building is the foundation for a roadside temporary shelter......compared to the requirement of the original task our efforts are infact insignificant...but it is for that very reason that i believe that....the formation of this team would be inevitable....not only that it would be such a success that sooner or later it would be a standard....and we would have been the poineers of it.......little does the world realise how insignificant we the poineers consider this task to be.......!!!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The WEDDING...!!!
Statutory Warning - The story is not a fiction and any character resemblance in real life is purely intentional. The shadow of sarcasm used is purely imaginary ( thanks to the fake ipl player) and no harm is intended to anyone. In any case i do apologies if it goes against the sentiments of any of the readers .
Its a widely known fact that the best way to experience India is to travel along the length and breadth of the country in the mode of transport we all lovingly call The Indian Railways. Apparently some foreigner must have run out of cash to have to endure the gruesome experience of experiencing India this way. Be that as it may for most of us Indians, its not just another means of transportation but a way of life (If I might say so). Whatever be the destination every journey made in the train always has some story to tell. Ours began from the place we call Pune Junction. We were to travel to Bhopal to attend our colleagues’s ( its not a typo FYI) wedding. Yes 2 of our colleagues. And yes it was their marriage. A moment comes, but rarely in the life of a person when one is to attend a wedding from Groom’s as well as the Brides side and we were fortunate enuf to be blessed with it.
Our train was to depart at quarter to six and we were still waiting for one of our friends to join in (there were 5 of us and apparently only 4 had made to the stationary train). But as our dearest Dr.Murphy ( I don’t know if he really is a doctor but adding a doctor to the name gives more authenticity and the dude must be pretty smart to say whatever he said…anyways) so as our Dr. Murphy once said “ If anything can go wrong, it probably will go wrong” and this was just the beginning. Our 5th compatriot had lost her way (yes ..it was a she..!!) and was gallivanting around the station instead of just walking in to the train that was standing right in front of her eyes. And as luck would have she went straight into the hands of the TT( not literally….but u get the point..) who wudnt let her go unless she produces the ticket. The ticket she didn’t have and the same ticket that was in my bag, back in the train while I was on my way to find this lost soul. She was smart enough to ensure that the TT does not let her go no matter what and from that moment it was pretty evident that a verbal duel would be required to save the day. Much to my disappointment not much of that was required and a simple request did the trick. Its funny what amount of change can be brought in a person just by showing some humility fake or other-wise. And thus began our journey to BHOPAL.
Well I should have introduced us (the fantastic 5) much earlier but as they say better late than never. Well as you have guessed by now (…duh!) that on of them is a girl and in this story she is named Miss Clueless ( its my story and I have the right to give the names as well). This is me Mr Sarcasm/Screw-Up (actually I prefer the name – The heart break kid but that’s too much of a cliché and a bit too damn long..). There were 2more players here, one named Mr. Gentle Giant(GG), and the other Mr. Sloth for obvious reasons. Mr.Sloth was the only married man amongst us and his wife Mrs Coolhead S ( S standing for the husbands name as is tradition in India.) They were quite an unusual pair and many a times I did wonder how they got along. But the fact remains that they got along pretty well.
After all the hustle and tussle at the station the train finally left the station for its destination. Now it was time for us to prove it to the TT that we were indeed destined to travel in this very train seated exactly where we were. How is this done? Simple, just show the ticket. Well here unfolds drama part 2. Since we had booked the ticket online one of us supposedly had to show proof of identification while producing the tickets. Upon insistence from Mr S our Mr GG was all set to produce the piece of paper that would prove the confirmation of his existence. To everyone’s surprise ( Horror..!! is the right word here but it wud be a little exaggeration…) our GG’s name was not there in the ticket at all. Of all the 5 of us that were to travel, he was the only one who did not have his name in the ticket and yet was the first to show the proof that will prove us guilty of ticket-less travel and that too upon the insistence from Mr S. ( Apparently Mr. S had cancelled the wrong tickets a couple days ago…..and u were wondering why we call him Mr S……well now u know)….We all tried to act super cool and composed and thought that the hypothetical chill thus crated will eventually freeze him(the TT) from fining us. And as usual Mr S’s ( in case u r still wondering. its Mr Sloth) Plans were in ruins….we had to pay a hefty fine and had to verbally console each other saying that shit happens….but deep down inside we knew that we worked really hard to make this shit happen. ( If only GG had not shown the id card all wud have gone well…). Once we came back to our senses, accepting our defeat and stupidity in not being able to screw up the situation any further we resumed our journey.
The remaining part of the journey was more or less eventless ( and we thank god for that…cas the kind of events that were happening to us, we were determined to keep further ones from happening)….we just gambled our way to sleep with a touch of dumb-charade being our lullaby. I was almost about to close my eyes when our dear Miss Clueless suddenly came to senses and wanted to talk…..and we did talk for precisely three thousand six hundred seconds…..what did we talk abt…well that’s for us to know and for u to keep wondering. And thus we finally we reached BHOPAL..!!
It is sometimes said that India is such a vast country that it not only exists in large geographical proportions but also in multiple eras ( confused.!!..well that was the intention as well..) Here one can see two centuries living parallely in complete harmony. We have the 21st century technology co existing with the 19th century ideology and much more. This was the thought that came to my mind when we walked out of the station. We had a quite a long wait and hence I had a lot of time to stand and stare at ppl. The dressing especially of the younger generation was a neither ancient nor modern. It was a mix. Not an amalgamation of styles ( as the style gurus might put it ..) but rather a confused mixture of Halloween costumes…..( pretty much like Lindsey Lohan a couple of years a go…and by the was she is HOT..!). It was a very clean station( was pleasantly surprising. I must admit…) and out side there was this huge hoarding of a Former Indian movie star who will always remain a former Indian movie star…( Its said his single hand weighs 2.5 Kgs…I wonder if anybody was actually eccentric enuf to measure them)…this dude was posing with all his grace and style for an undergarment advertisement….(apparently in a country of 1 billion you can never run short of undies…) Our wait in the excruciating heat finally came to an end when we were finally picked up and dropped at a hotel where we were to stay put so that we don’t bring the whole city down…
After having our fill of a very tasty and complimentary breakfast we all retired back to our rooms to have some rest…..at least so I thought. It did not take long for the whole gang to assemble in our room (well there were 2 rooms…1 for ladies and 1 for gentlemen…or atleast so I thought again..). Miss Clueless was all geared by to do salsa…( apparently in Indian wedding there is a lot of dancing involved and she was planning on doing salsa… and she had learnt quite a few step by taking classes on weekends)…..so we had our round of salsa lessons for an hour where she tried to show the moves she had learnt and me as usual trying to show-off what I can do….and thus the afternoon was spent dancing….for once I was relaxed as I got to dance….but her(Miss Clueless) enthusiasm was admirable……and the remaining 3 ppl…well there were sitting and staring at the chaos that was unfolding in front of them.
Lunch was to be served at the Grooms place, and it was a long journey ( long not distance wise but relative time wise…..u see if u stand on a super heated stove one second feels like an hour….) The groom was all happy and jovial quite unaware of the trap that was being set for him ( his wedding). He seemed all set to take the “plunge” to the life of a married man (poor soul had no clue what was happening…like a chicken who was abt to be fried at KFC). We met all his family and friends. One of them in particular, was trying too hard to impress his presence by threatening the groom of revealing his nick names and wht not…well the attempts were quite pathetic and annoying even by my standards( my standards are pretty low and he had gone lower)….i wanted to tell him that our groom ( fondly known as Mr Bluffmaster) was ready to get married…and if that didn’t scare him( the groom) no amount of blackmail would.
Since we spent the afternoon with the Groom the evening slot was booked for the Bride. The ceremony that takes place at the brides place on the penultimate eve of the wedding is called “Sangeet - Sandhya”( meaning – musical eve). The function is dedicated to the bride and is conducted by her family to remind her how much they love her(or at least that’s wht I think)….The Sangeet was to begin at 6pm IST but it began at standard Indian Time that is 8.30pm…which is almost on time. Mean while the 3 guys from our group went for a small walk down the road. During some random discussion Mr S revealed a secret about himself….well he claimed that he is not in the habit of sleeping in the afternoon.( In our office he is a Lion….and mind u we do not call him that for his courage….not that he does not have courage…well he did marry so that shows a lot of courage….we call him Lion for a different reason…..Lions are known for sleeping almost 20-22 hrs a day and when they are not sleeping they are eating…..so now u get the picture)…well when we challenged him on his claim..he had a very simple and more or less true explanation….well according to him there is something about the ambience of our office that puts him to sleep…and I do agree to that…he is not the only one infected by that ambience….anyways back to the story….And so the Sangeet began at 8 30pm.
As usual I forgot to introduce the Bride. Well I wud call her Miss Talented ( Now its Mrs Talented). We call her that cas for starters she is a very talented person and secondly whatever she does she does really well…which is the first point again but in different words….It was not just her the whole family and friends(including us) of the Bride were very talented in the realm of music and dance something I consider my forte( apparently I am the only one who thinks so..but someday the world will know….anyways). There were various dance numbers and songs from different members of the family and a lot of crying was involved (crying is a very important part of almost all Indian functions especially the weddings). When it comes to celebration we were second to none either. We did our salsa that we( myself and Miss Clueless) had so rigorously practiced and stare-d ( the remaining three). Then there were general dance numbers ..like in open dance floors….I was very impressed by the enthusiasm of Mr.S and GG ….they quite literally rocked the floor …though I am quite sure they had no clue what they were doing….but the effort was commendable. And thus ended the penultimate day of the wedding…..
The D – DAY - Bluffmaster Weds the Talented ( almost a movie title)….
The wedding was to take place in 3 stages – Stage 1 – the engagement, Stage 2 – The reception and Stage 3 – the marriage.
The IST for first stage of the wedding was 12.30pm and it started more or less on time at around 2pm( we Indians are very punctual ppl and so we have 2 different time zones – the Indian Standard Time (IST) and the Standard Indian Time(SIT) the STI runs 2hrs behind IST. Anything on paper refers to IST but on ground its always SIT). So the groom was all dressed up and ready to engage(or to get engaged)….the bride was glittering and looking stunning a complete contrast to her expressions that reflected humility and shyness( sorry cudnt think of a better word)…..this was the simplest of the function. It didn’t take too long either. After the rings were exchanged and pictures clicked it was time for lunch…4pm to be precise.
The second stage was to start at 8pm also known as the “Baraat” – it’s a procession where the groom sits in a mare and arrives at the mandap where the marriage is to be solemnized. And as usual it was 9pm and we were still decorating the groom. The Mare-Guy (the handler of the horse) was constantly herding all of us. He (rather his horse) had another wedding to attend at 9pm and the procession had not started as yet. Sometimes I was wondering who was more important the groom or the horse as it turned for the baraat, more often than not it’s the horse. We quickly whisked the groom out of his room to the place where the all important stallion was stationed. ( u might have notices that I had suddenly changed the sex of the animal as I started with a mare and am continuing with a horse…that is cas symbolically it has to be a mare but for more practical reasons its usually a horse). We some how got our groom to sit on this 4 legged VIP and the precession began. Now this is another place where one can do any movement and call it dance and get away with it. If u want to see hands, legs and body move in random directions ( sometimes in rather impossible ways) and completely out of sync with the music….just see a Baraat. This one was not that bad for two reasons…1st we the one’s dancing and second people were moving in tune to the music most of the time. Somehow trotting and dancing we finally reached the destination where the reception was arranged. The most exiting part was the exchange of the garlands. When the bride came to put garland on the groom we lifted him 4 feet off the floor so that she cudnt reach him( and to teach her who was boss) but we grossly underestimated the power packed bodyguards that were following the bride, she went up higher in air and put the garland on our unsuspecting groom showing him right form the beginning that who is going to be the boss in the marriage and whose side will always be higher.
Now starts the most boring part of any marriage aka the reception. Firstly u will be photographed more than a million times. U will have to say hi and pretend to know people even though you might have never seen them and probably will never see them again. And u will have to smile no matter what for the complete duration so much so that ur face will refuse to give any other expression. After 4 gruesome hours of standing and posing with each and everyone in the universe when the reception finally got over the couple were taken for an exclusive photo session…..as if there wernt enuf photos taken already.
The third Stage of the marriage was to start at 1.00 am. And since we had some time to kill we reverted back to what we think we do best – Salsa. Mr and Mrs S tried their hand at the dance for the first time as a couple and I must say they were very impressive as beginners. Now that the bride and groom had had their photo session, we thought it was our turn and the cameras started clicking. Finally when the camera got bored of seeing the same faces over and over again it gave up and so did we. We still had some time to kill so Mr and Mrs S went for a quick nap (well the nap was quick …it was the waking up part that took them 6 hours) and go did our GG. Miss Clueless decided to give the bride some company and on my part I thought the groom also cud do with some Pj’s.
By 2.00 am the groom was all set and ready to finally enter the ritual that will culminate the marriage ceremony and that will officially make him give up his bachelorhood and give the bride her masters. Well almost…..but before he could loose his bachelorhood he had to loose his shoes which were to be stolen by the brides sisters to be later returned to him once a hefty bribe has been paid to them. And yes despite our cunning plans…they did steal the shoes..(not exactly steal but snatch it from our hands…..and I swear they cud have snatched it from the hands of a grizzly too if the situation demanded)
The remaining ceremony was surprisingly long with lots of pundits reciting various mantras and occasionally arguing with each other about the order of proceedings. Well their chanting and arguments had the same tone and most of us did not know which was which. Lets hope they chanted more than they argued (i guess in this case only God knew what happened). In any case He (our dear God Almighty) might have been pretty happy that the match that he had made was now formally being accepted (irrespective of the chaos that was taking place to make it happen). Once the ceremonies over and the hefty bribe paid the shoes were returned (it seemed that the Brides sisters weren’t very good at negotiating as our groom had the last laugh….i missed all of this due to a very urgent personal emergency…..earlier that night I had 2 glasses of water followed by 2 glasses of tea at around 4am…and so I was.. u know where ..!! )
The couple then goes to the bride’s mother to seek her blessing and she on her part tells her daughter on how to behave in the new house aka Sasuraal. And now begins the ceremony call Bidai where the girl formally leaves her house and goes to her In-laws. And what follows is a crying fest. As I had mentioned earlier, our bride was also very talented in the art of crying profusely. Well there were bucket full of tears everywhere with many relatives joining in. Apparently if all the tears were to be collected from all the weddings all over India, I seriously believe there wud never be any water shortage in this country. And that was the Culmination of the ceremonies and the wedding was officially over. Congratulations to the couple…!!!!!!
We somehow managed a couple of rooms for the day as our train was in the evening and we slept (or atleast tried to sleep) during the day with occasional visits to u know where…!! Courtesy the previous days eating or the lack of it. Our train was scheduled to arrive at 5.00pm IST and it arrived on time at 7.00pm. We boarded the train and managed to find our places without much complication. The tickets were shown and seats exchanged so that the 5 of us sat in the same compartment. We were joined by two more ppl we had met at the wedding and as the case was while going we gambled out way to sleep.
The connecting train to Pune was to leave Mumbai at 8.10am and we weren’t sure if we wud reach on time to catch the train. But thanks to Indian railways we managed to squeeze just in the nick of time to board the other train. Phew that was close…!! Mean while our dear little Miss Clueless used the power of her cranium to somehow arrange for a friend to pick her up at the Mumbai station and drive her back to Pune. Apparently she had her contingency ready and preferred to go by it rather that come with the remaining 4 of us on the train…I guess she had had enuf of us…and just for the record her plans to reach b4 the train didn’t work out either……but somehow we all managed to reach back in one piece…..phew…..and that’s THE END..!!
Its a widely known fact that the best way to experience India is to travel along the length and breadth of the country in the mode of transport we all lovingly call The Indian Railways. Apparently some foreigner must have run out of cash to have to endure the gruesome experience of experiencing India this way. Be that as it may for most of us Indians, its not just another means of transportation but a way of life (If I might say so). Whatever be the destination every journey made in the train always has some story to tell. Ours began from the place we call Pune Junction. We were to travel to Bhopal to attend our colleagues’s ( its not a typo FYI) wedding. Yes 2 of our colleagues. And yes it was their marriage. A moment comes, but rarely in the life of a person when one is to attend a wedding from Groom’s as well as the Brides side and we were fortunate enuf to be blessed with it.
Our train was to depart at quarter to six and we were still waiting for one of our friends to join in (there were 5 of us and apparently only 4 had made to the stationary train). But as our dearest Dr.Murphy ( I don’t know if he really is a doctor but adding a doctor to the name gives more authenticity and the dude must be pretty smart to say whatever he said…anyways) so as our Dr. Murphy once said “ If anything can go wrong, it probably will go wrong” and this was just the beginning. Our 5th compatriot had lost her way (yes ..it was a she..!!) and was gallivanting around the station instead of just walking in to the train that was standing right in front of her eyes. And as luck would have she went straight into the hands of the TT( not literally….but u get the point..) who wudnt let her go unless she produces the ticket. The ticket she didn’t have and the same ticket that was in my bag, back in the train while I was on my way to find this lost soul. She was smart enough to ensure that the TT does not let her go no matter what and from that moment it was pretty evident that a verbal duel would be required to save the day. Much to my disappointment not much of that was required and a simple request did the trick. Its funny what amount of change can be brought in a person just by showing some humility fake or other-wise. And thus began our journey to BHOPAL.
Well I should have introduced us (the fantastic 5) much earlier but as they say better late than never. Well as you have guessed by now (…duh!) that on of them is a girl and in this story she is named Miss Clueless ( its my story and I have the right to give the names as well). This is me Mr Sarcasm/Screw-Up (actually I prefer the name – The heart break kid but that’s too much of a cliché and a bit too damn long..). There were 2more players here, one named Mr. Gentle Giant(GG), and the other Mr. Sloth for obvious reasons. Mr.Sloth was the only married man amongst us and his wife Mrs Coolhead S ( S standing for the husbands name as is tradition in India.) They were quite an unusual pair and many a times I did wonder how they got along. But the fact remains that they got along pretty well.
After all the hustle and tussle at the station the train finally left the station for its destination. Now it was time for us to prove it to the TT that we were indeed destined to travel in this very train seated exactly where we were. How is this done? Simple, just show the ticket. Well here unfolds drama part 2. Since we had booked the ticket online one of us supposedly had to show proof of identification while producing the tickets. Upon insistence from Mr S our Mr GG was all set to produce the piece of paper that would prove the confirmation of his existence. To everyone’s surprise ( Horror..!! is the right word here but it wud be a little exaggeration…) our GG’s name was not there in the ticket at all. Of all the 5 of us that were to travel, he was the only one who did not have his name in the ticket and yet was the first to show the proof that will prove us guilty of ticket-less travel and that too upon the insistence from Mr S. ( Apparently Mr. S had cancelled the wrong tickets a couple days ago…..and u were wondering why we call him Mr S……well now u know)….We all tried to act super cool and composed and thought that the hypothetical chill thus crated will eventually freeze him(the TT) from fining us. And as usual Mr S’s ( in case u r still wondering. its Mr Sloth) Plans were in ruins….we had to pay a hefty fine and had to verbally console each other saying that shit happens….but deep down inside we knew that we worked really hard to make this shit happen. ( If only GG had not shown the id card all wud have gone well…). Once we came back to our senses, accepting our defeat and stupidity in not being able to screw up the situation any further we resumed our journey.
The remaining part of the journey was more or less eventless ( and we thank god for that…cas the kind of events that were happening to us, we were determined to keep further ones from happening)….we just gambled our way to sleep with a touch of dumb-charade being our lullaby. I was almost about to close my eyes when our dear Miss Clueless suddenly came to senses and wanted to talk…..and we did talk for precisely three thousand six hundred seconds…..what did we talk abt…well that’s for us to know and for u to keep wondering. And thus we finally we reached BHOPAL..!!
It is sometimes said that India is such a vast country that it not only exists in large geographical proportions but also in multiple eras ( confused.!!..well that was the intention as well..) Here one can see two centuries living parallely in complete harmony. We have the 21st century technology co existing with the 19th century ideology and much more. This was the thought that came to my mind when we walked out of the station. We had a quite a long wait and hence I had a lot of time to stand and stare at ppl. The dressing especially of the younger generation was a neither ancient nor modern. It was a mix. Not an amalgamation of styles ( as the style gurus might put it ..) but rather a confused mixture of Halloween costumes…..( pretty much like Lindsey Lohan a couple of years a go…and by the was she is HOT..!). It was a very clean station( was pleasantly surprising. I must admit…) and out side there was this huge hoarding of a Former Indian movie star who will always remain a former Indian movie star…( Its said his single hand weighs 2.5 Kgs…I wonder if anybody was actually eccentric enuf to measure them)…this dude was posing with all his grace and style for an undergarment advertisement….(apparently in a country of 1 billion you can never run short of undies…) Our wait in the excruciating heat finally came to an end when we were finally picked up and dropped at a hotel where we were to stay put so that we don’t bring the whole city down…
After having our fill of a very tasty and complimentary breakfast we all retired back to our rooms to have some rest…..at least so I thought. It did not take long for the whole gang to assemble in our room (well there were 2 rooms…1 for ladies and 1 for gentlemen…or atleast so I thought again..). Miss Clueless was all geared by to do salsa…( apparently in Indian wedding there is a lot of dancing involved and she was planning on doing salsa… and she had learnt quite a few step by taking classes on weekends)…..so we had our round of salsa lessons for an hour where she tried to show the moves she had learnt and me as usual trying to show-off what I can do….and thus the afternoon was spent dancing….for once I was relaxed as I got to dance….but her(Miss Clueless) enthusiasm was admirable……and the remaining 3 ppl…well there were sitting and staring at the chaos that was unfolding in front of them.
Lunch was to be served at the Grooms place, and it was a long journey ( long not distance wise but relative time wise…..u see if u stand on a super heated stove one second feels like an hour….) The groom was all happy and jovial quite unaware of the trap that was being set for him ( his wedding). He seemed all set to take the “plunge” to the life of a married man (poor soul had no clue what was happening…like a chicken who was abt to be fried at KFC). We met all his family and friends. One of them in particular, was trying too hard to impress his presence by threatening the groom of revealing his nick names and wht not…well the attempts were quite pathetic and annoying even by my standards( my standards are pretty low and he had gone lower)….i wanted to tell him that our groom ( fondly known as Mr Bluffmaster) was ready to get married…and if that didn’t scare him( the groom) no amount of blackmail would.
Since we spent the afternoon with the Groom the evening slot was booked for the Bride. The ceremony that takes place at the brides place on the penultimate eve of the wedding is called “Sangeet - Sandhya”( meaning – musical eve). The function is dedicated to the bride and is conducted by her family to remind her how much they love her(or at least that’s wht I think)….The Sangeet was to begin at 6pm IST but it began at standard Indian Time that is 8.30pm…which is almost on time. Mean while the 3 guys from our group went for a small walk down the road. During some random discussion Mr S revealed a secret about himself….well he claimed that he is not in the habit of sleeping in the afternoon.( In our office he is a Lion….and mind u we do not call him that for his courage….not that he does not have courage…well he did marry so that shows a lot of courage….we call him Lion for a different reason…..Lions are known for sleeping almost 20-22 hrs a day and when they are not sleeping they are eating…..so now u get the picture)…well when we challenged him on his claim..he had a very simple and more or less true explanation….well according to him there is something about the ambience of our office that puts him to sleep…and I do agree to that…he is not the only one infected by that ambience….anyways back to the story….And so the Sangeet began at 8 30pm.
As usual I forgot to introduce the Bride. Well I wud call her Miss Talented ( Now its Mrs Talented). We call her that cas for starters she is a very talented person and secondly whatever she does she does really well…which is the first point again but in different words….It was not just her the whole family and friends(including us) of the Bride were very talented in the realm of music and dance something I consider my forte( apparently I am the only one who thinks so..but someday the world will know….anyways). There were various dance numbers and songs from different members of the family and a lot of crying was involved (crying is a very important part of almost all Indian functions especially the weddings). When it comes to celebration we were second to none either. We did our salsa that we( myself and Miss Clueless) had so rigorously practiced and stare-d ( the remaining three). Then there were general dance numbers ..like in open dance floors….I was very impressed by the enthusiasm of Mr.S and GG ….they quite literally rocked the floor …though I am quite sure they had no clue what they were doing….but the effort was commendable. And thus ended the penultimate day of the wedding…..
The D – DAY - Bluffmaster Weds the Talented ( almost a movie title)….
The wedding was to take place in 3 stages – Stage 1 – the engagement, Stage 2 – The reception and Stage 3 – the marriage.
The IST for first stage of the wedding was 12.30pm and it started more or less on time at around 2pm( we Indians are very punctual ppl and so we have 2 different time zones – the Indian Standard Time (IST) and the Standard Indian Time(SIT) the STI runs 2hrs behind IST. Anything on paper refers to IST but on ground its always SIT). So the groom was all dressed up and ready to engage(or to get engaged)….the bride was glittering and looking stunning a complete contrast to her expressions that reflected humility and shyness( sorry cudnt think of a better word)…..this was the simplest of the function. It didn’t take too long either. After the rings were exchanged and pictures clicked it was time for lunch…4pm to be precise.
The second stage was to start at 8pm also known as the “Baraat” – it’s a procession where the groom sits in a mare and arrives at the mandap where the marriage is to be solemnized. And as usual it was 9pm and we were still decorating the groom. The Mare-Guy (the handler of the horse) was constantly herding all of us. He (rather his horse) had another wedding to attend at 9pm and the procession had not started as yet. Sometimes I was wondering who was more important the groom or the horse as it turned for the baraat, more often than not it’s the horse. We quickly whisked the groom out of his room to the place where the all important stallion was stationed. ( u might have notices that I had suddenly changed the sex of the animal as I started with a mare and am continuing with a horse…that is cas symbolically it has to be a mare but for more practical reasons its usually a horse). We some how got our groom to sit on this 4 legged VIP and the precession began. Now this is another place where one can do any movement and call it dance and get away with it. If u want to see hands, legs and body move in random directions ( sometimes in rather impossible ways) and completely out of sync with the music….just see a Baraat. This one was not that bad for two reasons…1st we the one’s dancing and second people were moving in tune to the music most of the time. Somehow trotting and dancing we finally reached the destination where the reception was arranged. The most exiting part was the exchange of the garlands. When the bride came to put garland on the groom we lifted him 4 feet off the floor so that she cudnt reach him( and to teach her who was boss) but we grossly underestimated the power packed bodyguards that were following the bride, she went up higher in air and put the garland on our unsuspecting groom showing him right form the beginning that who is going to be the boss in the marriage and whose side will always be higher.
Now starts the most boring part of any marriage aka the reception. Firstly u will be photographed more than a million times. U will have to say hi and pretend to know people even though you might have never seen them and probably will never see them again. And u will have to smile no matter what for the complete duration so much so that ur face will refuse to give any other expression. After 4 gruesome hours of standing and posing with each and everyone in the universe when the reception finally got over the couple were taken for an exclusive photo session…..as if there wernt enuf photos taken already.
The third Stage of the marriage was to start at 1.00 am. And since we had some time to kill we reverted back to what we think we do best – Salsa. Mr and Mrs S tried their hand at the dance for the first time as a couple and I must say they were very impressive as beginners. Now that the bride and groom had had their photo session, we thought it was our turn and the cameras started clicking. Finally when the camera got bored of seeing the same faces over and over again it gave up and so did we. We still had some time to kill so Mr and Mrs S went for a quick nap (well the nap was quick …it was the waking up part that took them 6 hours) and go did our GG. Miss Clueless decided to give the bride some company and on my part I thought the groom also cud do with some Pj’s.
By 2.00 am the groom was all set and ready to finally enter the ritual that will culminate the marriage ceremony and that will officially make him give up his bachelorhood and give the bride her masters. Well almost…..but before he could loose his bachelorhood he had to loose his shoes which were to be stolen by the brides sisters to be later returned to him once a hefty bribe has been paid to them. And yes despite our cunning plans…they did steal the shoes..(not exactly steal but snatch it from our hands…..and I swear they cud have snatched it from the hands of a grizzly too if the situation demanded)
The remaining ceremony was surprisingly long with lots of pundits reciting various mantras and occasionally arguing with each other about the order of proceedings. Well their chanting and arguments had the same tone and most of us did not know which was which. Lets hope they chanted more than they argued (i guess in this case only God knew what happened). In any case He (our dear God Almighty) might have been pretty happy that the match that he had made was now formally being accepted (irrespective of the chaos that was taking place to make it happen). Once the ceremonies over and the hefty bribe paid the shoes were returned (it seemed that the Brides sisters weren’t very good at negotiating as our groom had the last laugh….i missed all of this due to a very urgent personal emergency…..earlier that night I had 2 glasses of water followed by 2 glasses of tea at around 4am…and so I was.. u know where ..!! )
The couple then goes to the bride’s mother to seek her blessing and she on her part tells her daughter on how to behave in the new house aka Sasuraal. And now begins the ceremony call Bidai where the girl formally leaves her house and goes to her In-laws. And what follows is a crying fest. As I had mentioned earlier, our bride was also very talented in the art of crying profusely. Well there were bucket full of tears everywhere with many relatives joining in. Apparently if all the tears were to be collected from all the weddings all over India, I seriously believe there wud never be any water shortage in this country. And that was the Culmination of the ceremonies and the wedding was officially over. Congratulations to the couple…!!!!!!
We somehow managed a couple of rooms for the day as our train was in the evening and we slept (or atleast tried to sleep) during the day with occasional visits to u know where…!! Courtesy the previous days eating or the lack of it. Our train was scheduled to arrive at 5.00pm IST and it arrived on time at 7.00pm. We boarded the train and managed to find our places without much complication. The tickets were shown and seats exchanged so that the 5 of us sat in the same compartment. We were joined by two more ppl we had met at the wedding and as the case was while going we gambled out way to sleep.
The connecting train to Pune was to leave Mumbai at 8.10am and we weren’t sure if we wud reach on time to catch the train. But thanks to Indian railways we managed to squeeze just in the nick of time to board the other train. Phew that was close…!! Mean while our dear little Miss Clueless used the power of her cranium to somehow arrange for a friend to pick her up at the Mumbai station and drive her back to Pune. Apparently she had her contingency ready and preferred to go by it rather that come with the remaining 4 of us on the train…I guess she had had enuf of us…and just for the record her plans to reach b4 the train didn’t work out either……but somehow we all managed to reach back in one piece…..phew…..and that’s THE END..!!
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