3

It's been a while since Month 3 of the wedding - May 17.
3 was great! We just got back from Pradeep and Nisha's wedding in Cochin. We had a blast, the wedding was beautiful and all round we were a happy bunch of people!

Marriage of peers, friends, seems to be hounding my life. There are engaged people or married people everywhere. And of course, the on-off baby carrying one too!

Hoping this 3 brings many such happy moments, good fortune and loads of luck!! :)

P.S - Cheers to our first couple picture posted publicly!

1

One month of holy matrimony!! We made it!

One month went by real fast. The wedding, the several receptions after, Goa!, and back to work...this is what the first month was packed with! But it was brilliant! :)

Hitched!

And it's done! I'm married! After all the craziness of finding a groom, planning the engagement, the lead up to the wedding, blah blah blah...we're hitched!

I'll find the time soon to post an elaborate list of events that highlighted the wedding in my eyes! (And I was super alert and observant! I wasn't tired, sleepy, all zoned out at all! I swear!) Just to warn you now itself, it was te longest wedding ever!!!

-- Anyhoo, life throws you surprises..good ones. They're even better when you don't know how they'll be when they come at you. The goodness grows on you and becomes greater every day. And in that lies all the happiness. :)

For the First Time

Finally V and I were going to spend an entire day together! He flew down all the way from Mumbai to meet me. I always feel like the insensitive female dog who doesn't emote, doesn't feel, doesn't express. Clearly he's the more romantic one. I beg to differ on an intrinsic level but I maintain the insensitive, detached, tough girl image on the outside.

Anyway, we had a wonderful day out! We watched a movie, coffee, shots and then dinner! It was perfect! And then of course the goodbye! Goodbyes are never good and not this time either. But it was too great a day to think about the negatives, the sad things, etc. This day was about our first date in six months. Our first movie together. Our first entire day out together. Out first tight hug. Our first round of endless conversations. Our first vodka shot together.

Sigh - marriage may not be that bad at all. And love, definitely not bad at all. You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape love. It'll find you. Somewhere. Somehow. And how can you be so sure of it? How am I so sure?

A kiss on the forehead from a man other than your Dad...forever love my friends! #Enoughsaid!

Of Roads, Detours, Dams and Friends: Road Trip #1 - 2012

I was in Delhi for Xmas-New Year when Navneeth gave me a call saying we had to do something together - the Euro Trip Travel Companions! I was thrilled. The trip to France and Italy in 2011 was the single-most wonderful experience ever! And to do it again with my favorite people - I was super kicked!

So we did go - Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, around 180 kms from Hyderabad. This trip was memorable on many counts - Mustang's first road trip, the holy trinity's second trip together, a lot of deep thinking, contemplation and discussion about life matters.

We started in the morning, the drive was beautiful! Endless highway road, brilliant music that Nav made sure we have in place the previous night. Ash and I put our shades on..this was going to be one helluva road trip. We let the music take over, speed was second nature, the surroundings were beautiful - everyone was at bliss. Note about the music: it was 'International Love' that ruled the weekend! Yayy!

At one point, we were mislead and took a detour of around 60kms - we didn't mind, but the roads were terrible, pothole after pothole! Anyway, we reached Nagarjuna Sagar and crashed for a couple of hours after lunch. We slept like babies. We then had our evening Chai with Onion Pakodas and French Fries. It was absolute bliss. We started talking life matters during this time..was the best time ever: Chai, Friends, and our life ahead of us.

Epipottala Falls was beautiful. It was well lit up and the sound of water gushing down rocks was brilliant. The three of us just sat there, absorbing what was around us. This is another place when we continued to talk about life, things ahead of us, the past, etc. All in all, super fun. Funny thing was this place was infested with monkeys, much like Matheran, where we once went on a team trip. I have this weird connection with monkeys. But that story I'll save for later. :)

We got back to our room after dinner. We pretty much let the evening take over as we drank, told stories, made fun of each other, imagined what life would be in a couple of months, years,. We made some confessions, revealed some secrets, understood more about what we think about each other, and generally had a fun time being with each other.

What topped the end of the trip was Navneeth acquiring his first pair of Aviators! (Yayy Navneeth!) Girls, you're about to see the coolest, snazziest, most awesome looking fella walking your way tomorrow. (Note to Navneeth: Do Not notice these girls..remember 'your' International Love!)

So it was an awesome Road Trip! My favorite people, in the comfort of Mustang Maharaj, great music, great food, wonderful talk time, picturesque water bodies - this trip was much needed, and time well spent!

As we ended the trip, we promised that we'd make this an annual affair, without breaking tradition. Every January, we do a trip somewhere, anywhere together. Just the three of us. The three musketeers, the holy trinity - L, D, L! ;)

Champs Elysees!

P.S - Bindu, we missed you loads and talked about you so much! You crazy person!! :)

Hakuna MaTattoo!

So, I've decided!! This is what my tattoo is going to look like when I get it!

For those who don't know - it's the symbol for Hakuna Matata!

AI: Get the Tattoo!! Pronto!

In the Zone

Ever felt completely blah for some reason? Where your mind is thinking random things, that you really can't understand why you're thinking them? And you end up looking like a zoned out maniac during this time. On the one hand, you know there's no reason behind feeling the way you're feeling. And on the other, you're deep in random thought (random thought that sometimes brings the depressing side in you). Anyway, while I'm feeling this way - sitting at work, whiling away time. I really don't have work, but I'm sitting here because I don't want to go to home..and I don't know why. I keep thinking unnecessary thoughts, some negative, some positive, some so neutral, they shouldn't be on my mind.

Anyhoo..random shit on a random day. I can't do much about it. Only consolation is that the day is almost over. And when the clock strikes twelve, this too shall pass.

Secret Diaries Part 5 - The 'Supposed' Honeymoon Period

All the wise and not-so-wise say the time between your Engagement and Marriage is the honeymoon period. That's when you get to enjoy time with your Fiance. I say BOLLOCKS!

For starters, VJ was going to the Arabian Desert (read: Riyadh) on a project for about three months. Then, it became four months, then five, Sigh! (As I write this, he tells me he'll be back a week later than expected, which makes it Jan.)

So yes, I'm experiencing the honeymoon period - with my phone!

But all said and done, it is kinda nice, this so-called honeymoon period. The Boy and I talk almost everyday..gives us a chance to know each other better, know our strengths, weaknesses, etc. And all this over the phone. While I'm all comfortable talking to him about anything under the sun over the phone, I wonder how it'd be when I'm around him, face to face. Wonder how we'd be around each other. Would it be awkward? Weird? Sigh - so much for a honeymoon period! 

&%*$#@!

Pleasant Things on a Chilly Winter Morning

So I'm sitting at home, working! Yes, I'm back home in Delhi for ten days, working though. I see a ping from my dear friend. She tells me she got a job, right near where the old office was and that we needed to meet soon. She was telling me about the new job, and all through it, the only thing that I felt inside me was relief and happiness for her. And also, a wave of realization - you keep the faith and it all comes to you the way you want it. I think she'll be brilliant at her new job! Of course she will be! She's my Superstar!

And just when the chilly morning was becoming pleasant, another dear friend pinged me with a link to her blog (the viewable one ;)). It just brought a smile to my face even before I opened the link. I knew she's an exceptional writer and a great story-teller. I knew whatever she wrote would be great! And then I read her list of highlights of 2011..made me smile, made me feel sad, made me laugh, made me reminisce. I said a silent prayer for 2012 to be great, on all counts - to make the good, better. To make the bad, good. And to make the ugly, beautiful! Champs Elysees! :D

Serendipity

There are some things in life that happen for a reason. You don't see them coming, you don't really know if you want them to happen. But they do. And when they do, you feel good about it.

And these unexpected happenings come as a surprise and make you realize that it's the little things that make us happy. Not the big bucks, fancy cars, fine dining. The little, tiny things - the personal smile, a warm hug, a letter from a friend, a note left on your mirror, finding something you were looking for but couldn't find, and then finding it much later when you're not looking.

My Serendipity moment this week was when I realized I'm heading the right way, with the right person. Had a long chat with the Fiance. With all the nervous energy, it was comforting to feel comforted. And that I wanted to feel that way forever, made me feel lucky.

On that mushy note, here's the song that I've been listening to on repeat the last couple of days. (Courtesy: AshPash for getting me hooked to this song again)

Hyd is where the Home is..

So it's official...(this post comes way too delayed)..I've moved base to Hyderabad.
A move in teams at work meant a move to this place from Dilli, my home. Hyderabad is a nice place, always liked it. Now, I'm about a month old in the city..and it still feels like I'm on a business trip. I miss home terribly, Gran, my sis, (Ma and Pa too as always). I miss home food, thayir saadam, filter coffee..and everything else that is home. When I wished I'd have the boarding school kinda life (cos I never did), I never knew the emo bit would come with it. I thought I was never one to get all 'I miss home, home food, people at home...etc.' But anyhoo, I'm in Hyd now. And while I write this, I'm simultaneously planning my trip back home to Delhi in a couple of weeks. But we'll let that be for now.

For me, Hyderabad means FUN! It means friends becoming family, late night movies, fancy and not-so-fancy dinners, impromptu crazy plans, night-outs, drunken nights, hungover days, loads of friends, food and fun! It's just what I need before I take the plunge. Before I misguide you into thinking I'm scared that my life will completely change after marriage..hold on. I just think its 'fair' that I get to do whatever I want, whenever I want, before I take the plunge into getting 'responsible,' 'accountable,' and 'answerable.'

Like right now..as I was typing 'answerable,' we all decided to go out for dinner. See? This is what I'm talking about!! Never a dull moment in Hyd!

Peace out!

There's People...

Everything happens, all at once..good, bad, ugly..all at once.

There's my perpetual state of "fear of the unknown" that comes along with the matrimonial blah. There's a lot that needs to be done and I haven't even got started yet..but I'm not the only one with the happening life!

There's nice people at work leaving. And when you ask them where, they say: Somewhere. Anywhere. Everywhere. For now - I don't care!
There's marital secrets - who goes and gets married without telling anyone?! :O
There's people on crazy diets - but they're happy and I see effects of the diet ;) (Must.Draw.Inspiration)
There's people going back home for a week or is it Fi days? (I wish I was them!!)
There's people getting awards for great performance and contribution at work! Woohoo! (I believe in the hope of/from the East)
There's people figuring relationships out and having a rough time. (Downplaying the 'rough time' for sanity sake)
There's people sending Thanksgiving gifts from across the seas. (Thank God for small miracles!)
There's people who've come back to work today after an exxxxxtended weekend. (Good times ahead!)
There's people rehearsing dance to put up the best show ever in two weeks. (Hopefully, no forgetting steps this time)
There's people going to Las Vegas and living the dream. (And vowing to DRINK!)
There's people who have 30+ days of vacation, and they want to take it all now! (Pinky swear!)
There's people who bring back memories..fun memories, and force you to believe that nothing has changed. (Mad Dog Rules!)
There's people who make plans every night, multiple plans; pre-dinner, post-dinner, in-between-dinner ;) (I want to be in their brain for one day!)
There's people who're looking for a better job and I know they'll find one. They don't think so. (Keep the faith)
There's people getting bored and restless, living away from family. (I know what they feel like)
There's people who're neck deep in wedding preps (while I'm comfortably numb).
There's people looking to get their daughters married...and with that comes a lot of push-back, frustration and irritation..not to mention FEAR! (Been there, done that...still kinda there)
There's people who relentlessly keep in touch, and make you look bad just because you're not relentless. (I was once, so I hope to change it at some point)

Anyhoo...what I'm trying to say is there's a lot of people dodging the big fat balls life throws at them. They dodge, they catch, they throw back at times. It's not about how far you throw, how well you catch, how well you dodge. In the end - you dodge, catch, throw back. That's it. Nothing else matters.

So while I'm walking a verrrry tight rope with faith in my hands, I'd think what Aamir Khan said: ALL IS WELL.. or All 'will be' well. Sooner. Or later.

Secret Diaries Part 4 - Bands of Engagement

Where were we last time? Oh yes, I said Yes and so did he. And then things just went haywire at home.

"Nischayadhartham eppo vechikalam?" My Gran asked is hurriedness I've never seen before. She wanted to know when to have the engagement. Looking at the way she was functioning, one would think there was no tomorrow and everything would end that day. Ma and Paati (Grandmom in Tamil) were so occupied the whole day taking, making and contemplating phone calls. Everyone needed to be informed, arrangements had to be made, etc..basically my sister and I were given the royalest of royal ignoring! I mean they all talked about us, in front of us, but not to us! Annoying!

Anyway, after much back and forth, I came to hear the Engagement was set for July 14. Talk about a whirlwind engagement...it had been barely 48 hours since VJ and I had met and things were moving sooo fast! I decided not to thin about it too much and freak out about it. Thing was the parents wanted to seal the deal now that we agreed to go further. And VJ was going to be in the Middle East for a good 3-4 months from the end of the month. So..basically, the Parentals didn't want any room for delay.

Both VJ and I would've liked the engagement to be much later, but what were we to say..what say do we kids have anyway in a larger than life thing called wedding planning!

D-day was not too far. Before I knew it the 14th on July came. It didn't hit me until the morning of the 14th, on the way to VJ's place where the function was happening. Once I entered the house, everything became a haze...and pretty much remained a haze until everything was over. The families got a chance to meet, so that was great. Comfort factor was that VJ's family was much like mine...so there was a strange sense of familiarity. Anyway, the function went on really well..with every moment being captured on camera by a photographer. The whole function was over in about two hours, we had our breakfast that we all call tiffin, and headed back home. VJ and I were to spend a day together, we decided that would be the following day, because we were both beat!

We all headed back home, had lunch, and everyone parted ways. Paati, My Uncle and Aunt headed back to Delhi, while my Aunt and cousin headed to Chennai. And what did I do? I slept like there was no tomorrow, like I was dead, like a log! I slept so peacefully, that when I was up in the evening all well-rested, it struck me! I was engaged to be married soon! OMG! OMFG! But then it was not a 'Oh God! I'm screwed!' kinda realization. It was a pretty happy realization.

Farewell Delhi

So it's official now. After weeks of role-hunting, I finally landed an interesting role in the Hyd office. I was really excited when I got to know I got the role, but after that things just started snowballing! Training starts next week! Which technically means this is my LAST week in Delhi, my home!! It's bittersweet actually.
I'm really looking forward to living alone in a new city, with friends. Learning how to cook, how to maintain a house, how to live alone and the works. But I'm super sad about leaving my Gran and Sister behind, I'll miss home-food, Gran's piping hot filter coffee...and a lot more.

And I couldn't possibly pack up in four days! So I'll be back after training for a couple of days, pack my stuff and head off for good. Now THAT is going to be tough. Right now..I'll leave with the sense that I'll be back soon enough. 

Little Things

Isn't it quite strange that the smallest things in life, make us smile, make our hearts skip a beat, make our hearts race twice as fast, make us react in the weirdest of ways?!

For a complex race such as ours, we're quite menial when it comes to the happiness quotient. And in this complex race, if you're a woman - menial just gets even more menial. Check this:

Get up to an overcast-cool breeze blowing-day, I'm happy! I smile, I'm greeting everyone, I'm just thinking happy thoughts.

A girl buys a new pair of shoes, she's happy! She walks around with a confident strut and an even more confident smile.
Get to eat your favorite flavored ice-cream? Are you wearing the perfume you love today? Did you wake up to wonderfully brewed coffee and an even more wonderful breakfast?

....OK..I see that this is leading to a "only food makes you happy" post! :P Maybe it does..but I did mention shoes right? Yep..food and shoes! :)

Those are the little things that bring a 'yayyy' to my heart! :)

My Three Bs

I was whiling away time reading posts from the blogs that I follow and I was reading one of my favorites: Three Beautiful Things (http://threebeautifulthings.blogspot.com/), You guys have to check it out. It's nice how the writer records three things everyday that sum up their day! So I thought, let me do my three beautiful things..at the risk of plagiarizing of course! ;)

1. Sleep - It's a weekend and today I got the best ever snooze time ever! I feel fresh and alert as the energizer bunny!

2. Write - I've spent a good two hours on my lappy, updating my blog on my very amusing life and the turn of events..(be sure to read!)

3. Friends - Today is Friendship Day. Happy Friendship Day to you, my friends! Hoping I'm able to love and be loved by friends for all my life! And the Star Word Channel just made the weekend even more wonderful by playing 'Friends' all day. Yep, I watch as I type this. (For the curious..it's the episode where Chandler can't fire this cute girl at work despite the ugly looking WENUS, Joey wants to take Ursula out, Ross's monkey is going crazy..)

Secret Diaries Part 3 - Meet & Greet

July 3 - this was it! The day had come. Would I pass the acid test, and would he?!?! I was going to meet 'the boy' to see if we wanted to take this forward. I had already made up my mind, but no one needed to know that. My friends got engaged the night before at Bangalore, so I was taking an early morning flight from there to Hyd. Ma and my Uncle were flying down from Delhi to Hyd. We booked our flights in such a way, that we'd meet at the airport and head to the Guesthouse together. The itinerary for the day had been pre-set. I was going to meet the boy around 11am and we'd spend a little time together. We'd then head back to our respective places and tell our parents if we thought we should go ahead. If it was a green light, the two families would meet in the evening. So I just needed to stick to plan and take every moment as it came. Sigh!

Ma and My Uncle landed in Hyd before me. We found each other, got our bags and headed to the Guesthouse. We didn't have too much time. I had enough time to get ready and have some chai, before heading out to meet the boy. (I've decided to refer to him as 'the boy' until the end of this post - depending on my verdict of whether or not we were going to take it forward :P).

So, the boy was waiting for me at a popular mall in Hyd. We had to choose a place that was easily accessible to both of us in terms of distance and familiarity. I reached the place and gave him a call and came out to meet me. He wasn't much different than what I'd imagined. After all, I had seen a couple of pictures of him before. Also, we'd added each other on Facebook. So, there was no room for extreme surprise or shock. He looked the way I thought he would. We found a coffee place and sat to chat. It was weird for the first few minutes. Maybe finally being able to attach a live face to the voice I'd been hearing for three weeks was the reason. So most of the first few minutes was just an exchange of pleasantries while we were actually stealing looks every now and then. 

We talked about what we though of each other. We talked about where we may be post-wedding. He asked me what I thought of living with the parents and living alone. We talked about working after marriage, what my preferences were, where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do.

He struck me as easy-going, casual, fun, very easy to talk to...much like what I drew him out to be on the phone. I liked him. His smile was refreshing. So yeah - I think I'd made up my mind way before and I was right. I was very happy and relieved to know I was right. 

We didn't spend too much time..just a little over an hour, before we decided to head back to our respective places. I got back home and told Ma I was good to go with this. I called my Dad and let him know the same. We had a brilliant chat about what to do next. Then, I called my Gran, she wanted to know everything..every detail. Once that was done, Ma got a call from the boy's Dad. We were all going to meet at a restaurant in a couple of hours. So we all got ready and left for the place.

We got there and they were there too. The meeting went well. The parents were sweet and so was his sister. I think everyone was at ease. The Father was pulling the boy's leg from time to time..making sure we all laughed. It was nice, pleasant and comfortable. And it felt good to feel that way. We had our coffees and heading our own way. My Uncle, Ma and I headed to the airport, to fly back to Delhi.

We reached Delhi and Gran and my sis were filled in with the details of the day. The next day, the phone just wouldn't stop ringing! Congratulatory messages, planning for the Nischyadhartham (where the boy and girl are deemed committed to each other for marriage), etc...Everything was going in 'overdrive' mode! I wouldn't say I enjoyed it a lot. It was getting a little too much for my comfort. But I guess that's how it is. 

That night, I was lying still in bed, trying to absorb everything that had happened in the last couple of days..the turn of events, and how things may turn out to be. And then it all made sense. All the hullabaloo was just positive, happy vibes. The family was obviously extremely happy that their first daughter was going to be married soon! It was something they were all waiting for. The friends were ecstatic, because they knew how crazy the man-hunt experience was, and how much crazier it could've been. They were happy that it ended happily for me, with a wonderful person. Things started to fall in place, in my mind. I was beginning to accept the noise around me as happiness. Sigh! With that sigh of relief, happiness, uncertainty, nervousness, and a lot fo other emotions....I drifted into a peaceful zone..something I hadn't had enough of. I slept like there was no tomorrow...almost like in a coma, but a happy coma. And yes, I did wake up the next morning. (For those who were worried if it was an actual coma).

P.S - The boy's name is Vijay. Better get used to it. Going forward, it won't be 'the boy' anymore..it'll be Vijay. (I need to get used to it!)

Music & Lyrics

Music is an integral part of my life. I appreciate any and all forms of music..almost. But, between words and melody, I've always felt more connected to words - lyrics. This is in no way to say that I like music less..but in debates where people say music makes the lyrics, I beg to differ. I'd say it's lyrics that define the music.

Falling Slowly - OST from the movie ONCE is my current favorite. The lyrics just speak volumes.

"I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You've made it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along"

My favorite lines are:
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won...

Words from the heart, don't need music to make them heard..they can just be said or sung, with no tunes and no beats. They'll reach their purpose and will be understood by those that need to understand.