A typical Indian Wedding!

   I rested the helmet on the rear view mirror of the bike, while smiling at the waving hand at a distant sight. Even the slightest rustle of my sleeve started to catch as much attention of my thoughts, as a heavy gush of cross breeze brushing against my face would do. After all,why not,I was in that mood.The one where even the minute changes in the surroundings were being observed and registered in my brain,the work usually pertaining to the subconscious part of the mind,but at that hour,being noted at the forefront of thoughts.

  After the exchange of pleasantries with my dad's closest friend,more out of affection, and a small conversation with their family,this time more out of formality,my eyes didn't have to search for long before catching the attention of the dazzling board displaying the names of the bride and groom(Groom being my dad's friend's nephew!). One look at the brightness of this function hall;and I was thinking about the recent national blackout where more than half of the country were deprived of electricity.Wow,I muttered.

  Placed in the middle of a pack of strangers and interacting with new people,I looked out for my uncle,may be because of feeling a tad uncomfortable with others but mostly because I hardly knew anyone else other than his immediate family. Infact,this was the only concern while I was weighing options whether to attend the marriage or not. But his earnest invitation was too hard to decline. Plus,I missed attending marriages!It has been more than a year,since I attended a family gathering.It was not like I had any active interactions with anyone else there,but I just liked hanging around and noticing the minute things.A father boasting about his son's results,all the uncles discussing about matters raging from politics to sports,remarks being made about the next-in-line bachelors, an elderly person talking about marriage function during the days of Joint families,bride's and groom side introducing all their relatives to each other,the jibber jabber of the cousins meeting after a long time,the mindless ranting of siblings, echoes of laughter over a humorous one liner of the 90's...in all,a perfect place for everyone to get away from their work induced state of mind and live life!All these things,were in fact the rudimentary sights possible at weddings.The real glitter about this one was, it was love marriage!In fact, an inter caste love marriage.The kind of which,we would happily watch in a movie,which usually ends with a happy ending before the rolling titles take over their mandatory stake;letting the audience leave with a 'happily everafter' feeling inscribed on their minds.But as uncle described it later,it was a huge pain for the couple to convince their respective families.Let alone the hope of a Brahmin(of Andhra origin) groom marrying a Devagouda(of Karnatak origin) bride,their conservative parents did not even allow the prospect of it in the first place.What it took to make that prospect into reality was an outstandingly firm stand on their decision and a long convincing process.But at the end,to put it poetically, what he did was to marry the love of his life! Well,that's what every LCD Television set placed at the function hall screamed across its width!
   What followed was a long chat with uncle,which mostly included of describing my day to day schedule at Bangalore and what all I have done in the past few weeks(being fully aware of the fact that he would detail all the note-worthy events to my dad!) and an extraordinary wedding meal.Bidding everyone goodbye,I started walking towards my bike.Left in solidarity,my thoughts started to race(Thoughts,proably beyond my age).Firstly, I sweared at myself for missing out on my cousin's marriage recently ,mostly as an after thought about the amount of fun I would have had...Well,then it was all about this wedding!A typical Indian wedding,which rarely takes place in our social circle. On contrary to concepts depicted in most of the movies, the reality is that its just not about a boy meeting a girl and a happily ever after.Its a wedding where two families are united with each other, underlying the importance of our tradition and our cultural values.Well,atleast I am appreciative of the fact that our rich heritage means something to me!