Here's a perfect example of how redundant most customs are in today's generation but are still followed with feverish stupor. I've been trying to understand all the rituals that will take place in our wedding. I do not know whether the others will have relevance or not but here are 2 which just make me laugh.
Ritual 1. Kashi Yatre: Now there are 2 variations to this story.
(a): The boy packs his bags and heads off to Kashi to pursue studies. And in olden times, pursuing studies meant treading the spiritual path and sacrificing worldly bonds. So his family persuades him to stay back and finds a suitable girl for him to marry. So the entire 'ritual', would include bringing the boy back and getting him prepared for the wedding.
(b): Now this is a funny one. The boy gets upset that his family is not getting him married and packs his bags and begins to leave. This is when the maternal uncle of the girl steps in, persuades him to not go and says that he will get him married to his niece.
I have a problem trying to effectively apply this to now. Neither is Sandeep packing his bags to pursue his studies nor is he upset that no one's getting him married. The love of my life is right now enduring a 24 hour flight journey, currently en route over the Atlantic to reach Bangalore for his wedding. To think that he'd come here only to pack his bags and leave for Kashi is so ridiculousy funny! And i don't think any guy would want to walk away from his own marriage.. Hehe... :)
Laughable, yes. Applicable, no. Endurable, yes. Relevant, no.
Ritual 2. Jeerge-Dhaare : This one says that the first time the boy and girl see each other's face is when the antara parde held up by the purohits is let down. At this time, the fistful of jeerge-akki that the couple hold in their hands must be put onto the other's head.
- Exactly who holds the impression that the first time that Sandeep and I would be seeing each other will be at that moment?! Please, meet me. I promise i will drive that notion away for you. Perhaps the akki-jeerge is a symbol of warding off evil or something like that. I am yet to understand what it's for. But i know one thing for sure. In today's world, where the boy and the girl meet often prior to the wedding, this is a redundant thing. It's like pretending that there's no enemy because you've put your head in the sand. Essentially, no one does this with complete belief. Through all this, a whole new twist to the ritual has been made. That who ever, groom or bride, puts the akki-jeerge first will be the dominant one in the relationship...!
Laughable, yes. Applicable, no. Endurable, yes. Relevant, no.
Ritual 3. Bidadi Mane: This is where a room in the choultry is used to keep necessary household items for the bride to set up home by herself. You know why this has no relevance to us now?
- We wont be setting up home here. The utensils kept will not be carried back by us. And since it wont be of much use to us the whole thing will be done just for the heck of it.
Ritual 4: In olden times one party of the marriage would arrive from another village and stay in someone's house. Under these circumstances they were provided with all items for daily hygiene such as soap, comb, oil, etc. Now, in today's times i would believe that most people come to a marriage hall with all these items packed. Simply because one does not go for an overnight stay unprepared. Arranging for all these items and giving it as part of some 'shastra' is so peculiar. "Here's your toothbrush, toothpaste, oil, comb, powder...."
What is really relevant and is done with eyes blindfolded? Sapthapadi. This is where the girl takes 7 steps and the boy makes promises to her at each step, sealing the promise with a toe ring. Why the ring on the 2nd toe only, i do not know. But i would take this to be the most relevant 'ritual'. However, in today's world, most couples would just do it with absolutely no idea of the mantras the purohit is saying and thereby the promises they are making to each other.
It's sad that the one day the couple thinks so much of is reduced to something that's tiring. I've heard enough of 'you'll have no idea of whats going on'. I'm sure it'll hold it's weightage well too...
This is what the tumultuous affair does. Once it begins it just makes you want to 'be done with it'. It may be inevitable, but i sure hope i don't come out of it with that feeling...
Saturday, 27 February 2010
At Lasts... :(
My life now is filled with a lot of 'lasts'. Like, last day i spend before the marriage with my parents, last day i have coffee before the wedding, last day at office, last this and last that... It is also filled with a lot of 'firsts'.
It is such a juxtapose of feelings! I've also been having these thoughts which say 1 week from now i'll be doing this, one week from now i'll be there, one week from now i wont get to do this and that... It simply does not fail to amaze how quickly one day, one moment can change my life. Not change. Change is a very simple world. Let me rephrase...
It simply does not fail to amaze how quickly one day, one moment can take the only life i'm accustomed to, put it into a mixer, add many many more ingredients to it, whiz it up, and make a concoction i am supposed to immediately love without complaining.
I'm perhaps being too cynical but i'd rather be that than get into this whole thing thinking it's gonna be a bed of roses. I like the anticipation though... The anticipation of Sandeep's arrival, of opening all my gifts (yey!), of the beginning of the rituals, of the entire marriage although it is going to be a pretty tedious affair...
The worst of the list of 'lasts'? My mum saying this: "Tomorrow will be the last day you'll spend with us alone before the marriage." This is what i hate! Why can't i have the best of both worlds?! :(
It is such a juxtapose of feelings! I've also been having these thoughts which say 1 week from now i'll be doing this, one week from now i'll be there, one week from now i wont get to do this and that... It simply does not fail to amaze how quickly one day, one moment can change my life. Not change. Change is a very simple world. Let me rephrase...
It simply does not fail to amaze how quickly one day, one moment can take the only life i'm accustomed to, put it into a mixer, add many many more ingredients to it, whiz it up, and make a concoction i am supposed to immediately love without complaining.
I'm perhaps being too cynical but i'd rather be that than get into this whole thing thinking it's gonna be a bed of roses. I like the anticipation though... The anticipation of Sandeep's arrival, of opening all my gifts (yey!), of the beginning of the rituals, of the entire marriage although it is going to be a pretty tedious affair...
The worst of the list of 'lasts'? My mum saying this: "Tomorrow will be the last day you'll spend with us alone before the marriage." This is what i hate! Why can't i have the best of both worlds?! :(
Monday, 15 February 2010
My country is better than yours....
Does anything work in order out here?
Nothing works. The mobile phone network doesn't, the internet doesn't, online websites don't, nothing does.
On the way back home from work today, i was on call and the call must've dropped a million times. I get back home and the internet wont connect at once. I must try 3 times or more to connect to it. Whats worse? It wont connect at all after 10pm everyday. And i pay for more download capacity after 10PM.
For the last 3 days i have been on call with the great Reliance people where this extremely patient lady reminds me how important my call is and that i must stay on the call because i am such an important customer. Then, when she finally allows me to proceed, another lady tells me how i can check the data usage on the Reliance website. Well lady, exactly how do you expect me to check the data usage ONLINE when you stupid network wont connect to the internet?
And this irritating circus plays out every single day! Everyday!
When i see these management honchos and business tycoons raving about how India is moving closer to be a global force to reckon with, maybe someone should ask them to go take a stroll through the numerous slums in every city, take a deep breath inside the city and get through one call when you realise that suddenly the network is just not there.
As Sandeep said today, the CEOs of these mobile network companies should be made to get onto call to strike a business deal and talk about how stable their network is, only to have the call dropped off at that exact instant. That's apparently the best way to make them realise how poor the services they provide are.
How do they call our country great when the most basic amenities aren't made available to all? How do they call our country great when the monthly income of most of the nation is probably less than 1000rs? How do they call this country great when volvo buses disposed of by the Europe countries are dumped into cities here and we rave and rant about it?
Our refusal to understand and adapting to a changing world will leave us stuck in the same rut as we are now. We are still stuck to blind faiths, century old customs which have no relevance to the current era and maintain enough public hygiene to give a housefly some disease.
I was reading this interesting article in the newspaper. More a situational article:
3 Indians and a foreigner were sitting in a train compartment. The Indians kept asking irrelevant questions to the foreigner such as the train system in his country, the food available there, the language spoken there, etc. And by some inexplicable logic arrived at a conclusion that India is much better in those aspects, especially in culture, than his country is.
After reaching this brilliant conclusion, they crushed the paper they had used to wrap some food and threw it on the floor, dropped the plastic cups onto the floor and slept.
The poor guy looks down only to see what was a neat floor turned into a garbage bin, sighs and goes to sleep.
So much for our culture, huh? Is this how we define ourselves?
Anyway, that was the article.
The reliance lady is still telling me how important my call is by the way... Isn't she bored. For the number of times i've heard this over the last 45 minutes, i should feel like the President of India.
Nothing works. The mobile phone network doesn't, the internet doesn't, online websites don't, nothing does.
On the way back home from work today, i was on call and the call must've dropped a million times. I get back home and the internet wont connect at once. I must try 3 times or more to connect to it. Whats worse? It wont connect at all after 10pm everyday. And i pay for more download capacity after 10PM.
For the last 3 days i have been on call with the great Reliance people where this extremely patient lady reminds me how important my call is and that i must stay on the call because i am such an important customer. Then, when she finally allows me to proceed, another lady tells me how i can check the data usage on the Reliance website. Well lady, exactly how do you expect me to check the data usage ONLINE when you stupid network wont connect to the internet?
And this irritating circus plays out every single day! Everyday!
When i see these management honchos and business tycoons raving about how India is moving closer to be a global force to reckon with, maybe someone should ask them to go take a stroll through the numerous slums in every city, take a deep breath inside the city and get through one call when you realise that suddenly the network is just not there.
As Sandeep said today, the CEOs of these mobile network companies should be made to get onto call to strike a business deal and talk about how stable their network is, only to have the call dropped off at that exact instant. That's apparently the best way to make them realise how poor the services they provide are.
How do they call our country great when the most basic amenities aren't made available to all? How do they call our country great when the monthly income of most of the nation is probably less than 1000rs? How do they call this country great when volvo buses disposed of by the Europe countries are dumped into cities here and we rave and rant about it?
Our refusal to understand and adapting to a changing world will leave us stuck in the same rut as we are now. We are still stuck to blind faiths, century old customs which have no relevance to the current era and maintain enough public hygiene to give a housefly some disease.
I was reading this interesting article in the newspaper. More a situational article:
3 Indians and a foreigner were sitting in a train compartment. The Indians kept asking irrelevant questions to the foreigner such as the train system in his country, the food available there, the language spoken there, etc. And by some inexplicable logic arrived at a conclusion that India is much better in those aspects, especially in culture, than his country is.
After reaching this brilliant conclusion, they crushed the paper they had used to wrap some food and threw it on the floor, dropped the plastic cups onto the floor and slept.
The poor guy looks down only to see what was a neat floor turned into a garbage bin, sighs and goes to sleep.
So much for our culture, huh? Is this how we define ourselves?
Anyway, that was the article.
The reliance lady is still telling me how important my call is by the way... Isn't she bored. For the number of times i've heard this over the last 45 minutes, i should feel like the President of India.
Friday, 12 February 2010
The things a bride-to-be has to go through....
For someone like me who lives to eat, staying away from chocolates, fried food, baked food, cheese, and so on, can be quite torture. Considering my marriage is 3 weeks away, i HAVE to stay away from such heavenly food because of this thing called - acne.
Why do they appear on the face? Big blotches that give away the latest indulgence in culinary sin. Can't wait for binging during the wedding and after too...
Pani puri, chocolate cake, ice cream, pizza with lotsa cheese, bajji bonda, masala dosa, pakoda....! Mmmm...! Damn stupid acne...
And i still cannot stop watching these food shows! And what am i watching now, for the third or fourth time? There's this ice cream place in New York called Serendipity. They have a 1000$ ice cream which is a sundae that has the best vanilla ice cream, madagascar vanilla, exotic fruit, passion fruit caviar, the best chocolate in the world and finally, edible GOLD! I don't think i'd ever buy this but i love watching it being made! Ha!
Money can surely buy happiness sometimes... :P
Why do they appear on the face? Big blotches that give away the latest indulgence in culinary sin. Can't wait for binging during the wedding and after too...
Pani puri, chocolate cake, ice cream, pizza with lotsa cheese, bajji bonda, masala dosa, pakoda....! Mmmm...! Damn stupid acne...
And i still cannot stop watching these food shows! And what am i watching now, for the third or fourth time? There's this ice cream place in New York called Serendipity. They have a 1000$ ice cream which is a sundae that has the best vanilla ice cream, madagascar vanilla, exotic fruit, passion fruit caviar, the best chocolate in the world and finally, edible GOLD! I don't think i'd ever buy this but i love watching it being made! Ha!
Money can surely buy happiness sometimes... :P
Monday, 8 February 2010
Hmmmm....
From 8 months to 3 weeks... I don't know where all that time has gone but i'm glad it has. It's just not setting in. I love watching all this time passing by. It always does, yes. But with an occasion as eventful as i'm heading toward, it's more like seeing something exciting unravel. The best part? The number of days for the wedding are reduced with each day. :)
I especially enjoy going to our wedding website and seeing the number of days getting lesser and lesser. I think i am more excited with Sandeep coming this month end than i am about our wedding.
It all seems so surreal, magical almost. I keep thinking about what i'd be doing a month from now and it all is so drastically new, obviously, from my current pretty mundane life. Yes everyone goes through this but it's new to me. So please bear with this while i vent it out. It's hard to think what life would be like after March, 7th. Let me know if you have an idea or would like to share it. :)
I have no idea why i'm even writing this. It isn't 'blog' material right? :)
I especially enjoy going to our wedding website and seeing the number of days getting lesser and lesser. I think i am more excited with Sandeep coming this month end than i am about our wedding.
It all seems so surreal, magical almost. I keep thinking about what i'd be doing a month from now and it all is so drastically new, obviously, from my current pretty mundane life. Yes everyone goes through this but it's new to me. So please bear with this while i vent it out. It's hard to think what life would be like after March, 7th. Let me know if you have an idea or would like to share it. :)
I have no idea why i'm even writing this. It isn't 'blog' material right? :)
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
The times gone by...
I'm in freepool. Free as a bird! :) Standing in front of the Performance Testing Lab and looking at the same haphazardly arranged chairs and desks stranded with papers and pens, i am instantly reminded of the days when 5 of us began our careers there.
After receiving out initial training at the M G Road office, we were asked to go to the newest building (then) at the Electronic City campus. Construction at the 5th floor, and the floors above the 6th (where the lab is) was still in progress. And the best part, none of the managers were keen to leave the office at a location as convenient as MG Road and come to EC. Imagine what that equals to to a bunch of freshers after 3 months of vigilant training. Bumper Lottery!
I went out to the balcony of the building on that floor and was nostalgic.. The number of days we spent there, pretending to work, bearing the unbearable stench of foul smelling socks and feet of a rather experienced guy who was sent later on to keep and eye on us... Our schedule was like this...
- Reach the campus at 830am . Have breakfast until 930am.
- Get to the lab and sit for 10 mins. Tea was from 10am - 11am
- Check emails from 1100am-1130am, and discuss on 'work for the day' from 1130am-1230pm
- Begin getting people to leave for lunch, 1230pm-1pm
- Lunch from 1pm-2pm
- Do some work from 2pm - 3pm
- Tea from 3pm - 430 pm
- Send emails on 'work done' from 430pm onward and leave at 530pm coz it takes half an hour to reach the bus stand! :P
With a day like that and no supervisor, until geynda arrived i.e., it was no wonder that we had a fanstastic time there. Multiplexes were dutifully visited to watch the latest movie, good business was given to coffee day and barista in the campus and no birthday went by without a huge party and moisturizing the face with the cake...
We surely did that a great time in those 2-3 months. Slowly we all were placed into our projects and all this waned away. Now, each of us are in different locations with destiny changing the courses of our life. Even if we do meet, the same fervor would be missing.. Way too much time has passed by. All that's left are happy memories and pictures...
- Clemy refusing to display his ID after the security person threatened to throw him out when the building caught fire and the dude was right in the middle of the action to capture pictures on his cellphone. Lol...!
- Suman, 2 words--- "I Think...." :)
- Seema, expert in Tedweb and an addict of wipro's webmail :P And oh, the mindblowing PJs... B***s off to you... Rotfl... Sorry seema.. Just too priceless to not mention it :D Shanthosh would agree... :P
- Shanthosh. Ever seen a question mark on a face? Meet Mr.Shanthosh and say something complicated, and he shall demonstrate the expression... hehe...
- Your's truly... Can't believe i had that haristyle and wore that stupid white and blue striped salwar kameez although i hated it...! Interesting anecdotes on me anyone? I can't be anymore self-deprecating. :D
After receiving out initial training at the M G Road office, we were asked to go to the newest building (then) at the Electronic City campus. Construction at the 5th floor, and the floors above the 6th (where the lab is) was still in progress. And the best part, none of the managers were keen to leave the office at a location as convenient as MG Road and come to EC. Imagine what that equals to to a bunch of freshers after 3 months of vigilant training. Bumper Lottery!
I went out to the balcony of the building on that floor and was nostalgic.. The number of days we spent there, pretending to work, bearing the unbearable stench of foul smelling socks and feet of a rather experienced guy who was sent later on to keep and eye on us... Our schedule was like this...
- Reach the campus at 830am . Have breakfast until 930am.
- Get to the lab and sit for 10 mins. Tea was from 10am - 11am
- Check emails from 1100am-1130am, and discuss on 'work for the day' from 1130am-1230pm
- Begin getting people to leave for lunch, 1230pm-1pm
- Lunch from 1pm-2pm
- Do some work from 2pm - 3pm
- Tea from 3pm - 430 pm
- Send emails on 'work done' from 430pm onward and leave at 530pm coz it takes half an hour to reach the bus stand! :P
With a day like that and no supervisor, until geynda arrived i.e., it was no wonder that we had a fanstastic time there. Multiplexes were dutifully visited to watch the latest movie, good business was given to coffee day and barista in the campus and no birthday went by without a huge party and moisturizing the face with the cake...
We surely did that a great time in those 2-3 months. Slowly we all were placed into our projects and all this waned away. Now, each of us are in different locations with destiny changing the courses of our life. Even if we do meet, the same fervor would be missing.. Way too much time has passed by. All that's left are happy memories and pictures...
- Clemy refusing to display his ID after the security person threatened to throw him out when the building caught fire and the dude was right in the middle of the action to capture pictures on his cellphone. Lol...!
- Suman, 2 words--- "I Think...." :)
- Seema, expert in Tedweb and an addict of wipro's webmail :P And oh, the mindblowing PJs... B***s off to you... Rotfl... Sorry seema.. Just too priceless to not mention it :D Shanthosh would agree... :P
- Shanthosh. Ever seen a question mark on a face? Meet Mr.Shanthosh and say something complicated, and he shall demonstrate the expression... hehe...
- Your's truly... Can't believe i had that haristyle and wore that stupid white and blue striped salwar kameez although i hated it...! Interesting anecdotes on me anyone? I can't be anymore self-deprecating. :D
The Auto Driver attitude!
You're driving down the road in the city, and you see that a friend is driving towards you. You both wanna chat for a while? Well, who said you need to park your vehicle to the side of the road and get down and talk? Make it as easy as possible na... After all, bangalore wasn't named the pensioner's paradise for nothing, at least if not for it's laidback attititude. Learn from these auto drivers... As nonchalant as they can get...
They stop adjacent to each other after spotting each other, right at the center of the road with traffic plying on it, next to the buses which depart every 2-3 mins, turn sideways to face each other and gossip away... Oh and the third guy joins too, but only for a few seconds. Never mind the cars passing by... After all, 'swalpa adjust maadi' is the city's slogan.... :D
They stop adjacent to each other after spotting each other, right at the center of the road with traffic plying on it, next to the buses which depart every 2-3 mins, turn sideways to face each other and gossip away... Oh and the third guy joins too, but only for a few seconds. Never mind the cars passing by... After all, 'swalpa adjust maadi' is the city's slogan.... :D
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