Shaadi ke Right Effects!

Marriage is undoubtedly the most talked about, fancied, sought after, celebrated and preached upon event in India. Whatever be your caste, whatever be your customs and whatever be your ideologies you just can't escape being a part of this roller coaster extravaganza. Without doubt marriage is THE most important event for any human being who gets into this sacred bond irrespective if his nationality, color or creed as this phenomena totally gives a beautiful turn to ones life but it wont be farce to say that the amount of time, money and efforts an average Indian spends on a marriage well and truly exceeds the amount spent in getting an entire clan married in the west.Though the purists and the critics might term the Big Fat Indian Wedding a waste of time, money and resources but truth of the fact is we don't give a damn to all that supposed 'crap', we celebrate and ornate our weddings in our own grandeur way and cherish it for our entire lives.

Then what is the reason that I am blab erring so much on wedding and fancies related to that? No wonder, I have recently got married and I have my own share of experiences some of which were funny, some of them were sacred and some really scared me. But the overall package is actually a treat and a treasure to cherish for life. Those 7-8 days or so were really nothing short of a bollywood blockbuster. With around 90-100 relatives buzzing our home, 20 odd friends who have kindly travelled down from almost all parts of the country and innumerable local pals and close family friends really transformed the event into a festival of sorts. Every single thing that happened over that period was a dream and hasn't happened earlier. On the buildup to the big event when I was busy with preparations which majorly boiled down to shopping my attires for various functions, I was bewildered with the response of my mom. All her life she has screamed, scowled and cursed me for splurging excessive amount on buying 'branded' stuffs which for her never made any sense. So after receiving pertinent flack for buying a pair of jeans for 3000 bucks, t- shirt for 1200 bucks and a pair shoes for 4000 bucks, it was a pleasant but unimaginable surprise when she was the one who suggested me to buy those expensive 5 digit Sherwanis, Dhotis, Suits and Kurtas, I was literally dumbstruck thinking this to be serious prank played by her but she has never been a prankster so it was something else brewing up. Reluctantly I asked her ' is everything alright?', on which she immediately replied innocently that ' no no its ok, if you don't like these ones we can look at other ones too'. Then it struck me 'dude its your marriage, so take it easy these things will happen now' :) Though I was still not very keen to spend that huge amount in buying those overtly dramatic costumes which I doubt I will ever wear again in my life but the lure of getting clicked putting those fancy attires was way too high to decline the offer.

So when I was still trying to get in terms with the fact that I am the predecided man of the series of this tournament even before the start of the first match, surprises and shocks were unravelling themselves at a fast pace. Everybody around, be it my relatives, be it my friends or be it the domestic helps were so very keen to feed me up all the time that it virtually seemed they are being paid heavily by the government of India to stuff me up. Moment the meal got ready, irrespective of the time and irrespective of the fact that I have just consumed something really heavy, at least 5-6 people started pestering to have my meal, and the urgency and justification with which they forced me to do so seemed as if this is the last meal available for a long long time. And the moment I eventually start having my meal, almost everybody around left whatever they were doing and rushed up to feed me something or the other. So if the aunts pestered me to have some more 'chapaatis', cousin sisters forced me with some more 'curries' and 'dahi badas' but the worst were the grandma's who tried forcing their way with those 'high calorie sweets'. The ferocity with which everybody was hellbent in feeding me it almost seemed as if I am the lieutenant commander in a multi nation armed force operation and I have to rush to take my position in the siachin glacier. It seemed a bit irritating that time but after giving it a serious though I realised it's not the time to get irritated rather these are the moments to cherish and enjoy as I will never ever be subjected to such hospitality again;).

Also all my life I very well knew the fact that I am not the most good looking guy around and my closest friends were the ones who time and again made me realise this fact through their worst possible taunts and remarks. So on the contrary when all those guys along with everybody around were going gaga over my looks and appearance on whatever I dressed up in, it all seemed to be more of sarcasm than the real praise. And all that was also a part of being on the groom's seat and hence naturally those high dose of attention and accolades but trust me it was real fun hearing all that from the guys who would have found it really difficult to mutter all that;).

So amidst all these intriguingly interesting moments which were all probably the first and last hand experiences for me;) there were also some really awkward ones too. Especially the one in which I had to be on the stage, endlessly smiling for more than 3 hours, getting clicked with each of the well wishers and making each of them realize that I am genuinely happy by their presence. Gosh! Can there be anything more difficult than this? I doubt! But now I can understand how the great Sir Sachin Tendulkar might be feeling collecting all those awards and prizes on various stages for last 20-22 years, getting clicked with millions of people, genuinely smiling with each of them, I bet its much tougher than scoring those 100 odd centuries. Anyways, if this wasn't all, there was more to come, bending down at least 200 times to touch the feet of all the elders around garnering their blessings after the main rites were over, though it might have easily shed at least 5kgs of my weight(so no grievances against all those people who were hell bent in feeding me to limits:) ).But amidst all the fan fare those intense rites and rituals actually sent a sense of responsibility down the spine and the feeling of being a part of that atmosphere was absolutely pious. That is one feeling one can understand and acknowledge only if he/she has been a part of it. The alien concepts of being a responsible husband, taking care of not only my own parents but also my partner's parents and always exercising the traits of love,compassion and loyalty were far too clear than they have ever been. In fact what the preachings of last 20 odd years could not do, those mantras and rituals did in 100 odd minutes, no wonder we have such high regards for our customs and beliefs.

So all in all on a lighter vein if somebody has never felt good about himself, has more often than not been subjected to pranks and puns of his friends and is still longing for some really royal treatment than certainly its time for him to get married. Though no guarantees about the same treatment post marriage but the attention, hospitality and high degree of accolades one receives in the process is unmatched, unforgettable and most definitely once in a life time experience. Howsoever artificial, forced and made up all that might be but for me it was all truly memorable and overwhelming:)

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