A CSI Wedding and 13 ghosts

Have you seen the promos of CSI Miami? They often show 360 degree, slow motion clips of action sequence (like travelling bullets) which are impossible to witness in real. It’s interesting to see how the virtual eye dissects every detail of the frame in question. I finally got to catch an episode of it, after the long and exhausting celebrations of my brother’s marriage.
A bride groom gift - dolls dressed in traditional south Indian brahmin marriage dress
Months of planning, endless shopping spree and unstoppable need to please everyone are finally over. My home is filled with bouquet, gift boxes and sweets of several kinds. The much welcomed order and quietness has prevailed again. Here are some “unusual/strange/weird/ one in million/ or call whatever you wish “moments of it.

1. I baby proofed my entire apartment for the marriage – No surprise.

2. I shaved my dad’s head (don’t get me started on the reasons. It’s my first time but it proved to be fun and kind of dad-son bonding event.) – Surprise.

3. My garden is ransacked and my fishes are stressed from all the banging- No sweat.

4. I don’t seem to find my body spray and tongue cleaner – Sweat
Reception decoration, flowers made out of vegetables.
5. I said “Sowkiyama (how are you?) Veetla sowkiyama (how is everyone at home?) to hundreds of people who I swore I don’t remember seeing, even in my dreams – No regrets.

6. I was asked to hide the costly things in home and in function hall from these relatives – Regrets.

7. Dad, mom and few elders were running around like atoms in excited state, in an emotional rollercoaster, ready to cry any moment due to happiness, anger or sadness. And sometimes it’s really hard to tell the difference. Funny.

8. Suddenly the unmarried me have become the topic of discussion for some to advice, to pity and to play very creative rumors (according to an Aunt I am married twice and have 3 kids) – Very funny.

9. A cousin kept harassing me in front of everyone because I did not grant money/permission to a short trip which he and his family wanted to take in the bus arranged for marriage transportation – Not so funny.
10. Specially made meals were home delivered to Julie by his favourite cheffuer. - Very Happy.

11. No matter how much difference you share, people would smile when you have a camera in hand and say cheese – Quite happy.

12. Every relative would like to claim their share of respect, importance and gifts that they receive in the marriage – That’s ok.

13. After seeing the amount of the food that’s wasted, the money that has been spent I feel sorry for those who don’t even have a piece of bread for dinner. – Exactly opposite to being happy.
A vegetable zoo
All said and done I am very happy for my brother and his wife. I just wish it were a family affair. I bet both families spent loads of money, energy and time to please everybody except the bride and the groom. Don’t you think it’s high time we put our Indian marriages under 360 frozen shot like that of CSI Miami for a better look?

Comments

Aarti said…
Lovely post.. Can so relate to everything you've written, seen it happen way too many times in my family n friend circle..

I keep screaming before very wedding- stop spending so much money..ppl[read family] are anyways gonna find some fault or the other..so why bother.. instead give money to some charity or put in bank for the couple or give it to me and i shall go on a tour... :D

crazy!

Heard so much abt CSI from vidya, but yet to watch an episode..will give it a try :D

Take care! hope u, mom n dad got some rest and i feel soo bad i couldnt come :(

oooh, a nice sweet hug to Julie..adorable!! and i think the chauffer[err, nee thaane?] is damn sweet n caring for doing all this n more for his family :D
Number 13 gets my goat (like no other) and the closing lines- how very true, but not happening anytime soon..

Number 2- thgt that was very cute :)

Loved the 2 dolls on display.. how very apt..

Here is wishing your bro and his wife a very happy married life..
and i really liked the fact that amongst all the running around, Julie was very well cared for (lucky dog- i mean this in the nicest possible way)
Swaram said…
Those dolls look so cute :)
Julie is a blessed one :) So nice of u take care so well even when u were busy dng all that mentioned here :)
Nice way of putting it all here. The vegetable arrangements look gr8 :)
Congratulations to all of u @ home :)
Chan said…
Awesome post Sri...could totally relate. Seriously we waste so much time, energy, money and importantly food i our weddings. Wish there could be a change in the way each one of us think.

Typical relatives...guess we'd be one among them if we were on the other side...i suppose again its a 360 degree view...
Soin said…
sign and be done.thats what marriage should sound from my point.free
G3 said…
:)) Unga brotherkku wishes convey pannidunga.. So sorry couldn't make it for the reception :((( Call panna busya iruppengannu theriyum. adhaan oru 2 days gap vittu call pannalaamnu freeya vittuten :D
Ramesh said…
Superb post Sri. Mappillai anna romba handsomea irrukkaru. Evalavu "proposals" kadachuthu ??

Well; the Indian wedding hoopla is not going to go away for a long time. Grin & bear it .....
G said…
haha! i love how you related it all to how CSI Miami's slow motion - high detail shots happen. :D

after soooo long, i can't believe i'm not following you.
for months, i thought i was. i have been reading and commenting on your posts so i never noticed. hahaha. anyway, i'll click the follow button now :P
Verry cute dolls!
After reading felt like as if attended the marriage! So many crazy things ...but we'll follow them blindly to make the elders happy! :)
so thats why you havent been seen recently... no wonder.. so much happening... guess i am more attuned to this, 'cause it happens all the time.. and sort of expect it... but yes, totally agree with you abt the waste of money..... as to the wastage of food, that doesnt happen at my place, 'cause my in-laws keep an eagle's eye on them, and cart the rest off to distribute among the poor. incidentally, here in bbay, there is even a number where u can call up if there is food left over, and those guys come and cart it off themselves to distribute :)

the dolls are beautiful! I wanted one of those, but didnt get them :(
kanagu said…
Wonderfully said... everything...

from the amount spend to the wastage of food... :( :(

and Julie looks so cute... :) :)

Congrats to you all :) :)
Photo Cache said…
I'm surprised with all the chaos around you that you were still able to blog, or blogging is your relaxation.

I love to see all the pageantry associated with Indin wedding. I have been a gues of Bangla wedding, but I'm sure there's a big difference right?

How was your Heart's Day?
jehan said…
i always told my husband that he and my sister's husband are lucky because we (me and my sister with my mom's agreement) only opted for a one-day (one-meal) wedding celebration. the traditional "Igorot" wedding (which could have been followed if my father was still alive) lasts for 3 days. first day: arrival of guests; 2nd day: wedding and celebration; 3rd day: further celebration and departure of guests... and for every day, we have to serve food free flowing. it's really difficult to please everyone especially on big occasions like this... like you've said, oftentimes, we concentrate on making everyone happy except the bride and groom...

this also reminded me of getting invited to a Filipina's wedding here in Korea. she already told me that she's not expecting any gifts from her Filipino friends. instead of money, should i still want to give her a gift, i'd better give her something she could use, she said. why? all the monetary gifts from the guests won't go to the couple anyway, especially to the bride.. haha....
Karthik said…
superb one.

//No matter how much difference you share, people would smile when you have a camera in hand and say cheese – Quite happy.

yup. :)))
TheUncanny said…
//No matter how much difference you share, people would smile when you have a camera in hand and say cheese//

Bang on. U cant say it better!!!!

Asusual, a lovely post!
Charissism said…
Wow! That is one roller coaster experience you had there buddy! haha I can totally relate to the money spent part when preparing for the wedding.hahaha Best Wishes to your brother and his wife. At the end of the day, their love for one another should be remembered most above anything else. :)
Chatterbox said…
Congratulations on your brother's wedding.
Those dolls are real cute :)
WoW! I simply loved the way you captured the CSI essence of photography.

Those salads look awesome :)

Am glad to see Julie being fed in the most caring way :)

You seem to have had a very eventful break.

Have fun Sri and keep writing!!
sri said…
@ Aarti
I did expect u and g3, for u are the few ppl i called from my side. I am glad u could relate to it :)
Amma , appa and bro family are in tirupathi now. They would take sometime to become normal again hehe

@AJCL
haha Thanks much :) When I uploaded the picture I know quite welll that u would like it :) and yes Julie is one lucky dog :)

@Swaram
Thanks for the lovely comment :)

@chan
I am sure we wouldnt be one of them if we were on the other side, I would ask to parcel cutlets, and i wont demand i wasnt photographed by the groom side camera man :)

@soin
haha thats so easy to say hard to implement though.

@g3
Selladhu selladhu I expected u if not for anyone

@Ramesh
haha i guess there were few, but the rumors of me and my inable self, dieasesd, married, or sainthood has spread far across to entertain them :P but still ppl keep trying thier luck.

@Geli
I was worried how my hon Indian friends would take it, glad u liked it :) and thanks for being my fan, its my previlege :)

@Aruna
Rightly said :) follow blindly is what the sentence to describe it

@Anu
I wish they had some number like that here. so much was wasted. Glad u guys are keeping a eye on that. theproblem is to predict how many are coming for the function, exactly. its always a approx number which mostly turns out to be wrong :)

@Kanagu
Thanks bro for your words :P

@Photocache
Yes blogging is my relaxation and yes bangla weddings are quite different from ours. I wish I could share with u some more details of it :) may be when we meet :) Hearts day was the day of reception and I was running around like a dog, quite literally :P

@Jehan
Thats so nice of you to do that. my brothers was a three day wedding plus a day of reception, and its exactly like u mentioned here, arraival of guests and marraige and departure of guests. gosh so much was wasted with all the meal being served everyday like a resutarant. And its very good that u choose to give gifts instead of money, makes sense, same with ours too :)

thats so strange to notice how much we have in common, being from different parts of the world, but thats what makes us asians i think LOL

@Karthik, Theuncanny
Thanks for ur words

@charissism
You said it all, at the end of the day THE BRIDE AND THE GROOM and thier HAPPY LIFE is all that matters :) wishing u a great marriage :)
sri said…
@chatterbox

That was generous of u to praise me like that :) well those arent salads, they are simply for the decoration LOL :)
Smita said…
lol @ 11th :D

And what a great way to summarise a normal Indian wedding :) loved it!!

And trust me if I have my way all Indian Mrrgs wud happen in courts!! What money we will save i tell you!
CYNOSURE said…
nicely summrisd the whole event.......congratulations to your whole family......njoy....:)
A hilarious take on a Indian weddings - cld so related this so well to MY brothers wedding !!
Ratzzz said…
great post... like the way u wrote it..

umm are those veggie decorations from the marriage?? if so then i can see the amount of money gone waste :( sad man...

i am falling in love with Julie.. but i am scared of dogs, so lets keep him in safe distance. :D
Aparna said…
Sure ! A marriage is a medley of sorts - people, events, emotions and menus.

Reading your post I thought you are sounding so sober about celebrations. Any celebrations involves wastage .. Does it not ? I have heard people criticizing Indian marriages ... I kind of have different thoughts. We know out here marriage is a big occasion and parents or family waits to spend the lifetime savings on this occasion. Its heart rending sometimes to think of it (you can imagine because I am eldest in a family of four daughters!) but on the brighter side I feel it atleast limits wastage to fewer occasions in one's lifetime.

On the other side of it - Did our parents spend so much money on hotels, new dresses, cosmetics/grooming ? Everyone of know that what our parents blow up on that one occasion we blow up multiples of that money in smaller installments. When we do it on a daily basis we pride ourselves calling it better lifestyle.

So is there reason to grudge Diwalis, marriages and Vinayaga Chathurthis ? Would it not be better to show responsibility in our everyday life and that would mean enduring and impacting change ?
Annam said…
convey my wishes too:)
alice-in-wonder said…
that was a very nice post, a very unique take on a wedding and the hundreds of events it is made up of.

My best wishes to your brother and sister-in-law!
alice-in-wonder said…
Forgot to mention; those have to be the cutest dolls I have ever seen. :)
Scribbler said…
Nice post!
Best wishes for your Brother and his Wife.
Well said about wasting money on marriages even though I appreciate all the creative works on food.
R-ambam said…
Very nice post !
Vidya said…
I can relate to this post very quickly. I would love to get married with only my immediate family and friends by my side, perhaps in the open, closer to the ocean or up a hill top! :D

Anyway, I loved the pictures of the vegetable zoo. It is very creative. Warm wishes to your brother and sister in law.... Enjoy the new addition to the family!

Vidya
Unknown said…
Where can I find these dolls in India?
Unknown said…
Same question. Where can i get these dolls...

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