The wheel having come full circle; these five youngsters are
all working men and women now, attending this event was especially difficult
for the three girls-living in far off Calcutta, Manipal and Bombay .One a fresh
MBBS graduate had joined internship and had no leave due, the other, a dentist
had similar challenges and for the third, who had joined the Banking-Insurance
industry, her job was literally a nine-day wonder. Taking leave for all three
was tough but whoever said When there’s a
will, there’s a way must have had these youngsters in mind. Their determination
and sincerity paid off and each of them arrived in style, on the morning of the wedding. The young guys, in the meantime, were already in town, one luckily working
from his Gurgaon office those days, the other having winged in from the United
Kingdom a week before.
All in all, the stage was set as the very popular Bhaiya prepared to don the shervani and
lead the baaraat. The entire clan descended upon the venue, resplendent in their
trendy best, and then followed what can only be described as marathon dancing
by the selfsame enthusiastic lads and gals. We, of the older generation,
looked on benignly, but now and then, were pulled into the merry circle, while
the even older generation beamed from the periphery. A good hour or more later
(the groom’s dad having finally beaten the crazy traffic of Delhi
on a week-day and arriving) the frenetic dancing ended. In stark contrast to
the swaying movements, and with measured steps, the baaraatis converged at the
hall’s entrance and were welcomed with warm smiles and traditional, flower
garlands.
It was pretty much a regular, big, fat Indian wedding but
what distinguished it was the large number of cousins who had made great
efforts to be there, from different parts of the country and even more
heartwarming was the spirit with which they met one another after long gaps.
The magic of the extended family was palpable, the joy writ large on
each face, very heartening. The sense of kinship and bonding were tangibly felt by everyone.
Truly, a memorable occasion!!
