Aditya's Wedding

The Wedding day was unusually slow till mid afternoon/early evening. Sarin did not show
up but Shalabh did, with 2 of his batchmates from IIM-B & boy, did we have a good time
together. Now, my belief in the theory, that all MBAs hit together and exchange war
stories, is complete.

Even today was as sultry as yesterday. If Aditya's wedding extended over 15 days & in this weather - i would have lost atleast a few good inches off my waist. I strongly believe that the sweat glands are going to demand a extended vacation from all the efforts of the last 2 days.

The Bridegroom's dress deserves a special mention. It was designed by his sister - Megha, who recently completed her NIFT bachelor's degree. Mark my word, if the bridegroom's dress is any indication, she has the potential to go quite a distance in her profession. The embroidery was complex & stood out of the grey sharwani material. With the embedded stones responding to light in the most positive fashion, the Sherwani made a great statement.

The baraat started at about 1930 about a good kilometer away from the wedding location & there was much hesitation from the party to move fast. They wanted to make the most of the baraat, as this was the first wedding in 15 years in the family (a snippet from the horse-ridden bridegroom).

As we progressed, i could not help notice the amount of road space that we took & there were very few vehichle owners who were upset with this fact. Maybe, they were enjoying the baraat, or being polite to the ritual - there was very little honking from the traffic.

As the party winded into the hotel, i noticed that there was 2 'Aditya' weddings in the hotel. A good amount of navigation was requried to get the party into the right slot. Soon, there was the second baraat - but believe me, their's was no comparsion to ours. There was less music, lesser dance, no stunning fireworks and they moved too quickly.

After the groom happily relinquished his horse & made way to the mandap, quite a few of them - hit the refreshment stalls & returned in time when the bride arrived at the mandap. A few minutes later & half a dozen attempts to garland Aditya (held high by his cousin as well pushing himself to the limit for some time!), the groom was conquered. A frank remark here Adi, the bride is as tall as you are - i guess she could have garlanded you without much effort, but she was being nice to you.
When Shalabh & i compared our snaps - we found that his coverage was wider but his snaps took a little toll from the videographer's light source. Now, rejuvinated from their attack on the refreshment stalls, the elders came up to congratulate the new couples & take snaps with them - recording their presence in the wedding, while the younger lot hit the dance floors.

An hour later, all of us (save the bride, groom & a few others) hit the dinner room downstairs.At about 0100, Sunday morning - Adi, Reshmi & their close ones retired to the dinner room, a small stop before the completion of the wedding vows. While i wanted to join them for the cermony - the train back to Chennai would not wait. This was quite an eventful wedding & my enjoyment in this lasted the whole time.

A special note here of Aditya's parents - Uncleji when he came to greet me on Friday Morning told me that i was now a family member and being a good friend of Aditya, gave me this special status. Till the end, i - Kalyan, was called 'Aditya Bhiayya ke dost' and the treatment was on par with what was accorded to Aditya. I guess, i am hunbled by this gesture and can but thank them for this honor. It was a pleasure knowing all those cousins and his relatives.