This one is for you, Mum!

How many of us recollect those numerous instances from our childhood, of making discontent faces at the slightly brackish alu sabzi, the mildly stiff chapathis, the non-crispy dosas, the squelchy upma, and many more such wholesome, but according to us not-so-delectable eats that Mum used to dutifully cook up for us?

Back then, little did details such as the effort, time and devotion that went into the preparation process interest us. Such particulars conveniently did not fit in our range of curiosity. Cooking was just a Mum-thing and food was always ready and set on the table for us to devour, whenever we felt the first pangs of hunger strike our tummies. What really did mater to us was the yummy-factor! 

On several occasions, no sooner than just one mouthful later, we were prompt to voice our disgruntlement loud and clear. ‘Yuck! I don’t like it’, ‘Mommy, why is it so sticky?’, ‘How many times to tell you, I like my dosas crisp?!’, ‘Oh God, that same curry again!’, ‘I am bored of Idlis!’ 

The times she could feasibly oblige, she would with a quick replacement dish. While on other occasions, she would just silently take in the comments and inwardly hope to satisfy our taste-buds next time. What went unnoticed by us young critics… was Mum’s disappointment. Did we ever realize, by just one such sweeping statement made by us, we have hastily demeaned her painstaking effort of feeding her family regularly on time, not only a nutritious but also a delectable meal amidst all the various other chores that she does to run a home? Alright, the minor compromise she has made (…if at all!) was on the taste, visual appeal and probably the variety of the dish. Was there ever an occurrence when the family faced a no-food situation, or a meal when food did not suffice or a day when Mum casually said ‘I am too tired to cook, you do it today!’?? Well, the answer is apparent.

Let’s analyze some more of Mum’s specializations. Amidst the early morning madness, as we hurriedly get ready for school/college/office didn’t we always find our uniforms/favorite clothes freshly washed and ironed in our cupboards ready for us? And if anything was out of place, the one stop shop for seeking the missing items was Mum! She magically knew where each one’s belonging was shoved away and where what could be found. To add on, home always looked sparkling clean, dishes were never clogged in the sink, supplies were always stocked up in the storeroom, and she catered to our whims and fancies.

We did begin to realize and admire her multitasking abilities as we grew older, but how often have we appreciated and thanked her for the same? It’s only when we step into someone’s shoes do we truly admire them for what they are. I am not a Mum yet, but being an amateur homemaker for the past 7 months and having my own home and family to take care of, life has taught me plenty. The most important lesson being admiration for my Mum! 

All those times when I fight back some ailment and cook up a meal to feed my own family, when all I wish to do is tuck into bed and sleep; those times when I laboriously clear the dishes; those time when I do the laundry and fold and stack away the dried clothes into their allotted slots; those times when I run out of ideas to create a new dish and end up opting for the easiest and the most frequented dish. These are but a few instances of the many, when I truly appreciate every little thing that you have done for us and realize how much I do admire you, Mum!

Cupid's Whisper!

When life feels,
...like a dream come true…
When simple moments,
…translate into happy cues…
When each day turns prettier,
…than the one, just passed…
When everything feels perfect,
…and petty minuses blur away afar…
When sweeter tomorrows are sculptured,
…in those mesmerized eyes…
When a smile decorates your lips,
…more often than you realize...
When the sweetness of romantic songs,
…mirror the celebrations of within…
When you catch yourself,
…merrily dancing to life’s rhythm…
When you smell the rain,
…and so want to cuddle tight…
When, by the softness of a sunset,
…a longing inside you, is set alight…
When your spirits get ignited,
…just by a candle light…
When the stars seems to sing to you,
…on a moonlit night…
When knowing, you mean the world to someone,
…makes your heart flutter in delight…
When having one to fondly call your own,
…warms your heart, making it glow bright…
When mutual admiration,
…adds flavour to life…
When the fragrance of togetherness,
…blinds the differences out of sight…
When you wish time freezes,
…as you drown in the embrace…
When the wait feels eternal while apart,
…and you wrestle with patience…

Well, I guess these are magical clues,
Sprinkling down, from up above…
Can you hear Cupid’s whisper?
He says… ‘You are in love!'

A day in a wife's life!

After a couple of minutes of groggily tossing in bed, she decides it was time to drive away those last few sleep bugs out of her head and get started with a brand new day!

She turns over and looks beside her and finds that her husband had already woken up and was having a shower! Her eye brows shoot up… ‘Oops… am late!!’ she thought to herself as she quickly shoves away the comforter and runs her hand thru her hair and gathers them into a high pony tail and jumps out of bed. At the same pace, she swiftly wraps herself in a morning robe, brushes her teeth, splashes cool water onto her face and gently wipes dry. After a movie which ran past midnight, the previous night, waking up early wasn't easy! Yes, now she is all set to face another beautiful day!

She walks into the kitchen, where the neatly arranged see-through boxes of provisions and eats welcome her. Browsing through them, she plans on the breakfast menu. ‘Hmmm… should I go for Samiya Upma today as well?’ she wonders holding a jar of vermicelli in her hand. By now, she had learnt her husband’s favorites and this topped the list. Also, considering the time availability and the convenience factor, breakfast usually had limited variation. So without further thought into it, she settles for Samiya Upma. 

In a while, he comes out of the shower and goes to the kitchen to check on his wifey… who, in the meanwhile is done with the upma, which she serves into 2 bowls, and tops it with some crunchy savory snack. The two of them settle down in front of the TV and enjoy their breakfast together.

Another half hour and a cup of hot filter coffee later, it is time for him to get to work. After a good-bye hug, a smile and the usual reminder to come home soon... she sees him off, shuts the door and then looking around the house, wonders… ‘Now… what!?’

Well, it was only 10:30 and she had an hour before she went about preparing lunch. When one is not bound by any set routines to follow every day, one gets to chalk out his own personalized itinerary each day. Which, at times is great… but on the other hand, it could get difficult to keep self occupied the entire day, without letting boredom strike in. 

She does the dishes in about ten minutes and then she walks up to her laptop and decides that it was chat-up time with her best friend, a fellow young home-maker residing in the other end of the country. The two connected on a daily basis between their household chores to exchange notes on house-wifely anecdotes, recipes, menu ideas, new movies, old friends, marriage bliss and basically about everything under the roof! They were each other’s boredom busters as well.

As she chats with her friend, she suddenly jumps out of the chair and walks to the laundry bag… She remembers she has to put some clothes for washing. She gathers the soiled linen and dumps them into the washing machine. Keys in the specifications, ensures the process starts and then resumes her chatting…

“Oh…and guess what… he absolutely loved the Thai Green Curry that I tried out yesterday… :) I liked it too!! Hehe…” she beams as she types to her friend. “What’s the menu there…? Today I plan to make Rava idlis with sambar and chutney… he likes the way I make sambar :)… but hey, I need the recipe for chutney… u r the expert there… .” On and on goes the chat and at the end of 10 mins, she is enlightened with the recipe to make coconut chutney with a hint of coriander flavor. She is happy! After a couple minutes more of girlie chitter-chatter, she bids temporary goodbye to her friend and gives herself a quick bath.

It is around 12. A meticulous person as she is, ahead of cooking, gathers all the ingredients she would need for the new trial recipe that had been planned for the day and carefully strategizes the sequence of operation. She goes that extra measure and takes utmost care to ensure that lunch and dinner always had variety…. As you see, she believes that ‘variety is the spice of life’! With abundance of time on her hand and with immense passion for cooking up something new, she entertains herself by trying out new recipes every so often, for her sweetheart. 

As she gives the final touch to the batter for rava Idlies, she makes her routine call to her mom, back home. Amidst the usual mommy-daughter chatter, she arranges the batter onto the idly plates with expertise and places them in the cooker that is kept on one stove, while the alluring aroma arising from the wok of steaming sambar kept on the other stove, lingers in the entire house. It takes a few whizzes of the mixer, for her to get the chutney in shape!

Three quarter of an hour later… the delectable meal is ready and is neatly arranged on the table, complete with fine garnishing to treat the eyes. She smiles with satisfaction and gets herself to clear the extra vessels that were used in the process of cooking.

Pleased with things, she permits herself to take a little break… just then… “Beep-Beep-Beep” the washing machine cries for attention! The clothes are washed and are ready to be dried… there goes her break! She collects the clothes from the washer and orderly lays them for drying in the balcony.

It’s nearly half past 1 now, and he is expected anytime. Well, she has a few minutes to kill… which she ends up spending reconnecting with her friend… who too is in the ‘lunch-ready-and-waiting-for-honey’ status! The two update each other on the lunch preparations and “wow!” at each other’s recipes. In just a few minutes, the front door is heard being unlocked and he is home!

“Hey, he is home… will catch u after lunch!” she tells her friend and hurries to greet him with a warm welcome smile. He smiles back and plants a kiss on her forehead… he looks forward for this lunch break, to be home with her for a while, leaving behind work tension back in office. The unavoidable mesmerizing aroma tingles his nostrils and he heads straight to the table to check out what feast awaits him. “Yummmmy!” he exclaims as he quickly washes up and settles down to devour the goodies. No words can fully express that feeling of joy and contentment she feels as she adoringly gazes at him relish the dishes, which were so lovingly prepared.

After the lip smacking lunch, she clears the table real fast to settle down next to him to watch TV for a while. In an hour he heads back and she is again back to the question… “Hmmm… now… what?!”

A nap was an option, but today she wasn’t feeling sleepy… she had plans to do some grocery shopping. She had a list made out which she tears out from the notebook, picks up her handbag and she rides her way to the super market. She spends an hour and a half there fetching every item she has mentioned in her list, making sure she got the best deal available. On her way back home, fresh carrots in a roadside veggie stall catch her attention… she halts! “Carrots!!!” she mentally exclaims. He loved Carrot Halwa and she had just discussed the recipe with her friend the previous day… yes, she would try her hand at the delicacy today!

Pleased with her shopping, she reaches home and relaxes a bit and gets on call with her dad for a fun chat. In a while, unpacks her shopping bags and puts away all the items in order.

Subsequently she recollects the clothes drying in the balcony, which by now would be ready to be folded, sorted and kept away in cupboards. Having done that, she then logs in to chat-up with her friend once again! They gossip on for about an hour, before our wifey decides to start her big project of making ‘Carrot Halwa’ for her sweetheart.

Putting her heart and soul into it, she works step by step on the recipe. A quick call is made to her mommy for some expert advice at a point in the process, where our young chef is confused about certain proportions… and the advice that follows is carefully applied. Delighted the way the sweet dish is taking shape, she hums along with her favorite music that is playing out loud! In an hour the yummy halwa is ready and is decorated with thin slices of almonds.

She walks to the terrace for a break and witnesses the sunset. She misses him. Misses him badly. “Hmmmm…” she sighs as she admires the beautiful setting alone and spends a few minutes lost in the world of admiration. She settles down on her comp for about half hour of blogging, her favorite hobby.

It was 7 and she heads back to the kitchen to make dinner. Gobi Parathas this time! The menu was decided way back in the super market and the raw materials were all gathered for the process to begin. In an hour’s time, she has completed all the tasks at hand and is ready for her hunny. She has laid out the table for two, with placemats, plates and serving bowls and… the tasty goodies for the night. And she waits for him. An hour goes by and then the lovely sound of the door unlocking is heard. This is like music to her ears and she immediately gets up to greet him. “I missed you today!” she confesses to him as she drowns in his hug. He missed her too and was so glad to be home-sweet-home at the end of yet another hectic day at work, with his loving wife!

She warms the parathas and they sit down for meal. “What did you do today?” he enquires and to that she happily jabbers on and fills him in about what her mommy said, the wise cracks her dad made, the secret joke she shared with her friend, how the super market billing personnel missed out accounting for a deal and tried to over-charge her, how lovely the sunset was…… he patiently listens and participates in the animated conversations at intervals.

After dinner she surprises him with the Carrot Halwa which makes him grin from ear to ear! Oh, she wouldn’t trade such moments for anything else in the world. She loved these moments with him. In fact, she loved every moment with him.

It has been almost 4 months now, since she quit her IT job with the plan of giving herself a break and then eventually getting into a career lesser hectic, a decision she felt best in order to enjoy and do justice to the lovely new role she was getting into… that of a wife! Nearly 3 months back, she tied the knot and ever since has been making the most of every single moment of being a full time home maker, by being a doting wife to her charming husband. He means the world to her, and she finds no bigger joy than keeping him happy and pleased. Today as she enjoys the joys of wedded life, by catering to every little need of her husband and bringing that special smile to his face after he devours the scrumptious meals that she so devotedly prepares, she feels it’s the best decision she has ever made!

They indulge themselves with the delicious carrot halwa… as they catch up on some amusing shows on television together. At the end of the day, they retire to bed. As she lay there beside the man of her dreams… she thanks god for making her life so beautiful. She snuggles closer to him and he cuddles her and whispers "I love you!"… “Love you too” she says… who was glad she had him, and felt lucky to be his wife!

Part II: Oh, it’s not THE END yet!

As we woke up mid-morning on the day after the Reception party, the day seemed promising. We spent the afternoon visiting couple of relatives and as per our plan; the second leg of our double honeymoon began that evening! We were to fly to Delhi that night and within a couple of hours, catch a connecting flight to Leh. But then, half day into the ‘promising day’ we just learnt of the Delhi-Leh flight being pushed by a day and that meant, we had an entire day to spend in Delhi! We contemplated cancelling the entire trip, fearing another series of cancellations and delays as was in leg one. But well honeymoons don’t happen often, and besides this time there was no deadline to abide by for our return, we were just heading back home after the trip, so we decided to go for it. We spent the whole of next day in Delhi doing nothing but relaxing, relaxing and more relaxing. It was only here, we realized how very tired we really were! The past few days had been in such fast pace, we had no time to even think!

Early next morning we landed in Leh to a freezing 6 degree Celsius! It was way colder than we had expected and our already tired bodies were trembling in the chill. We had to ‘chill-out’ in this weather for an hour before we could manage to get a taxi to take us to our hotel room. I lay there huddled under the thickest of thick comforter I could find and had two pairs of socks on. My body refused to heat up for the next couple of hours. The entire day, the sun was nowhere to be sighted. Late afternoon, geared up in all the winter wear we could lay our hands on, we ventured out to get some fresh air and some food. Just a few steps seemed very strenuous. We found ourselves gasping for breath and halting every few minutes. The altitude difference was beginning to take its toll on us. Hubby dear, who seemed to be coping better than me, did all he could to keep me warm. Rubbed my ice-cold palms and feet, tucked me into woolens, got supplies of hot water and besides began to wonder if it was after all a right decision to fly to Leh. But yes, it was! Leaving aside the fact that I was freezing, the sights Leh had to offer were breathe-taking: white snow-capped peaks all around… reminding of the popular Mani Ratnam number; almond-shaped-eyed cute locals scurrying around doing their daily chores; tranquility that was so wonderful and enchanting.

Vegetarian food was a rarity there. After hunting down for an eatery serving vegan Tibetan cuisine and giving our taste buds a treat, we headed back to our room. The day went well after all. Next day though, was not as good. A bout of cold and cough troubled my husband. With every passing hour, this seemed to be aggravating and by evening, he too seemed struggling to walk just a couple of steps in the chill. This prolonged into the next day and now the worried wifey, suggested we go to a doc. We switched roles and now I was the care-taker and he, the patient! Mid next day, we met a physician, who diagnosed his condition as AMS – Acute Mountain Sickness! Whoa, after our round of Sea sickness, Air sickness and now as if to fill the void, here comes Mountain sickness! He assured us that it’s pretty normal for tourists to fall prey to AMS and it’s caused due to the high altitude of Leh. He spoke us out of our plan of wanting to return sooner than our 6-day stay in Leh. As adviced we hung on and tried to enjoy the remaining two days, which seemed the longest from among our vacation days.

Finally, it was the night proceeding to out departure from Leh and soon we were flying to lower familiar grounds. We were so glad we made it through till the last day, without much difficulty in spite of falling sick.

Well, if you think this was the end of our adventure… you are in for more surprises! We get that wretched news again… our flight to Delhi is delayed by an hour! This meant we were left with just about enough time to catch the connecting flight to Pune. Hope upon hope we prayed that we make it on time without any further delay.

No points for guessing… yes, as luck would have it, the flight delayed further by twenty minutes and also the baggage collection took ages, we missed our connecting flight and were left stranded and stressed out in Delhi! Oh my… talk about getting jinxed!

Weary of running behind time last two weeks, we just let it go by for the next hour or so, and did nothing but just sit sipping on some cola. Eventually we started working out options to get home at the earliest. Flight tickets for the same day were sky high and train tickets were not available. Hmmm… after another hour of juggling alternatives, my husband ventured onto the various airlines’ kiosks to try his luck. Unexpectedly, I soon got a call from him saying he has got amazingly cheap tickets in a flight which was to take off in another two hours! I learnt some cancellations happened and there were few seats available and we were lucky to get hold of two of them! I still cannot pin point which lucky star smiled upon us that moment.

We hurried our way to the check-in, where we met with some confused officials who seem to be mixed up about the flight details, since this was a cancelled and re-scheduled flight, the details were not clear to them. For a second they even told us there is no such flight! Our fingers were never uncrossed. After much clarification, they cleared out tickets and at last let us board the flight.  

The biggest surprise came as we hopped onto the aircraft and checked for our seat numbers… we find them to be in the Business Class! :) So much for the anxiety and trouble we had to go through for these seats. We travelled back to Pune in comfort and style!

In an hour and a half we had a glimpse of the aerial view of Pune. I was finally… oh finally reaching my new home. The sense of relief and excitement that flooded through me, took precedence over every other emotion. Hubby dear, looked at me and smiled. After all that we went through, each and every adventure and hurdle that was thrown at us, we were glad we faced it all, together.

As the flight prepared for landing, he warmly took my hand and said ‘Welcome to Pune’! :)

Part I: The Hunnymoon saga!

My life as Mrs. Shirali began on the 29th of October 2010. Every little thing was perfect about the day and my heart swells with ecstacy, each time I think of the way things unfolded.

A couple of days after the momentous day, we flew to the Andaman’s for our Honeymoon. This was the first of the two trips of the double honeymoon that we had planned out for ourselves, before we finally made our way home in Pune, to start our domestic lives together. Two weeks of touring excited us. Little did we know that the excitement in store was more than double, in fact… much more than expected!

The Havelock Island, in Andaman was our chosen retreat. Oh boy, was it some treat to our eyes! The ambiance was absolutely serene and beautiful. Just the kind of place the romantic-dreamer me had dreamt up of going to, with my sweetheart. I couldn’t help but recollect a poem from my collection, dated early 2004 (…6.5 yrs back!!), and be awed at how absolutely realistic the poem seemed today, to every word in it as if written while at Havelock with my husband! Sigh… guess its serendipity!

Moments

(May 3rd 2004)

They walked together,

Hand in hand,

Leaving behind footprints,

On the beach sand.

Moonlight smiled upon them,

As the water kissed their feet,

Cool breeze ruffled their hair,

A lovely tête-à-tête.

She nestled her head,

On his shoulder,

Looking at the vast stretch of blue.

The moment was beautiful,

The timing was perfect,

And he whispered, ‘I love you...’

She smiled and looked,

At his handsome face.

She loved him too,

And told him so.

As they begin their new life,

As husband and wife,

They are glad they have each other,

For now and forever!

In the wee hours of the day that we were to leave the island, we stood by the beach; completely in awe of the loveliness… we noticed the water level to be much higher and the breeze much stronger than the days prior. Nothing alarmed us though; we were absolutely smitten at Havelock and would have loved to stay on longer than our scheduled plan of 5 days at the heavenly paradise. As if providence heard us, all of a sudden our timetabled schedule began to take a new route.

As per the scheduled trip, Andaman was a 5+1 days plan, 5 days in Havelock and a day in Port Blair before we caught our flight back to Chennai the next day. And the same night, we were to travel to Bangalore for our second reception hosted on the 7th of November, which was the following Sunday.

Now, as we stood in our 5th morning at Havelock with 11’o clock ferry tickets to Port Blair, we were informed of a predicted Cyclonic Storm causing rough waters, due to which all ferries were being cancelled, to and fro Havelock. That left us stranded in Havelock for at least another day. And the plan was such that, if we were to catch our early morn flight from Port Blair to Chennai the following day, we should have been on that ferry today! To add on, there was just one ferry per day shuttling between Havelock and Port Blair. The next day too, our ferry ride to Port Blair was not promised, since no one could really predict the schedule of the Cyclone! We were left with no choice but to re-schedule our return fight to Chennai. After a lot of discussions with families back home, and considering Mr.Cyclone’s likeliness to linger on at Havelock for longer than a day, it was decided to push our return by not a day but 2 days to avoid likely further postponement. According to this new plan, we land in Chennai on the 7th, the evening of which, we were hosting a Reception party in Bangalore! From Chennai, the two of us would join my brother and a friend who were driving down by car to Bangalore that morning. This meant we would be just a couple of hours early for our own party! The relaxed pre-planned schedule was just beginning to look action-packed on paper…! We could just wait and watch how it would materialize…

Well, now that we had an additional day in the paradise island, we decided to make the most of it. Without missing another minute, we zoomed around in our rented Honda Activa exploring the divinely lovely roadways and hidden beaches… so scenic, so beautiful… getting an extra day to enjoy this awesomeness was truly a blessing in disguise!

The next day, we woke up real early to make it on time to the specially arranged Ferry to Port Blair. We were told it was on first come first serve basis. And since a lot of people were marooned in Havelock, the Ferries could get crowded soon. Upon checking out from our beautiful bamboo cottage, we reached the ferry boarding point with bag and baggage, just to learn… that again all the ferries for the day have been cancelled, but if the rough water calms down a bit, the ferry could come in by early afternoon!

Wow…now we were in trouble! We could not afford to lose another day… the Reception deadline kept popping into our minds with every passing hour! We just prayed that the sea would calm down a bit in a while, to allow the Ferry come along to take us back to Port Blair. There was nothing more we could do… hence, we decided to let our hair down and enjoy our last few hrs (…hopefully!) in Havelock. From a nearby shop, we bought a cozy looking hammock and headed straight to the beach…! The water had receded drastically, and there was an eerie silence owing to the missing splashing of waves. However, our holiday mood not having receded much, we put up our hammock and comfortably snuggled in and enjoyed the few moments by the sea side!

In about an hour or so, we headed back to check on the status of our ferry. Well, good news! 3 Ferries were expected to come in a while. We sat there and waited. And soon, the lovely sight of an approaching ferry made us smile… yes; though we loved this island and loved our extended holiday time… we were anxious to move forth with our other plans too. We were soon seated inside and finally sailing. But the joy of finally getting onto the much awaited ferry was short lived as both of us fell prey to the rough seas and threw up owing to sea sickness!

After the 1 hr’s ride …what seemed like eternity… we finally docked at Port Blair and headed straight to a hotel and checked in for the night. A day and a half that we had in Port Blair; was utilized to explore the places of interest the capital city had to offer. The day was pleasant and we went to bed hopeful of getting home soon the next day – the day of the Reception.

At the airport, we are welcomed with the (not-so-welcoming) news that our flight to Chennai had been delayed by an hour. This day, every single hour counted. As soon as we landed in Chennai, we were to get onto the car and get going to Bangalore. So an hour meant a lot! Working out options, we booked flight tickets from Chennai for the two of us, as it would give us a couple extra hours in Bangalore.

Once we boarded the flight, we felt at ease, we were finally getting home. Or so we thought! The flight was smooth… until we neared Chennai. All of a sudden, the brightness outside, dimmed and all we could see was clouds and more clouds. The turbulence gifted me with tummy churning air sickness. I sat there gripping tightly at the armrests, with eyes tightly shut, praying for this not to be my last flight ever! It was that scary! The pilot struggled to stay in control and the attempt to land was futile. With a final heave, the pilot pushed the aircraft above the thick clouds and we heard them announce that owing to storm condition in Chennai, the flight was being diverted to Bangalore for a while and would return after a while. ‘Wow, did God hear our prayers?’ we thought, as we looked at each other questioningly. We were landing in Bangalore sooner than we thought! Eventually we learnt, this was not a shortcut… but was just another long chapter of this long saga!

The flight landed in Bangalore soon, alright. But little did we know then that our request to let us get off was going to take much longer than the duration of the flight itself! The airlines officials had to run through some security checks and get permission to let passengers get off, off schedule. Sounded simple, but this took ages! Meanwhile, we had asked family to cancel our tickets from Chennai to Bangalore, which thankfully was done on time and hence with full reimbursement. But my brother and his friend, still waited in Chennai just to confirm that we really did get off that aircraft in Bangalore for sure and not get forced to fly back to Chennai. Because, if we are not allowed to get off, and if they too start their drive, we wouldn’t have any means of transportation from Chennai to Bangalore, having just cancelled our flight tickets! Things were so messed up by now, and we were too tired to even curse our unlucky stars!

We were stranded in the aircraft for 2 hours before they let us go. After what felt nothing short of a mini hijack experience, we finally made our way through the exit of the airport where we were so glad to be reunited with and greeted by family! The two hours ride from the Bangalore Airport to the Reception Hall was fully utilized to strategize our next agenda – buying replacement reception clothes for me…! My meticulously selected reception ensemble was with my brother, who after getting the assurance of our successful exit from the aircraft, had just begun his drive to Bangalore through the stormy weather, which meant he wouldn’t be on time for the Reception party! So much for pre-planning! A quick check at our watches told us that we had exactly 3 hours to putting things together before the party started!

After meeting the families and feeding our very hungry tummies, we set out on our mission. As expected, it was anything but easy to shop for party attire, in such a hurry. My husband’s cousin brother had an idea! He felt built wise, I was not too different from his wife and hence, I could fit into one of her suitable saris without much trouble. Having not many options left, we settled for this one and not wasting any more time in the mall, we made our way to their house. There began the ordeal of selecting the right sari, which not only fit me well, but also looked appropriate for the occasion. In about half an hour and loads of discussion and trials later, I was armed with ‘my’ alternate party-wear and was all set to get dressed up at the parlor.

Another hour later, there I was standing with my smiling groom beside me, on the stage of our reception party hall! Phew!! Some relief it was to both families, for just having the two of us up there on time. The party was a grand success. After a whole lot introductions, smiles and hand-shakes and 5 hours later, we reached home dead tired and slipped into deep sleep the moment we crashed into bed.

This was definitely the most eventful day in both our lives till date.