Old times sake

Another trip to Bangalore, but it was for just two days and we were exhausted by the time we returned to Chennai on Sunday morning. Vasant and me had been planning to attend Sunil’s marriage in Delhi and had gone to the extent of coaxing another 5 from our office to join us.  During this trip, we had set our sights on 4 days of Rajasthan royal experience and 2 days of Delhi daredevilry.  Brother’s marriage reception date was fixed too close for the Delhi trip comfort and hence we had to abandon the North Indian sojourn.

To appease Sunil and knowing very well that he might become even harder to reach in the future, we landed in Bangalore on the 26^th March morning. We proceeded to Sudha didi (Sunil’s elder sister)’s apartment off Hosur-Sirjapur road. Tucked away quite far from the core city, the apartments in that area were huge and luxurious and for those fancying an apartment in Bangalore, they don’t come cheaper. We got the usual bear hug from Sunil who was all smiles and it brought back flashing memories of our school days in Chennai.  Uncle and Aunty were their usual loving selves, and we were glad to see the entire Sharma family on this trip. Their granddaughter - Saira, wasn’t too amused with our presence and didn’t chat up with us, but her poses for the pictures made up for the disappointment. 

Sunil’s mom makes amazing food, and so we didn’t waste much time in kicking off our breakfast with some parathas, kofta curry, aloo sabzi and sweets. We were very keen to know more about Shikha (Sunil’s newlywed wife) and we connected really well over the course of the day, in spite of Sunil butting in with his horrendous jokes J. She briefed us on the wedding ceremony which stretched over 4 days and made it all the more miserable for us for having missed such a fun filled ceremony. We proceeded to the Forum mall to do a bit of shopping and catch up on old times, and the biggest purchase came from Vasant : he bought a Puma shoe very similar to the one I had. Well its another story that he picked an ill-fitting one initially and roamed around flaunting it for a good 3 hours, before returning it to pick the more comfy one.  The lunch at the Forum food court featured an assortment of dishes from various parts of North India – Dhokla, Samosas, Masala Rotis, Aloo Parathas, Chole Bhatura, and the best dessert that I have tasted so far – The Rajasthani Malpua dipped in Rabadi. Shikha, seeing our laggard figures, mentioned that we were in a food “coma”, and true to the word it seemed to have lasted for a good 3 hours. Constant pit-stops at the coffee shop helped us stay afloat, and we dragged our weary souls to the apartment with a steely determination to go easy on the dinner. More tasty Chole and unique Shikha style parathas followed, and we let things adrift only to end up staying overnight at Sunil’s place, which wasn’t part of the original plan.

After seeing off Shikha and Sunil to Delhi, preceded by a 6:30AM breakfast, we hopped onto a cab and navigated our way to Vasant’s Uncle’s house. More hospitality was in store for us and second round of breakfast featuring plain dosas followed. Sudhi, (our KOH and he seems to be getting worse day-by-day) whose birthday I missed narrowly, was waiting in ambush and after being fed some cakes by him, we met up with few of our friends for lunch at the uniquely named “Gufa” restaurant. The restaurant is a glorified version of “Rainforest” Adyar restaurant and the decor (including the waiters’ attire) was well done to heighten the feeling of being in a cave located in the Afghan North-Western province.

Vasant was gung-ho about the shopping and I had serious problems in walking after all the food that we have been consuming. We roamed the MG and Brigade roads doing a bit of shopping, and not before long we seated ourselves @ the “Donut Baker” – the best doughnuts in the whole world. (Pardon the exaggeration - I have tasted doughnuts elsewhere as well. But the truth is the ones in Blore beat Krispy Kreme hands down.) After having spent nearly 4 hours on the prowl in the shopping malls and lanes, we went to our usual SLV for typical Kannada food. In all this mayhem, we just assumed that our train was scheduled for 10:45PM, and on the way to the station I realized that it wasn’t. In fact, our train wouldn’t leave Blore at least until 11:45PM, which meant we had to kill time at a rather spacious restaurant where we were the only customers to be attended to. We were absolutely shameless in sharing one coffee pot, while watching the IPL game on a giant screen...all for Rs.29, ie until it was time to catch our train.

Thus ended another eventful, fun-filled and nostalgic rail-trip.

Brother's Wedding and Reception

The entire cycle, starting from the exchange of horoscopes to the actual wedding, was all done in a month. It helped that there were clear demarcations in the responsibilities – wedding ceremony to be arranged by the bride’s side and the reception by the groom’s side. As usual, there were apprehensions if there were would be adequate time to do all the necessary arrangements. Casting it aside, we decided to go ahead and I promptly put in my papers in office.

In keeping with the tradition, there was an official “Nichaithaambulam” ceremony at the bride’s home in Tanjore wherein the priest prepared the sanctimonious “wedding invite”. It was the first of many official congregations of relatives that ensued during the entire wedding process. After returning from our hometown, we booked the reception hall, gave wedding cards for printing and most of all, finalized the caterer. I realize how much food plays a major part at weddings and receptions, so I took extra effort in drafting the menu personally y for the reception. While my parents wanted to have a kids show by “Apaswaram Ramji’s” group, I wanted to have an instrumental performance. My brother had seen the Saxophone Sisters performance (http://saxophonesisters.com/) at one of the reception functions and another name which came recommended was Coimbatore based “Perur” Raja. The YouTube videos of the sisters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb0VTnIA5t4 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj-Ka6qLdNU ) kind of cast a spell on my mom and she finally relented :-)

Post the official “Maapillai Azhaippu” on 4th March evening at the Chozha Marriage Hall, preparations were on in full swing for next day’s (5th March) wedding rituals. The next day’s proceedings started with a sumptuous breakfast, even as more guests started arriving for the 9:30 Muhurtam. There was one thing that I dreaded, which duly unfolded – answering the almighty question from few guests : “Do you recognize me ? How could you know, you haven’t visited us for a long time”. I was embarrassed for good measure and looked for refuge, even as I mumbled a so-so response. The priest was a real hustler and things on the wedding dais were moving on at a brisk pace, even as the photographer screamed for people to make room for the shots . Relatives never miss an opportunity to confuse and add more complexity to the existing rituals, and there was more chaos and anxiety than usual. Post the knot-tying moment, the newlywed couple sought the blessings of the elders and posed for photographs with the well-wishers. Lunch followed and the heat was such that, we ran out of water bottles and I ran out to get additional supply to last for the rest of the afternoon.

The next two days was all about food, and the biggest of em all was the “Karee Virundhu” ( Non-veg feast ) from the bride’s family. Alas, gone are the days when I would have devoured multiple servings of biriyani and the succulent pieces of chicken ( the feeling reminds me of the craving for the burger in the movie “Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle” ) . I wandered off to the big temple in the evening and after the simplest meal of the last one week, boarded the bus for Chennai. Back home, we chose to outsource our part of the Karee Virundhu to “Ponnusamy” and I overestimated the amount of food required. Visibly upset about the leftovers, I heaved a sigh of relief when we were able to distribute all of the food to neighbours and friends.

There were genuine moments of unease when negotiating for prices and service with the marriage hall managers, the photographer and the caterers. I specifically requested for custom decorations for the reception ceremony and a custom menu, which meant there was no frame of reference for the prices quoted by the providers. On the day of the reception (14th March) the reception hall seemed well ventilated in the afternoon that turned quite humid and sultry in the evening. Due to pressure from my mom, I yielded to wear my suit and felt sorry for myself. With errands to run, I ditched my suit for a more sensible formal shirt that allowed me to smile while welcoming the guests. After the majority of the guests had left, we finally sat down to listen to some of the most melodious saxophone tunes. After a month of tension and tiresome work, mom smiled and enjoyed the music, and it seemed well worth just for that !!

Last Days @ Work and Thereafter...

1st Mar 2010: Every outward movement (read as onsite and resignation) @ TCS has guaranteed me a fair share of last minute rushes. Last day at TCS and the day preceding that was no exception. The admin in charge wanted my ID cards by 5 PM on my penultimate day, since he wouldn’t be in office the next day and there was nobody to back him up in his absence. However, all the friendly smiles coupled with wishes from co-workers, and the usual barbs directed at me ensured that I could tide over the temporary frustration. I cleaned up my cube and comp to the best of my time-bound ability and hurried home to continue with my brother's marriage arrangements.

2nd Mar 2010: It was next day at Lloyds road office, where I waited for a good 45 minutes at the reception before I was called in to fill in few forms and get my relieving letter. The security personnel there normally disburse the revenue stamps and the one on duty, just couldn’t locate it. Furious arguments ensued between him and his well-wisher, who wanted the security guard to just head to the source of revenue stamps in Lloyds office. But our pal didn’t move an inch and waited for the stamps to be delivered at his doorstep. Another good 30 minutes. However, the associate who issued the letters was very helpful and wishes me good luck.

9th Mar 2010: It was nice to see a good number of my ex-colleagues turn up for my farewell lunch at Esthell, Besant Nagar. There was the usual banter and few photo-ops, and time just flew by (guess it lasted a good 3 hrs or so). Actually NO, time didn’t even take flight. The food was delivered at snail's pace and some really hungry souls just gorged onto whatever came to their tables, while even hungrier souls looked in great anticipation at the door through which the waiters blasted their way to our tables. We didn’t spare those unfortunate ones and called some cheap jokes on them :-). The food at the restaurant was really good and felt it was worth the wait, and would definitely visit again to kill time (Guess that would be guaranteed for no additional charge). My farewell gifts were sweeter than the sumptuous desserts we ordered, and I should be spared for putting such a cheesy line here. But truth be spoken, I really liked what I got.

11the Mar 2010: Haven’t had the time for the fact to sink in: I don’t have a job as of today and I resigned my job of nearly 9 years. Already feel out of place calling up my close buddies at work who would be busy designing solutions or thinking of the next big idea (including whats for evening snacks or what movie to catch up after going home or who to chat with. Pun intended here)