The Seventh Month

BOY!!

My last post was at the end of June. This one at the beginning of August. Where was I the whole of July? Man.. What can I say?

July seems to have disappeared into vapors for me. So many things crammed into one month, it spins my head to think I really pulled it off.

It all started with the wait to begin my long awaited vacation from the 4Th of July, the first three days of July seemed never to end. Then came 4Th of July and there I was, pretty pleased with having received all the relatives. Ready for the events to come on. 5 Th and 6 Th went away in shopping for stuff. Thanks to Rafi Bhaiya and Sartaj bhaiya, it was a blissful time. Great discounts and some not so great (you know, FIXED COST, NO BARGAINING type shops he he) in the end the experience simply added to the fun.

Then 6Th July was the time for me to get tense about the forthcoming days. Am I good enough? Will I be able to justify myself? Will I perform (on stage) well? Am I ready for this? All silly questions. Made me miserable for some time. but the constant goings and comings of friends, relatives and everyone kept me quite occupied.

There was never a time i felt so lonely at the start of the day and so well cared for by the end of the day, never ever in my life!!!

7th July will be quite an unforgettable day. I kind of lived my whole life in that one day. The morning wasn't anything spectacular. I was sitting around doing nothing. Those questions surfacing again. My best friend was occupied somewhere else. No one was there beside me. At a time when i was about to enter another life, I sat alone, doing nothing. But soon, my sisters took charge and took all the trouble to make me up to be a good-looking bridegroom. And hence commenced my first facial ever. HAHAHA. Then came the head massage and i was cleared. Then came Badar to gift me those spectacular watches he bought for me. That was a great feeling. And I was no longer alone. I was literally swarmed. After this the pace never slowed down a bit. Things kept happening at such a fast pace... it seems a blur now.

There were serious deadlines to be kept in reaching the function hall. My in-laws wanted it to be a punctual affair. So did I. So there were quite a few things to be done before leaving for the function hall. The room had to be decorated for which i had to get an electrician who would drill a hole to set up a mosquito net!! hahah.. bloody electrician understood my need and over-charged me. Lemme get my hands on him once. I will make him realize what a mistake it was.

Did some shopping in my colony, where I chanced upon a set of my in-laws, surprised to see me out and about. Soon it was time to start for the hall. In the back of a Toyota Qualis and my dadiammi(granny) in it. I holding onto her wheelchair from banging into the seat with another cousin of mine. That moment, being with my granny when going to the Nikah was one of the highlights of the day. It made me so happy.

The bride's side was getting ready at the hall with all preparations in place. Me and the bride (Sameera) reached the function hall (Pavan garden) within 10 minutes of each other. Offered the prayers at the function hall. Three of them (Asr, Maghrib and Isha). It was time to get ready after maghrib. I put on my Sherwani, which was quite hard to do, had to seek help from a cousin to put the top most buckle. And there that in place, i headed for the stage. On the way i could see old friends reaching the function early. waving to them i reached the stage and once again, I was ALONE! nobody to keep me company. My friends busy with their own stuff. soon some friends joined me on stage. I felt better. Then the Qazi came and performed the paper-work. Meanwhile Imam saheb delivered a lecture on the importance of marriage which i missed as i was busy with paperwork. This happened so fast, by the time i realized what was happening it was done.

My marriage. With one "Maine Qubool kiya!!" I was married!!

After the sermon in Arabic and Dua in Arabic-Urdu started the flow of invitees. The Hyderabadi Dulha (bridegroom) has to complete nearly 1200 hugs (approx). 3 to each person. So there was the performance i was talking about. Never in my life have I hugged so many people - known and unknown. :D

It was a little too much to handle. The constant press on my lungs made me nauseating and my head started throbbing. I was down and out. I was sick. Dinner followed and I never thought that I would not eat at my own wedding!! Reminded me of my Sister's reception, where I didn't perform too well either.

Had a nice laugh later with Moin. The rest room event is one of the most funniest things to happen in July. Hahahaha.. (not to be shared here!!)

After that came the most wonderful part. Well, :) It was time to meet my bride :D Which will be one of the happiest moments in my life.

After some rituals of farewell we both were allowed to get back home to sleep.

Valima - The reception went well. I was much careful. Giving lighter hugs and drinking water intermittently. I was very very careful and in the end it paid off. I had a gala time at the dinner with chilly chicken and stuff.. hmmmmmmm.. and next day we were supposed to leave for Kashmir so we tried to wrap up stuff faster and leave and wake up early in the morning.

Well it was a short trip but filled with the entire gamut of experiences that I will again not forget. I will put the trip into telegraphic style.

We reached just in time for the check-in. Took the flight. Reached Delhi. Baggage Missing. Missed connecting flight. Stayed in Delhi - 1 day. Visited important places (India Gate, Metro, Presidential Palace, Red Fort). Reached Srinagar. Tight Security. Beautiful Mountains. Great Hospitality. Went to Gulmarg. Amazing Place. Horse Ridings. Lovely Food. Went to Pehelgaum. Nice Road. Cool Water. Great Views. Got Back to Srinagar. Houseboat. Wonderful Experience. Dangerous Shikara Ride in Night. Good News of Ayesha. Pleasant Shikara Ride in the Morning. Water Sled ride. 5 star buffet!! Next morning Flight to Delhi. Met Harpreet (friend). Reached Hyderabad. Baggage Missing. :)

My Sister was leaving for the US right at the moment we landed at Hyderabad Airport. Me and Sameera rushed out to meet her and we reached just in time. Gave her some Kashmiri mementos and bade her farewell. Then All our household got busy with Ayesha's good news. i.e. Her wedding. Fastest planned wedding I ever experienced. One Week Flat. And everything went smooth Alhamdullilah. Went to her Reception in a Bus. Which indecently got stuck deep in mud. The proposed time of departure that was 12 a.m. turned out to be 7 a.m. All the while we were awake. Trying to get the bus out. Helping with bricks and granite to no avail. It had to be a bull dozer and 4 rounds of a 9mm steel rod between the bus and the dozer to get that thing out. Unforgettable experience. Maybe a blog in itself. 20 days of the month already gone!!

I reported back to office. The last week of the month in office, trying to work. In the meantime, got an infection and got a bad cough. Father-in-law left on 28th by which time had to attend some delicious dinners. Awesome.

So this is it. Not a complete account by any stretch of imagination but mandatory. I will most probably write about the firsts that I did during the Kashmir trip. Till then. Have fun. Keep Praying for me as I pray for you. PEACE