Monday, October 20, 2008

Nine Days, Eight Nights

It hard enough trying to squeeze a month long trip into two weeks and harder still to squeeze a hectic 2-week trip into a blog post. Or two. Or even three. But try, I shall.

On the day of Dussehra, my tuck-his-wooden-sword-into-an-elastic-hairband-cummerband, spiderman-loving, he-man-obsessed brother got married. I don’t think he tucks swords in anymore or plays with he-man action figures – I am sure his wife took care of those obsessions when she appeared on the scene (wink, wink). My new sister-in-law a.k.a vahini is really sweet and even in the short evening we spent together, I totally saw what my brother meant when he said about that she had a positive vibe to her. There is one, no doubt.

The wedding as most Indian weddings go, was a weeklong affair. Exhausting. Exciting. My memories of the hectic week are so disjointed that I have been unable to gather my thoughts in to a coherent post. So I am giving a glimpse of what I remember. Fragmented, just like it is in my mind.

Rustling jewel colored silks. Grandmother, mother and daughter whispering, gossiping until the dawn sun broke. Grandfather threatening to wake up Chip if we did not immediately go to bed. Giggles. A flash of diamonds. The quiet shine of a gold necklace nestled in plum velvet waiting to be worn. Tinkling of glass bangles. Green. Gold. Silver. Fragrance of hot upma and coffee. Flurry of activity. Aching feet.

Rain.

Perfect tie hunt. Perfect jooti hunt. Perfect sleepwear hunt. Overheated Fabindia. The heat. The dust. The traffic. Datenight. Autorickshaw ride with BigGeek. Sizzlers. Too tired for a movie.

Attempts to find cotton nighties and slips. Muddy puddles. Caught in an unexpected shower. Drenched. Buying the perfect earring. Loosing its tiny screw but finding it, in forgotten dustballs under the bed. The aroma of havan smoke. That lingers for days afterward. Covering BigGeek’s designer dress shirt hung out to dry in the balcony with a smoky scent. Henna. What to give who. Packed in suitcases. Shown but not given.

Meeting relatives. Some older, some grayer, some taller, some drained, some unchanged. Forgetting names. Forgetting faces. Another wedding, another meeting. Perhaps.

12 comments:

rayshma said...

absolutely beautiful.
makes me want to go to india. actually, makes me want to get my brother married again. :)

Anonymous said...

Gori Gori paan fula saarkhi chhan dada mala ek vahini aan.. asa ka agadi .

looks like you had a great time and didnt want to come back.

Vinita

Mamma mia! Me a mamma? said...

how beautifully you've captured it and passed them onto us.

This reads like a delightfl fill-in-the-blanks story, where we get to put in our pictures, thoughts and moods!

Anonymous said...

Awww ... looks like you need another vacation now! :) Hugs, glad to have you back, rest well.

Anonymous said...

more, more!

PG said...

Beautiful! Lovely! :) Good to have you back!

Yet Another Mother Runner said...

Nice gist of the hectic week...!! Been 5 years since we went to India - long overdue!!

Mama - Mia said...

wow!! you managed to actually to express so many things so beautifully!

i can imagine the paithanis and chanderis rustling and kudis shining in the ears! :)

waiting for the next instalment! :D

cheers!

abha

Choxbox said...

lovely!

DotThoughts said...

raysh: and endure the wedding stress?? :P

vinita: well.. almost :)

mamma mia: I hope the blanks could be filled..

k3: I always needs a vacation after an India trip :) India trip is work!!

deepa: wokay.. you asked for it :)

pg: thanks! its good to be back!

gnd: 5 years is a looong time!

abha: lol. actually lotsa kanjeevarams this time. paithnis seem to be out of fashion these days. sequins are in!

choxie: :)

Rohini said...

Lovely post, Dottie. Very evocative.

Anonymous said...

That brought back some fomd memories....:)