A Time to embrace - Rohit and Divya's Wedding :)

Last week was quite a memorable one…my friend and final year neighbor Rohit P’s wedding to his beloved Divya. It was a memorable event from many angles…one, it marked an over-due re-union of us friends at XL…it was such a long time since we had all met! Two, it marked the coming together of two people who are in love. It’s rare to see their kind in these days, so committed to each other…so sure of each other…I am no authority in matters of the heart (in fact, I admit honestly that I am emotionally paralyzed), but just seeing them together makes a smile come to your face. May God bless their lives together! (Amen!) The third amazing thing to notice in the wedding was their families – so cool man!! Be it Rohit’s side, where each member was so enthusiastic about the whole affair that it was contagious (it was amazing to see them in the Sangeet at Swabhumi! And then later on 17^th, the day of wedding…), or Divya side…who has a wonderful, wonderful set of parents [all of us friends found her dad to be super-cool! :)], and an amazing sister – Man, I was floored to hear that she is a M.Sc. (Stats) from IIT, Kanpur!! Even her brother-in-law…I have rarely seen such a soft-spoken Gujju!! :P

Some of you might just find the following details to be a trifle boring, but as I’ve said earlier – some of these writings are back-ups ;) …and sometimes, what seems mundane now will lend to nostalgia later on in life :)

We had amazing 4 days from 14^th to 17^th…starting from the time when the whole sequence of arrivals was reversed…RJ was supposed to come first, then Gunji (that’s what I call him out of affection…we all prefer Chhote Nawab in public!) and then Love Means and Saket (I won’t break-up the pronunciation for this one…but I hope you get the drift…don’t you have a friend called Saket!? :P) …however, it so turned out that Love and Saket came first, then Gunji and finally, eventually, at last…when RJ thought he had eked out every penny of what he had paid for his AC 2 Tier berth, did he allow the train to enter the HWH station…a full 11-12 hours behind schedule!!!!

The next day, yours truly reached the venue for the Sangeet (Swabhumi) a little late from office and so couldn’t participate in it much too… :(((((( Man, I so wanted to dance in Rohit’s wedding!!

Needless to say, the food was divinely delicious…all my mehnat at the gym in the last month was lost to all the finger-lick-able food and deserts! And we gorged on it like true XLers – like we’ve never seen food before! :-P …hey, you appreciate good flowers by smelling them, so how else do you appreciate good food!!? ;-O

The next day was Punjabi sangeet…and yours truly reached so late from office that he missed most of the fun…. Methinks will ask RJ to write about this day…I can’t do justice to this (except, again, to the food!)

The D-Day has arrived….hamara pyaara, sabka dulaara, aankhon ka taara Rohit Dulha ban gaya tha…and the beautiful, graceful and charming Divya was all set to become – officially – our Bhabhi (Bhabhi Maa to me :P) It started from the Salt Lake venue and to Ballygunge Phari, with just a small stop at Spring Club ;)

I saw something which I had never seen before…you see, Gujju weddings are not the best if you want to see pomp or if you want to let out a “I-want-this-at-my-wedding-too” sigh…at the varmala, the couple were asked to climb a stage with a circular platform. As soon as the varmala happened, a fountain of flowers shot up from the floor of the stage on to the couple, and the circular platform started revolving slowly…just like in the movies…A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

And then, the high-tea and dinner…yummy-dummy-licious!!! (ok, I wont write about the delicious chats, yum pizzas, noodles….ok, ok…I’ll stop!) …no, the food isn’t the most important part…that’s just fun…the best part is the coming together of two people who have chosen each other for Life…very rarely do we get to see such a heart-warming gesture from the Heavens and from the respective families of the bride and groom…when it happens, Love blossoms…Life seems smooth, responsibilities are enjoyable, every laugh sounds like bells ringing and even sad moments seem lighter when the heart is fulfilled…

The last sentence may seem like a lot of gyaan…that wasn’t the intention…it was just what I felt seeing them…these are just my best wishes to the beautiful, newly-wed couple…Have Fun For Life!!!

(Oh, I really did feel like a lot of digs in places above, but I’ll reserve them for the subsequent enteries…yup, picture abhi chalu hai mere dost!!)

Just Thought...

- It is surprising to see that for some people, love is more important than everything else...It is equally important to see that for some people, everything else is more important than love...

- By the way, the most surprising thing of all is the importance that the concept of "Love" receives from most people...Is it really worth all the pain and suffering? Or rather, is all the pain and suffering worth the few moments of laughter and bliss of togetherness? (Don't ask me, I can give extremely polarized answers to different people at different times!)

Just Thought...

- Seems like the song "Give me some sunshine" (3 idiots) has become a part of me...keeps playing a lot in my mind...is there some reason?

- its a very exciting phase in ofc these days...as I am getting more and more involved, I am beginning to realize the meaning of "managing expectations"...its a different thing understanding the term and living the term...its a great thing being able to do it...esp when it is done successfully...am realizing one more thing - that in business, you have to BE the brand that you want to create for your company...and this is easier said than done...but its a great challenge !!

Just Thought...

Read this beautiful quote from Fred Allen:

-It is probably not love that makes the world go around, but rather those mutually supportive alliances through which partners recognize their dependence on each other for the achievement of shared and private goals.

Just Thought...

- Joined a gym a few days ago...am really enjoying it...realizing that one's physical stamina is as much as one's mental stamina...the body feels tired/overstretched as soon as the mind does...

Just Thought...

- Thinking too much these days...its resulting in counter-productiveness :(( ...Must stop, pull a brake, JUST STOP all the inconclusive thoughts!!!!

- There is just so much to do, one starts thinking that the personal front is a hindrance to the professional front!!

- Happiness is a stupid emotion - a mrig trishna - and the "hunt for happiness" is the most uncalled for...still we spend our life and energy and mind-space hunting the same...is this some sort of natural human paradox?? I think I was better off when I was in undergrad, happy to be called "The Man with a pace-maker instead of a heart...no emotions!!" Was really happy then!

Dear Blog,

I have been thinking about this for quite some time…in fact, any friend in XL who was patient enough to lend an ear has heard this question from me – what is it in a person that makes him/her successful? What is it in that person that separates him/her from those that are unsuccessful or not so successful?

Better still, allow me to be a bit blunt –what qualities should a man possess that would make him become a “Big Man”? (Sounds a bit weird when expressed in English! So let me express it better – Ek Insaan mein aisi kaun si khubiyan honi chahiye jisse wo ek kaamyaab insaan, ek bada aadmi, ban sake?)

Nope, Bloggie! This isn’t bringing out the “edge” in my question…what I want to ask is, “What makes a person a Dhirubhai Ambani, JRD Tata, Sam Walton?”

What a stupid question, you’d say? I don’t think so. Can you give me an answer? Is there a comprehensive “list” of such qualities or facilities or both? Don’t give me the usual gassy answers…I’ve heard plenty of those…