The Fastest 25 Days Of My Life

I had heard from friends that you plan and plan for months and your wedding is over in a jiffy. Well, I wish I could say that is untrue...but as the title suggests December through January I went through the fastest 25 days of my life. Though the whole time was exciting, there are some memories that I will treasure and never forget.

• Ma and me running all over Ghandhibazar looking for matching petticoats for our saris and the next day Jayanagar 4th block looking for luggage for my wedding. I finally picked up 2 red Antler trolley bags.
• Me arriving 30 minutes late for my spa appointment at Angsana on their weekly half day. But as I was a bride they made an exception and I got to keep my appointment. The treatment you ask? Heavenly!!
• Varsha and me waiting for over 3 hours to get our blouses, which were quite messed up, from our fake designer's workshop. Yes you read it right! Me the super-duper planner actually believed this girl was a designer. Later I realized all the works she showed me were basically her own clothes which her tailor had worked on!!
• Dinner at HRC with appa, amma, Varsha and Sush - she landed early to help me handle my nerves. She is the bestest!!
• Sush and me running around Jayanagar 4th block this time looking for salwaars for the mehendi and then Taj. After roaming all morning, we finally found the prettiest thing at Fab India 5 minutes away from home!
• The bachelorette party!! Adi, Sush, Varsha and I having a gooood time...trying the corset in the ladies room and then thanks to Sush the crazy dance! Not revealing any more :-) The best part?!? We then went to meet Tarun's family at LoR...but we weren't very drunk...honest!
• The morning of the Naandi I realised that I take lots of time to get ready and that I needed help draping a Kanchivaram sari. In my hurry, I remember not wearing my contacts for the function. Luckily things were not too blurry.
• Despite my ongoing tiff with Tarun I was just sooo delighted to see him 18th morning.
• The four of us (appa, amma, Varsha and me) sitting together to perform the pooja was nice because I seriously have no memory of us ever performing a pooja for that long together. I did get a little teary when appa and amma went round the pyre.
• Sunanda aunty coming all the way from Mysore just for the Naandi. The sweetest gesture...
• Varsha, Sush and my pedicure treatment that afternoon at Bounce and then Tarun ending up at Bounce for his haircut. I was meeting just him I think after more than 15 days. So Sush and Varsha ran away to do some shopping...and Tarun and I spent sometime at Coffee Day on Lavelle...where we had earlier spent time during our internships...memories :-)
• Friday the 19th was a crazy day. Had Vidya the beautician come home...after I was done with that Kinja, Varsha, Sush and I hired a cab and went to Commercial Street to pick up ear rings, bangles for Sush and me. And then we had to rush back home for the mehendi session. Adi, Varsha, Sush and I ordered in pizza and Adi stayed over that night. The next morning I realised that my mehendi was the lightest!
• 20th was my first official day as a bride...with so many people at the lunch at Taj I was super nervous for the first and actually the last time. As Adi, Varsha, Sush and I walked into the lawn I will never forget how beautiful Taj looked. They had surpassed my expectations.
• That night my 2-hour nap with Misha scores high on the memory list.
• Sush and my last night up chatting :) Think we were up till a little after 1 a.m.
• On the whole 21st is a day I will never forget...but what I will treasure is the first time I saw Tarun...I was soooo happy...my eyes welled up...I was getting MARRIED to him!
• I also kept giggling for some reason. Was even asked to stop giggling and be a little more demure by an uncle...hahaha!
• Our room at Taj was just a dream.
• Tarun dancing away all night at our reception at the Manipal County. His best performance was for Jhumma Chumma...yeah he danced to that number.
• But ajji tata on the floor just beat everything else!
• Varsha's outburst...literally too...hehehe!
• Lunch in our room at Taj...and drinks at the Blue Bar with Varsha, Tushar, Sudhanva & Dinkar.
• Visit to the registration office on the 24th. For a minute there I thought appa was going to yell at the officer and we'd never get our marriage registered!
• The 1st family outing on the 25th - Ghajini and later the trip to mysore and the lunch at Metropole on the 26th. Jayashree aunty joined us too.
• Uncle getting emotional as he saw Tarun & me off to the airport to catch our flight to Bali. 
• My first trip outside India with Tarun started with coffee at Harrods.
• Our room at Kayumanis Ubud...was breath-taking...this made Taj look like whatever!
• Our picnic to the Buahan village where we sat in a gazebo overlooking a green valley and heavy showers...this was waaaay more romantic than my dreamy head had ever imagined!
• Dinner in the room on the 31st...I did end with an uneasy tummy that night...but it was probably the most beautiful, intimate and romantic new year's eve I will ever have and the best I had ever had after Tarun entered my life!
• Renting DVDs and watching movies curled up in bed in our room...that was just the best...not the movies...
• The whole day shopping at Kuta and then our visit to HRC. Tarun went insane clicking away on appa's olympus.
• The weekend in Jayanagar before appa left...I was sick but the Varsha, Sudhanva and Tarun worked on the wedding albums and it just looked gorgeous. And tata was over for the weekend so we got to share the Bali snaps with him.
• 6th was the day I will always count as the 1st day I spent with the Menon's. Uncle wasn't around, but aunty, Tarun and I went to place an order for our albums, had lunch at Hong Kong Hustle, went to the dry cleaners and then checked out furniture stores for a chest of drawer. Liked something at Fab India, so ordered that and Tarun and I picked up our first thing for home...a lamp for our room.

• The 1st official lunch at achchamma's on the 7th...I was all dressed in a salwaar with the thali. Oh! Tarun and I picked up a printer cum scanner...maybe this is our first buy as the lamp came by exchanging coupons.

• On the 9th Tarun and I took ma to the hospital as she had a catch in her back. We then collected the albums and were home in time for lunch with aunty before she left for Dubai. It is then that it hit me that I was going to be managing a home with Tarun...

The weeks after have had lots of things happening...and it is already over 2 months. Time flies...and I hope to capture as much as possible by writing about it...and now off to the kitchen I go...to make some puliyogre for dinner.

Where Is The Romance?

I wonder sometimes - where is the romance today? You must think it is weird that a week away from my D-Day I should be the one to believe in romance. But sadly I don’t. So then what about love? Well, I believe in love…I think love has survived these times. As the D-day inched closer, I always thought that the romance that once existed would somehow reappear. I remember when we started dating he was so romantic. 

He was the first to tell me the 3 words…and repeat it a million times after…every time assuring me that I could take my time to reciprocate. And I did just that and basked in all the attention. He told me how I was ‘The One’...how I was so woman and just how well we fit. I know we were younger then…it was all new…and we were in love. But the love still exists…the love way more than then. He has been my strength in many situations and I hope I have been the same in his life. But then as I wait for him to call and tell me sweet nothings…or plan a romantic date…or at least spend time with me over the weekend…or try not to meet me for 2 hours in a whole week…I am forced to believe that somewhere down the 3 years the romance ceased to exist. These times are hard to survive…sadly work seems to take most part of our week and many times his weekends as well. Distances are larger…ambitions are higher…and the journey is more a struggle which just manages time for companionship and a little love…but the romance has not survived this journey.

Every time he cancels on me…or changes the plan (which really pisses me off) I am expected to understand, be supportive and just relax. So I do give it a shot…but don’t last more than 2 weeks. He says there is no expiry date for being there for him…and that it is not a barter system that at the end of it I will get something. I wonder how his friends, family, colleagues and everyone else except me would have reacted if they had been stood up so many times and could he have asked them to just be there for him without any expectations without their patience wearing out? This is probably a question for which I will never get an answer…but I still wonder… Every time I complain or as he would put it nag, he tells me that this is the way of life today…that it is impractical for him to plan something after 9 in the night…that I am being immature…and that no one has such a rocking life. And I don’t see how what I am doing is wrong…what is wrong in being impractical, immature and dreaming of a rocking life at times? 

Romance is the result of these ways which most people scorn at… The popular belief is that romance is a girl thing…that begin romantic makes a man more of a wuss, less macho and more hen-pecked. But as we put up with so many of your guy things I think men should entertain some girl things as well and trust me there is a lot of gaining for the men too! To put it simply, men need to realize that all the romance in the first 3 months of a relationship is what makes the woman want to be with them…and if occasionally romance could sneak up the walk down memory lane could be very rewarding!

Wakey! Wakey!

It's 700Hrs...the alarm on my cell goes off. Nowadays it has been set to 'You & Me' by Lifehouse. I open my eyes...look at my blue ceiling...feels nice. I groggily get off my bed...drag myself to the bathroom ...turn on the heater...and then drag myself back to bed. This time I pull my comforter over my head to make sure no light reaches me. It's 730Hrs...my 2nd alarm goes off...'Clocks' by Coldplay plays. I shut it off and starting thinking about getting up after my 3rd alarm to exercise. It's 745Hrs...now my 3rd alarm goes off...again 'Clocks; by Coldplay plays. This time I snooze it. i am still thinking for getting up to exercise. I am serious about exercising...I mean I even downloaded Shilpa's Yoga online. There is also this other book I have on a 20 minute exercise routine...so now which one do I do? The alarm goes off again...it's almost 800Hrs. Great! Now it is late...I can not exercise...I might as well snooze a bit more...at least get some sleep...so that I don't look drained out at work. And also I seem to be getting bags under my eyes now...I think I should sleep more. Beauty Sleep...that's what I need. I wake up with a start...it's 815Hrs. Whoa! I am late for work now. I jump out of bed. The heater has been on way too long now. I make up bed...go to the bathroom...hurriedly brush my teeth...have a bath...I am out in ten minutes. It's 830Hrs. A quick prayer...and then the moisturizing routine. It's 838Hrs. Okies! I just put on something black. Get into a pair of jeans. Rush to the kitchen. Pour myself a glass of cold milk. That's all the breakfast I have time for. It's 850Hrs. Back into my room. Quickly pack my bag for work. House keys. Check. Lip balm. Check. Jacket. Check. MP3 player. Check. It's 855Hrs. I am walking towards the door...digging through my bag for the scooter keys. Darn! I have left that on my bed. Run back to my room. Scooter keys. Check. I am at the door...reach for my cell to check the time. Arrgghhh!! My cell's in the room. Dash to my room. Cell's on the side table...still charging. I unplug it and walk briskly to the door. It's 904Hrs. I call the lift. As it comes up to the 7th floor, I put on my jacket and plug my MP3 player. Get into the lift...look at myself in the mirror. Hair's in place. Check. Feeling good. Check. It's 907Hrs. On my scooter...off to work...and I am thinking - tomorrow I will start exercising...for sure. All I have to do is wake up at 0700Hrs.