Random Notes

Too many things (once more) to write about.

Attended 21 yr old cousin's wedding last week. Needless to say it felt like we were getting a child married off. But she wanted to get married. I envy her lack of ambition sometimes. Makes life so simple if all you want from it is a husband, money, new clothes and parties to attend every week. 

Have realised that marwari wedding songs are super fun. There are songs for every part of the wedding festivities, songs for the bride and groom and songs for their relatives. Add to this traditional rajasthani tunes and awesomeness is guaranteed. Even a week later i find myself humming and singing  these songs.  Who knew i'd like something else that was marwari other than the food! 

Caught up with friends in Jodhpur. Yes. I have friends in Jodhpur. Never did i once think, in all my years of visiting the grandparents and extended family there, that i would, one day, have friends to meet. It was such a new feeling, even after having lived there for 2 years, to hang out with friends in a city i primarily associate with vegetating at the grandmom's house and meeting boring relatives every evening. It was worth it, even if i had to listen to the grandmother grumbling about me never being at home.

I'm a besotted aunt. My 13 month old niece has been going *bua bua bua* ever since i got here. Full heart melt happens. Of course, when she refuses to sleep and bawls her head off, i feel like smacking her. I'm fair like that. Adorable is in it's place but needing an army to feed and entertain her is another. Also the dog is feeling totally ignored and left out because the baby gets all the attention. So i've been sneakily feeding her almonds every couple of hours. 

My immune system is shot. A fortnight back i woke up with a sexy cold voice and a stuffed nose. For 2 days i walked around with a box of tissue papers and ended up with one less layer of skin on my nose. Thankfully my Rudolph impersonation ended before the wedding. Imagine the photos! Unfortunately, a cold wave hit Jaipur and the sexy cold voice was back. But you know how sexiness fades right? Yeah. Now i sound like Lurch from the Adam's family. Not sexy. Also i seem to be setting a record for most snot produced in 3 days. Yes, i said snot. Oh, and every time i blow my nose, the niece giggles. 

All of last week has been about everyone around me asking, no, telling me to have a baby. It's mildly gross and extremely annoying. Gross because your grandmother is telling you to go do it and annoying because it's none of anybody's business really. But all sorts of motivation is being provided. From cute custom baby furniture and clothes/accessories to expensive gifts. I personally believe that since there are to be no more weddings in the family for at least 3 years now, people just need another reason to party. 

Oh, and i think i have a crush on Ram Kapoor. What? 

A Wedding and All That

The sister has been married 10 days today and it's taken me just that long to get over the exhaustion. And since i've tried and failed at coming up with a blog post that would describe the wedding and how tiring/fun it was, i'll leave you with a few photos.

Beginnings

An elephant-headed god.

An auspicious day.

It starts.

Bring out the antacid and the disprin.

And a foot massager.

Behind the Scenes at a Big Fat Marwari Wedding

The sister gets married in less than two weeks and while things have been a little crazy since her engagement last July, we are now close to the finishing line and everything is now a blur and slightly manic.

Wedding outfits are fighting with shoes and bangles for bag and wardrobe space, we're fighting physics when trying to fit 20 gift bags in a carton that will hold only 13, the bride is fighting all the yummy winter food and trying to stay in shape, the hugely pregnant sister-in-law is fighting with the universe and sulking about not being able to attend the wedding (she's also fighting with the baby and asking it to be born already), and the dog is simply fighting for attention.

Everywhere you turn there is a wedding related bag, box or list you see. The grandmother's house has been effectively taken over by the wedding party and i think she's a little in shock sover the sheer quantity of stuff that's emerging from every corner. Aunts are constantly in and out of the house with random bits of tradition they remember with regards to the marriage ceremony, all of which require more shopping (obviously). Jewellery is being reviewed and trips to and from the jeweller are on the to-do list for each day.

Tomorrow the NRI uncle and family arrive, complete with shopping list and bigger than the dog suitcases. Tomorrow is also when we start practice for the north-indian staple at any wedding - the (mahila) sangeet. And if the universe behaves like it usually does, we'll find ourselves knee deep in double sided tape, suitcases, cellophane paper and files of lists when the sister-in-law's baby will decide to finally be born.

And therein lies another blog post.

Weddings, Travelling, A New Camera, Gorgeous Weather and Then Some

It's been too long since i updated the blog. And with good reason too. I've been away, having way too much fun! Weehooo!!

The brother-in-law got married last month and this one was a 10 day affair, spanning 2 cities, 2 cultures, 2 families, little sleep, and unbelievable amounts of food (but that goes without saying no?)

And so right from when we started driving to Delhi, to now, when i'm all bundled up in bed in Shimla (while it rains outside), everything has gone by in a blur of wedding functions, changing clothes (3 times a day) travelling across the country, eating awesome food (i can write a whole new post on this), meeting a host of people, smiling for even more photographs, going click happy with a new (totally awesome) DSLR camera, making new friends from around the world, taking in some gorgeous weather and generally having a good time!

There is so much i want to write about, like how the groom drove across the country (literally - from Delhi to Bangalore) for his wedding, how the elephant who was supposed to give the groom a ride, freaked out and scampered away, how the bride's dog took part in every conversation that happened in his territory, how a cousin got her clothes torn while protecting her brother's shoes, how the bride and groom were actually on time for the reception (and how they spent the next day counting all the moolah they raked in) and so much more!

But for now, all i'm going to do is sort through the thousands of photographs and go upload crazy on Facebook!