Rushing Through

I took the last flight out of Abu Dhabi so I could wrap up work in peace. By the time I reached home in Delhi it was nearly 5 am. Our appointment with the lawyer was for 10 am and the courts were nearly an hour away from home. That left me four hours to catch up with family, eat, sleep and get dressed on that cold, foggy morning. Not a lot of time if I had to convincingly look like a bride. Yeah, no way that was going to happen. So I just wrapped a pretty red net saree (in 5 degree Celsius you also wear not-so-pretty legwarmers underneath and hope nobody spots them) and put on a matching bindi to go with it. Dark circles and undone hair along....I was set to get married.

I could not feel the magnitude of the situation right then. To be fair, I rarely ever feel anything while something important or life-changing is happening. It is always in retrospect. So I was just bothered about the paperwork involved, the office work and my team back in Abu Dhabi, the traffic and so on. Everything was in place.

My mom and dad, Chetak's mom and dad, the respective bade bhaiyas and us. Eight of us in the lawyer's 4x4 chamber. Some small talk and old tales later, the lawyer's sidekick came to get things started. After the first round of paperwork we were called for the religious ceremony in the temple nearby. All of us went. The priest looked like he hadn't showered in a week. The first floor temple looked like a workshop. But we weren't complaining. And we weren't the only ones there. Everyone who cares to get a visa to join a spouse in another country in time for the bigger ceremony goes through the same process. And a civil registration through the simplest (of a few) legal routes involves going to this temple to solemnise a marriage. Of course, it's valid only if both parties subscribe to Hinduism (legalities). So there we were with used headgear and garlands that were provided at the venue. We took everyone's blessings, overpaid for one wedding photo (after all, it had to go with my visa application and NEVER to be shared with anyone else) and signed on the first of two marriage certificates.

My mom had carried kaju barfi for this moment. We stepped out of the temple and she shared the sweets with everyone. Because technically, her daughter had just got married.

Following that we went through the slow process of legal registration and showing our faces to the registrar before we got the legal paper that certified our marriage. But wait, there has to be a screw up. I pulled this one off. Through that entire morning we must have signed in at least 20 places. The final of these signatures was on the main certificate which we were made to check and proofread at least thrice before it was finalised.

Now. I used to have two signatures - a full signature that was on my passport and tax papers. The other that I started using later because my full name is too long to keep signing everywhere. This second one was on all other official papers including bank accounts. So after consciously signing the full signature everywhere I ended up using the abbreviated one on the main certificate. I realised it the moment I did it but I was too scared of Chetak's dad, who was standing beside me, to say anything. Yes, Chetak lost his top when I told him later - when nothing could be done about it.

The implications. UK home office could have rejected my application on the grounds that there was a mismatch of signatures. The photo on this certificate was so lame that that would never have served as proof of my identity. It could mean Chetak married some other Richa Bhardwaj. Paranoia levels were crossing the maximum limit for both of us. And the solution was just more unwanted paperwork. 

So on my next and final trip to Delhi, I went straight to the passport office to get my signature updated (along with other changes such as marital status). It was another long days of drama. I unwillingly realised that several government processes are managed at whim. But it wasn’t the day to complain. My work got done with limited hassle. I had the right spouse name and the right signature – ready to move to visa paperwork – within a week. Yes, I was officially my Mr’s Mrs. However, I was still one step short of becoming Mrs. Gandhi. The paperwork and government's whim won that one. 

The Bride*

One final time – I got married. The final of all weddings. The one after which I left my parents’ house and changed my life to start a new life and so on. It’s been a month since that happened. I know it seems like I now only note monthly updates around the wedding but there’s just been so much change and so much action that I didn’t know when or what to start writing about. 

I miss being able to document the small details of life. It used to help build more vivid memories. The wedding process was exhausting but it was such a fun experience that I’d rather keep its memory alive in my mind than let it fade with time.

The overall process almost began as soon as we decided to get married, which was nearly a year ago, but the real drama truly began one week ahead of the wedding. That’s when I had officially wrapped up work and the groom had landed in town. I had gone to the airport with his parents to receive him and he took his time coming out. I should have taken that as a sign of the wait I’d have to do on the wedding day.

That day on, we had extended family, cousins and other guests arriving into Delhi almost every day. 

The same afternoon was a paath that Mom had organised with some neighbourhood religious group. It was delayed (as was everything else for the rest of the week), started out all right, and then suddenly I was called forward for a dance. That was not fun. I still played along for a bit. But those women didn’t seem to stop. Most other people in the room, including Mom, knew by then that I was losing it. Daksh’s mom was laughing because she could read my expressions a bit too well. And then I snapped at one of those random women. I had to. I mean, did she really think she could make me twirl for a stupid dance!

On to a different dance: Samridhi had been wanting to throw me a bachelorette for several months now. And after much discussion (as always), we finally went out partying on a Tuesday night. Now people (read: the husband) joked that my party was with cousins but the reality was that it was so much fun that he was actually jealous. Daksh came straight from the airport. Bhrigu laughed that all we needed to ease Daksh’s stag entry was him in three-fourths and chappals. Yeah, we don’t tend to plan too far in advance as a family. But it was a success, I was happy high, and these guys even bought me a dil-shaped balloon – well, I insisted – before we headed home.

I must note upfront that the wedding seemed to be the perfect extended event for selfies. I still cannot believe the number of selfies that emerged from that week of festivities. I guess I should just attribute it to the number of occasions people got to dress up or party or plain goof around, and leave it at that. No, it was mind boggling.

Just a sample

The other thing I must note is the number of people who travelled for the wedding. Some did it for me, some did it for my parents and some did it for an India experience. But it’s amazing how many of them did it and they surely made me feel special. Which brings me to the other point about feeling special. Now you know that as much as I enjoy attention in general, being at the centre of things is not quite my thing. So it sounded odd when people said things such as, “everyone will do what you want to do”, “we can do whatever you like”, and so on. In retrospect, I liked it. 

Coming back to the events. Chetak’s family was to come home to give my mehendi a day before I was scheduled to get it done. It was a small affair at home, followed by a dramatic evening at Nehru Place. I was originally scheduled to go to a salon to get some basic ‘pre-bridal’ things done but turned out there was finally a decision on my UK visa. So Bhaiya and I went, did a lot of waiting until I was finally handed my envelope. I had decided to keep it a surprise for Chetak and he clearly can be as bad as me at receiving them. The initial reaction from clueless him was quite dull.

By the time we started our return it was nearly 8 pm. I still decided to go to the salon and get at least some work done. The next day of Mehendi was going to be long. 

It started with Samridhi driving me to the airport to receive the Abu Dhabi folks. From there we went to get me a facial which was one of the most magical experiences ever. Yes, I have got facials done before but this one was just brilliant. I was suddenly looking three times better.

Early afternoon was chaotic with the whole family and all the guests moving to the hotel where most of the functions were. Enter calmness: Ruhi Jhunjhunwala. Thing were smooth thereon. 

I had decided to get my mehendi done in the afternoon so I could enjoy the evening more comfortably. So by the time people had lunch and lazed, I got ready for all the dancing.

:D

I found Reema, my makeup artist by chance but she was the most brilliant part of the wedding. She knew exactly what I wanted (or didn’t want) and what would look good on me. Importantly, she had the patience to bear with my indecisive tantrums AND she respected my wishes even when she didn’t agree with me. Her husband, Elvis gave the perfect inputs when she and I couldn’t decide  something. I loved them both!

I wasn’t prepared for all the compliments I received that evening. It was exciting. The event itself was a relatively small affair – everyone seemed to enjoy a lot. I hear the wine went out of stock that evening. But energy levels remained high through all the dhol, DJ and dholak moments of the night. And it was my favourite of the lot as well.

The next day was relaxed (mostly). The Sangeet was scheduled for the evening. We got a little late in getting to the venue and I waited in a little room with some of the friends and cousins while the initial sagan ceremonies went on outside. Before that, Chetak and I did a final rehearsal of our dance. Yes, I never thought I’d do it, but I did dance at my own wedding. In front of all those guests. It didn’t matter much because I don’t even know who all except my close family and friends were at the event. I vaguely remember everyone cheering us on – the video certainly helped me live that moment better. 

All the dances put together by both families were super fun as well. While Chetak’s side had been rehearsing for nearly a month, my lovelies pulled it all together in the final 2-3 days. Bhaiya actually did his bit on the afternoon of the performance. I somehow always knew that that’s how it would ultimately be, but I anyway made a WHOLE lot of effort to bring people together a few weeks in advance. Data doesn’t cost much, does it?

Meet the boss. The family underdog. 

Let's take a moment for this other lady who's special for a number of reasons. For the nth time, she gets me. And she is bloody darn good at reading subliminal messages as well. So she seemed to be on auto pilot (I'm sure she wasn't and it took a lot of work) but I didn't have to say ANYTHING to her. She knew when she needed to pack her bags and get her ass over, when she needed to stuff food in my face and just about when she had to filter things coming my way.

Wedding day was a pain for the most part. Mom had spent early morning in the hospital. Random aunts were checking me for random things. I had developed an eye infection and a pimple. I was sleep deprived and basically grumpy. I didn’t want to spend another three hours in the salon. And I actually did message Chetak that I’d rather skip that evening than go through the entire process.

However, the haldi was a lot of fun. The chooda process gave me a painful enough injury on the right hand. I still have a scar. Reema made me look good so I was happy for a bit again. When I reached the venue I got loosies. Getting out and back into the lehenga multiple times wasn’t fun. And because there’s always gotta be a cherry on top – just when I were to walk out to the stage, my lehenga’s zip gave up. So then three people hustled for pins to pull that three kg thing together. Yes, I was very thankful they were there. If I were alone, I would have probably walked out without bothering about any of it.

Monica being a bit artsy

Just because.

All the smiling we had to do for pictures was literally painful. I think I was just glad someone was doing it with me. Our jaws ached. And I remember I couldn’t stop smiling even when I wanted to – the muscles froze!

Throughout that day I was going around asking everyone if pandit ji had been briefed. Nobody gave me a real answer. I’m all for traditions but was in NO MOOD to sit through an entire night of gyaan – even if it was probably the most important ever. Luck favoured me – I think he was in no mood himself. He wrapped it all up in a little over an hour. 

Vidaai was uneventful. I didn’t cry. I was completely prepared for it to happen, but experienced folks were right when they said it was all about the moment. I am glad there was no drama. 

It took us a few days of more small ceremonies and formalities before Chetak and I felt normal again. Honestly, I only felt completely normal after moving to London. Yes, I know that sounds odd but the first week of married life with family-in-law can only be limited-normal.

Stay tuned for more. 

*On a slow afternoon during my final week at work, I had drafted a welcome note and an itinerary for all my friends who were coming from outside of Delhi. Different matter that I never ended up handing it to anyone but I had signed off on it as ‘The Bride’. Of course, I clarified that I did it because I’d never get to do it again (hopefully) and it was a thrill completely worth it. 

Pictures courtesy: Friends, family and Monica Moghe

Big? Yes. Fat? Yes. Wedding? Yes Sir!

There is exactly one month left before the marriage is officially (ahem) solemnised. I am completely consumed by the endless details of the wedding. But there are days when I feel I am well on time with most of the big things taken care of. Then there are days when the loose ends of each of those big things give me way more anxiety than I would like. And then there are those moments when I feel I am heading towards a vanilla wedding with no personalised elements at all. But truly speaking, I can either continue to make engagement plans (communications, duh) so I have enough money, or I can focus on those small details. Clearly I cannot do it all. And clearly I cannot delegate as much as I thought I could. 

In this process, I am eating more and more chocolate. I have also reached the point where I cannot deny having experienced a ‘bridezilla’ moment. Still don’t regret losing it at those women at the tailor’s! *he screwed my wedding blouse!!*

Thinking about moving so far away from the family is disconcerting. And thinking about not having a job – exactly five years after I swore never to sit at home again – is all the more unsettling. 

But on the brighter side, look what I have achieved in the recent past:

• Successfully registered my marriage 
• Got my passport renewed in a jiffy
• Submitted a humongous visa application – they better give me that visa!
• Paid someone to confirm I do not have tuberculosis
• Paid someone else a LOT more to confirm that I have basic knowledge of English
• Documented more details about my relationship with my husband than even what my parents ever enquired about
• Entertained and defied endless arguments around how ‘a bride must do/wear/look like this’ 
• Gave in to many more such arguments so you can see the traditional bride soon enough
• Convinced friends to not throw me a ‘naughty’ bachelorette. I ended up (happily) having rajma chawal at that party
• Survived (I’d like to believe so) a sensitive political situation – well, simply because the only solution left was to not bother beyond a point
• Co-hosted mom’s retirement party
• With much help, got every last bit of my pennies out of Abu Dhabi into Delhi
• Didn’t forget any birthdays
• Braved an entire useless week of flu
• AND SOME WEDDING-RELATED SUCCESSES:
• Selected the invite at the first store I entered. Like a boss!
• Did ALL the accessory shopping alone
• Combed through a list of over 50 photographers to select one
• Selected my wedding dress in two days flat
• Convinced so many friends to travel thousands of miles for my big day
• Nothing bright about this – I still hate the tailor fraternity. I always will. From the bottom of my heart. Period.

More later.

For Life!

She thinks I am twisted and unpredictable. She has been clearer about what’s good for me and what’s not far more than I ever have. But just like me, she is not so great at managing her own shit. Enter Baiju Hindocha.

I first heard his name and saw his picture in early 2010 when the two of them went to Mexico for an MBA exchange program. My earliest memories include thinking he’s cute and listening to him talk in the background while she and I skyped about some inconsequential things like pretty beaches of Cancun and unemployment all at the same time. 

A few months passed before I was formally told that whatever was going on kinda had a meaning to it. I knew it was never going to be meaningless. That’s not her shit. And he knew that well.

I do not remember anything from my first meeting with him, except that she was totally smitten. A few months later, she and I had an argument which he seemed to read better than she did. That’s when I first took him seriously. 

Months passed, I heard a lot about IMT parties and events and placements and more drama and how none of it apparently bothered him much. It was impressive. 

He is one of the rare few people, or perhaps the only one, who is not in my immediate circle of friends and yet I have an alcoholic bond with. Yes, that’s a type. We downed a few drinks together on her 24th birthday and that’s when I finally loosened up and accepted him. 

Through these years, I have seen him hold her hand through the craziest of times and never once frown about anything being said or done around him. I have to admit, he is pretty awesome!

When it was my time and responsibility to ensure she looked at things sensibly, I did my best. Y’know, I am pretty awesome too!

So finally after a WHOLE lot of drama, they got engaged in the summer of 2013. I planned so much for that occasion that I just missed it. Just like that. 

But I was not going to miss this shaadi. I was almost living in her house for those three days. Yes, when the cats start hanging by your clothes, you are pretty much an occupant of the Kapoor House. In other words, every member of that house welcomed me as someone more than a guest – more than a friend of the bride. I LOVED running up and down to facilitate the chooda process, I loved being the first one in for her mehendi evening, I loved being the last one to get mehendi on my hands, I loved it that her mom expected me to take care of some things. My muscles ached from all the dancing to the dhol, but I loved every moment of it, including the slight awkwardness. 

I thought she looked gorgeous that day. My camera and the new lens agreed. I was very happy and satisfied.

More muscle ache looking for a stupid photocopier in an unknown place for 60 minutes just so I could take a print of her speech, forgetting that printout at home, having five glasses of wine, shedding tears of happiness for a second consecutive night, posing like crazy at the photo booth, telling her sister-in-law of my very own Gujju romantic interest (hic!), and talking endlessly while Lynn drove me back home was that awesome cocktail night at a super pretty rooftop venue. I ate something that I loved but have no recollection of. Show me the menu again, someone!

With a horrible hangover and crazy shit going on in office, I focused on her haldi and tried getting some more pretty pictures. I was loving it!

It meant a lot to me that she asked me to be with her while she got dressed for her big day. She had earlier told me that she considers me to be her sister. I had cried then. Through all this she treated me like a sister. It overwhelmed me. But it was so exciting watching her transform into this stunningly beautiful bride. The folks there did something to my hair and I looked half-decent too. :P

She is the only bride I know of who made fun of herself on the wedding night. You really had to be there to witness the madness that that hour was.

I wish I had stayed for the pheras. When she formally signed up with him for life. I wish I had stayed, not so much to see her happy, but to see how he expressed what he felt. 

I haven’t seen them since. Soon, at the pending photo shoot, I hope.

Here’s wishing them not just a happy new year, but a lifetime of togetherness through the real shit that will begin now. I am sure she will struggle, but I am surer that they will sail through. 

With all my heart and a lot of love,

Richa

Special Times

Apparently getting married is not easy. I have witnessed so many cases of people struggling, parents opposing, breakdowns happening and what not. But then there are many positive results too. I guess everyone just loves the drama. Case in point is Varun's wedding. It took more than three years to get all approvals. Kind of like the Government of India, eh? 

I wasn't roped in for one choreographed dance, it was three! There were practice sessions galore but they were more of drinking and entertainment sessions than anything else. That showed on the stage when the sequence which had ALL of us turned out to be a complete disaster. The other two were still alright.

But in the larger scheme of things, that didn't matter at all. 

In the past week I got to meet all the people who had made life comfortable when it was socially at one of the worst junctures. When I had no friends in my own class or college. When I didn't seem to get along with anyone. When I looked forward to the one hour in a maddeningly crowded bus just so that I could have a good time. Yes, it was the U Special gang of 2004-06. And their extended circle of niceness. 

Anjor - the mysterious entertainer

Ankita - the sweet, harmless one

Tarun - the best man

Yutika - incredible combination of kind and funny

Maria - my newest bud!

Sushmit - he lives in a land far away but Twitter bridges borders

Satyam - obnoxious no more; situational humour is still his thing

Hemant - he seems to have come of age

I would have liked to spend time with Avni too. But that didn't happen. 

My parents were extremely kind. I stayed out late on consecutive nights and they were okay with that. 

I must mention that the formal events were complete eye candy fests. I don't remember the last time I saw so many good looking men under one roof. Need I say more? Actually I must. I got a lot of male attention and suddenly being single was like the cool factor working for me. It was flattering. More on flattery in another post. 

Unfortunately we don't have any pictures together and this is the best Tarun managed on a practice night

I skipped dinner to get mehendi. Some kind hearts fed me afterwards

Did I mention we all got drunk at the cocktail?

Cannot express how much I loved being a part of the whole process with all these people

 

The happy man!

A trend that got established at this wedding is that I always find a moment to cry out of sheer happiness for the couple. Done it at too many weddings now. 

In the last month two more weddings got fixed. I knew it was going to be an entertaining year. 

Pictures courtesy - Hari (oh!, thisssss is Hari!)

The 12th State

My latest addition to the very slowly moving list of states that I've stepped foot in is Rajasthan. I know it is almost shocking that having lived in Delhi for the longest time I could never venture a couple of hundred kilometres into the west. But whadyaknow! It just happens sometimes.

Finally it was Ridhima's wedding that took me to Jaipur.

I was not sure whether I would get a chance to do this trip or not, but I was certainly going to try my best to make it happen. Especially given the fact that I missed two outstation weddings last year. But a week or so before the trip, I felt that I should really use the opportunity to explore the city too. So what if it didn't come close to my wish of one-long-trip-to-Rajasthan-in winters. At 45 degrees Celsius, this would have still been worth it!

Then began the drama of not having anyone willing to go with me a day or so in advance. And God, my family can really sing the It's Unsafe saga a million times for the 100 times that I express the thought of doing something alone. So finally I sulked for about four days, and only left on a Sunday morning for the Monday wedding.

We touched Jaipur in four speedy hours including a stop at McDonald's Manesar to take away some breakfast. And after a second delicious breakfast later at Hotel Teej, Priyam, Swetha and I headed out to Amber Fort. Swetha has visited the city a zillion times and was only being nice in the heat. Priyam and I were the excited first-timers. Plus we have experiences like Ellora Caves in the heat to not get discouraged by the blinding sun. Now, we did not realise that one could take a car all the way up to the Fort. So we asked our driver to wait in the parking lot and decided to walk up. As always, Swetha was leading the pack and Priyam was trying hard to keep up. In the middle, as always, I was oscillating between I-can-do-it and oh-my-breath!. On the way up we met some goats and ignored some shady men. There was also a local family laughing away at some people who were apparently clicking pictures of a 'nullah' which they obviously thought of as a pretty water body. And I would have made the same mistake given that the picture of a nullah in my mind is faaar dirtier than what we saw there. And technically, it wasn't even a nullah! It was just a dirty pond which wasn't really so dirty.

The Fort!

The road we could have taken to drive up

Beginning our walk up!

Swetha and Priyam suggested we take a guide to get a better feel of the place and I didn't mind the suggestion. Our guy (Damn, I've already forgotten the name! - some Mr. Sharma, I think.) was decent with the stories and wasn't too overbearing. We walked around enjoying the place, singing 'kehne ko jashn-e-bahara hai' not only because Priyam had a feeling that the place was Jodha-Akbar-ish but because the movie was actually shot there in parts.
And then we were facing the Sheesh Mahal! Remember I had mentioned in my last little travelogue that Sikri made me fall in love with it instantly and I wished that I too had a palace like that to live in? Well, Sheesh Mahal too instantly came in the same league, only I would still want to live at Sikri; at Sheesh Mahal, I want to get married! :D The place is perfect. The beauty, the dazzle, the mirrors - oh my god I could insert an html heart here!

My louley ladies!

After being contented looking at the little place, we moved on. Clicked a few more pictures, laughed a little more, wiped away some more perspiration and headed out straight to Hari Mahal Palace - the wedding destination! Oh, before getting into the car we had a glass each of awesome shikanji too! :D

Us, at Sheesh Mahal! :D

We were late for lunch but Ridhima's mom managed to get us some good food. Priyam and Swetha couldn't understand why of all the things I loved the rotis in the meal - they were just really really soft and perfect! We then moved upstairs to spend some time with the bride-to-be who was rehearsing for a dance performance with cousins and the groom-to-be. She soon left for the getting dressed process, and we came back to our hotel for the rest and refresh process.

We were not going to be late again and ended up being the first guests at the evening function. Even the photographer reached after we did. No complaints. We grabbed the best seats one could take after leaving some for immediate families. The Sagan and Chunni ceremonies went on smoothly. Ridhima looked beautiful. Priyam got expectedly sentimental. And I got unexpectedly sentimental. [The two of us also had a short, silent yet fun war for entirely different reasons.] While I still had tears in my eyes, the two Punjabi families began with the naach gaana. First we cheered along, and then we danced too. To be more precise, Priyam and I grooved along, and Swetha did some real dancing! Again, this was as per trend, nothing unusual.

Rested and Refreshed

Swethaaa!

We came back to our hotel around 1.30 a.m., I sent Avantika a scandalous SMS, we planned our next day, and then snored away.

The next morning was to come by too soon with alarms going off before 6.00 a.m. When my alarm rang, I decided to write it off and give my body  the rest it was asking for. But Swetha doesn't think like that. Alarm baj gaya, woh uth gayi! I could not be the bitch so early in the morning, so I dragged myself out of bed too. Of course, I was glad I did because I was the one who was most excited to see the Nahargarh Fort. I had even put a picture of the Fort in the PPT I sent to Priyam's official ID in the hope that she would get convinced to go to Jaipur a day in advance. :-| [Trivia: one of the best pictures that Google throws up of the Fort has been clicked by our very own Deepak Kumar].

We were going to stop by at Jal Mahal before heading to the Fort. We spent a few quiet moments of the relatively cooler morning there.

Jal Mahal's Sidekick as I like to call it

Priyam, Swetha, our driver, and our car in front of Jal Mahal

Then came the real bitch! No, wait. The drive was really nice. Our otherwise ordinary driver got an opportunity to show us that he can be good in the hills. The drive up reminded a little of Lavale. The view of the city as we moved up was incredible, the peacocks lining the street were a delight, and I could not wait for the sepia fort to open itself to my eyes.

Outside the closed Fort! :-|

Now the bitch! The official timings for opening of gates is 8.00 a.m. (I think that's also late) but nobody opens the darn place before 10.00 a.m! Who does that! In a city as hot as Jaipur! I have not heard of any other protected place waking up so fuckin' late! It was like a slap in the face for hoping that a Monday morning could be good. Hmph!!!
We could certainly not have waited that long. I wanted to kick those boys playing cricket there. Apparently Jaigarh Fort is no different. So we did not bother turning that way. And there we were - low on sleep with a ruined morning! And if only we knew that this was the case, we could have easily slept, gone there in the afternoon just like we did the previous day for Amber Fort, and happily attended the wedding too.
I have to admit that I was getting confused whether I was there to attend the wedding or to explore the city, but one has to agree that this was a huge waste given that it was the only day we had.

We got back to the hotel, again ate a lot at the amazingly yumm breakfast table, slept just a little bit, and headed out for Ridhima's Chooda ceremony. It was a first for all of us. But for Swetha it was an absolutely alien thing. So she enjoyed it the most.

As you may have guessed by now, we had no intentions of taking it easy on this trip. So after Chooda and lunch, we went to Johri Bazaar to shop for silver! :D Priyam bought a pair of earrings to ensure she enjoyed her Pirates of the Caribbean premiere more. Swetha bought something simple and elegant for work. And I was on a trip of my own! One for some occasion, one for formal wear, one for daily wear, one for the sis-in-law, I had obviously, I think expectedly, lost it! Without doubt I went over-budget. And to no surprise, I later showed the sis-in-law what I bought for her and then told her that I am keeping it! :P Arre, in the morning we had done some chappal shopping where I had bought a pair for her too!

Finally, the be all of life, potty, took over and we all just relaxed for the rest of the evening.

We were again the first guests. Now for the wedding....

Our driver had taken permit to stay in the city for two days. Now, those two days expired at midnight. We were obviously not going to leave the wedding just because he had to cross the border before that. So we made a few phone calls and managed to make arrangements to be late by an hour or so.  We were anyway not going to stay for the pheras because Swetha and Priyam had managed to get only one day off. But managing to catch the Jai Mala was going to be a challenge.

....the baraat was late. And that is when we finally got a chance to spend a few quality minutes with Ridhima. Alone. It was such a... feeling of having grown up! Memories of the hostel were coming back, the feeling of anticipation for the night and for her life ahead was around, and somewhere at the back of the mind was the thought about being in the same place as her in the (near) future.

We welcomed the baraat with the cousins and some other friends of Ridhima's but we knew that was it! We did not have time to eat, and we certainly did not have time to wait for the Jai Mala. We all hated it, but I think I was feeling worse because I knew I was personally not in a hurry. I had an off the following day. BUT! Time was ticking, and the next ten minutes were the funnest of the two days! We hurriedly walked out to our car, got the boot open, threw in our shoes and accessories, changed into chappals, pulled out our travel clothes, and rushed back in to the women's room. Some people noticed. Thankfully nobody came in to use the washroom while we were there. Some entangled sleeves of fancy clothes and hurried flushes later, we paced out. Apparently I looked the funniest with my oh-so-comfortable wraparound skirt/lungi.

Our driver sped. I watched packs of chips being passed by as we tried to reach the border within our time limit. I died of hunger until I found some saunf in my handbag. We also met a stupid traffic jam on NH8. And then I almost fought with some random guy on Twitter too. Bleh!

Our taxi bill was the thing that actually went over-budget. It was almost obscene. I was the last one to be dropped and reached home at 4.30 a.m. I don't think we had managed to cross the border even at 1.00 a.m. And I know nobody gave a damn about our permit. Sure we would have landed into some trouble if things had gone by the rule. But then, we did miss the dinner. Oh, I mean the Jai Mala. But no denying that we were there for Ridhima's wedding. There is photographic evidence.

Mehra-Taneja

The entry to the 12the state could not have been any better than this! I will of course go back to fulfill my wish of doing a long trip in Rajasthan in WINTERS!