Shanthy and Shekar were having a cup of coffee in Cedar balcony enjoying the pleasant weather outside. Shanthy heard the ring tone of her mobile kept on the dining table. She rushed in. “Yes Sneha. How come you ring up half an hour earlier?” “No, Amma, I couldn’t wait till then. I just wanted to share with you that I have found my life partner.” “Fantastic,’ replied Shanthy, excited. And who is the guy?” He is Priyal Chatrapathi, a Gujarati boy. We studied together in GeorgiaTech.” “I know whatever decisions you arrive at, you will do so after due deliberations. We are fully with you Konthey,” reassured Shanthy. Yes, Shanthy is correct. Sneha and Priyal indeed are charming and made for each other. The sole answer that is difficult to find is: who is lucky – he or she? Undoubtedly, both.
This was last year, but enough for Shanthy to get going with preparations. Both parents got an opportunity to meet the would-be addition to their respective families when Priyal and Sneha visited India later.
The marriage was fixed for 14 and 15 December. Come Sunday 8 December – last week, that is. The Weather Office predicted heavy rains, inclement weather, overcast sky, and declared Yellow alert till Friday. “Thank God, it does not extend to our week-end marriage,” relaxed Shanthy and Pooja. “Regardless, we should be ready with Plan B,” insisted Shanthy, Pooja, and now Sneha who has arrived a month earlier for the event. Fear engulfed their minds till they went to bed on Friday night. They were the happiest to wake up to a bright sunshine on Saturday morning.
Many had contributed their bit for the preparatory work. Precisely why it was a great success. However, if I were asked to deliver the Vote of Thanks, I would begin with Shanthy - yes, Shanthy the perfectionist. She had begun preparations as early as in January this year. Believe me, the marriage venue was booked then, to be precise. And everything downwards began taking their turns.
If Shanthy is a perfectionist, then Pooja executed everything to a near T – be it negotiating with the Event Management company or arranging a convoy of cars to transport the core-groups to and fro. Sneha jumped into the fray as soon as she landed for the marriage, to give final touches to the plan, and to do jointly those shopping items that waited for her arrival.
Sandeep, the laadla of the family, was the Man for All Seasons. He had his finger in every pie; one of the quietest leg workers, in fact.
Shekar held on to his forte - to make mid-course corrections by way of suggestions. His oft-repeated defence for leaving things at the suggestion level is: “I would have done this myself, but you see, as head of the family I am here in an advisory capacity, and not to do things myself.” Others get the message and get going. That said, he did an outstanding job on both Reception and Muhurtam days in synching well with guests, the Royalton venue staff, the various food counters, transport vendors… Kudos Shekar.
Outside the Shanthy-Shekar group, Hari stands out for his active participation in the bhangra dance on both days. No wonder it drew great admiration from the bridegroom’s party, many of whom congratulated him individually. Kamala would have taken the centre-stage for the nitty gritty on Muhurtam day but for her recent fall. Her siblings filled the vacuum ably.
I did not see much of Srinath in action during the dance sessions unless I was busy doing justice to the Starter or Main menu counters. But he compensated it with taking good care of Kamala. Shobha did an outstanding job at the mic conducting the musical-bhangra extravaganza. It was very nice of Beena and Yuki to have flown all the way from Sacramento for the wedding. Kudos to Kamala family for near 100% representation.
And, lest I am accused of not mentioning about Lalitha Akka and I, we just hung around looking busy and doing nothing.
Credit for 100% attendance goes to Saraswathy-Swamy family. Despite Mohan, Ramesh, Dhivya and Aarati having their official commitments, they didn’t allow any travel plans to interfere with their presence here. So nice of them. All the grandchildren, joined by Keshav, had a gala time running around the vast expanse and be in their own world.
(To be continued in Part 2 tomorrow
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