Monday, May 17, 2010

Y do Friends get Married ?

No no ..its not the pain of letting go a Friend to a full commitment mode but the pain of attending one :)
In span of 4 months , 2 of my very close friends got married...that's of course a very good news but thats not what provoked me to write all this...I attended both the marriages at different geographical locations and in different seasons.Deepak Sareen, My Infy batchmate, room mate and a very close friend got married in Feb. Weather in Bangalore was pleasant and I had no idea that Delhi must be chilling....I reached there with one sleeveless sweater and was pretty sure that even that was unnecessary. Punjabi shaadi starts somewhere in the evening at around 7-8 pm, I was waiting with the other baaratis for the Groom to arrive. IST justifies itself when mentioned as Indian Stretchable Time...the Groom arrived in a car and was helped by relatives to get to the Mare(Ghodi). The moment band waalas see the Groom on the Mare , they start playing all the songs with all the instruments possible. The baraatis including me start dancing to these tunes...after sometime even when we want to stop ...it seems we are forced to continue dancing till will reach the Bride's place. After some rituals from Bride's side at the entrance we all are allowed inside. Now the moment we(baraatis) are in the marriage lawn it doesn't matter to us what happens to Bride and Groom. You'll find everyone at chaat and drinks stalls. Aunties in their dazzlings sarees try every item on the stalls and start comparing it to some other party they attended. Uncles don't complain they all seem satisfied with the drinks, soda and cola. I had chaats and followed everyone to the dinner stalls. Everyone finished their dinner and started leaving...I patiently waited for the marriage to start. The mercury started dipping and I started having coffee every 1 minutes. Finally the marriage started and it was gr8 experience watching a Bengali Gal (Anu) wedding apna Punjabi Munda..There were 2 pandits from both side to make sure things are being followed their way :) The negotiations between both families about the ritual were going on and the marriage proceeded. I was shivering there in cold and If I could have I would have quickly pronounced them Husband and Wife to end my trauma. The marriage ended at 3-4 am in the morning. I thought I would catch cold or fever and people at office would have no doubt that I am not keeping well. I was on a sick leave for 2 days to attend marriage and god had its way to justify things :)
I shifted to Pune to join Amdocs and meanwhile heard the news that Yogesh, my collegemate and my very close friend was getting married in May. This time of the year Mercury is soaring high, it makes sure that the mortals are confined to their homes. Marriage venue was a viallage close to Nashik and 250 kms from Pune. I took the volvo in the afternoon to Nashik. The AC didn't help much but I was breathing at least. I reached Nashik at 9:30 pm after 7 hours of bus journey. Got to know that the place is still 45 kms far and I had to take a share Omni for that. 11 people in an Omni Van in such a weather is a punishment. There was a family whose children were sitting partially on my lap...India mein hume bada adjust karte hai :) After sweating all the way I reached the village. At 11:30 I reached the marriage hall starving only to know that the food is finished and the nearby shops are closed. Even after that we were made to dance in front of Bride's house....the scene was too good there...chairs were properly arranged outside her home and all the elders sat there and were waiting for the dance to begin. Embarrassment at its peak but nobody knew me there so no problem ...I danced with others. Next day at 11:30 am we had the marriage....I mean why ppl choose such a time...Hot summer day and 12:00 am ..what a combination...Even here we had the Bandwaalas and they started playing the songs...this time the guy was singing also :) I believe the occasion doesn't matter to these bands as in both the marriages they played patriotic and festivals songs :). Yogi planted himself on the Mare and we started dancing again..this time under hot sun ...sometimes "Friendship" takes a toll on u. Anyways the marriage was quickly over in 1 1/2 hr and everyone was leaving. I had the volvo reservation in the night but all my friends wanted to escape earlier. I had to change my plan and in that heat, we took a normal bus for Pune. Oh godd! it was like travelling in a oven ...to top it up with whipped cream there was jam in the Ghat region and the bus got stuck for 2 additional hours. I reached Pune at 11:30 pm ...and yes I was glad to reach back.
All this pain for Marriage...I tell you Marriage is such an event which affects a lot of ppl in different ways. Anyways ..I wish both my friends a happy life ahead....meanwhile I know what to do...:) stay away from it for the Greater Good :)