Baaraat : the procession

Baaraat : The Procession

There’s a rhythmic beat of drums floating across, weaving its way through the by lanes of our colony, turning and dancing with the breeze that transports this soulful music during the early hours of a divine Tuesday morning. The Sun is yet to reach its hottest and the winter chill makes this morning a rather fog-filled tranquil lazy one. Amidst the “morning walkers” there are bustling house-helpers scurrying around with vessels, cleaning equipment, dog chains, and a variety of utilities.

This mad almost blind rush can relate to only one thing. A Wedding. There’s a wedding set to take place during the course of the day and the family is trying its best to meet deadlines, get everything arranged perfectly for their oldest daughter is set to embark upon a new journey, a new life.

As the ladies can be seen in a flurry, the men are rather relaxed but soon, everyone around will realize that that thing about the men, it’s just a façade. In reality, their hearts are jumping up and down to finally be standing in the present.

As a viewer, all of this chaos seems rather exaggerated but with that thought, comes the realization, that every girl probably thinks like this about a wedding until her day finally arrives. At that point, she’ll probably turn a deaf eye and a blind ear to the wonkies around her J [I haven’t mixed the sensory organs up..I’m just trying to portray the sheer confusion that is, a wedding]

There are so many things to do, so many places to be at, so many people to meet, so many things to eat! I wonder, how, during all the pre-wedding running around, the couple getting married doesn’t forget the reason behind their marriage! It’s like bribing a child preparing for a tough exam with a big box of chocolates every 2minutes until the child finally forgets what he was doing in the first place!

I wonder how many people really put their ‘reason for getting married’ on a higher priority when compared with the menu, the guest list, the date, the venue, and whatever else there may be. Those weddings where everything is so red or pink are very confusing to someone like me. No doubt it all looks wonderfully done, but how come people don’t want to bring some colour into their soon to be new life? Before the wedding, everything is orange and green and yellow and blue and purple and suddenly, after it, things go red!

I’m not sure when people get married, why they do so, but I honestly think a wedding should remain something to be cherished and remembered all your life not only by you, and your spouse, but also, your family, friends, and every bloke who attended it! I’m sure the extravagance has no effect on emotions whatsoever! And as I see it, that’s the beauty of it. The fact that emotions, smiles, love, affection, are unscathed by shimmering metals and gem stones, 53 cuisines at the food counter, imported flowers and cars and a guest list that includes the world and their brother.

Whether one chooses to ‘tie the knot’ under water while scuba diving, or while climbing a mountain during a trek, or spontaneously at a family dinner, how does anything apart from the feeling matter?  Being thoughtful and extravagant are two different things although most parents will go all out on their children’s weddings especially if they’re a single child family.

Even though I never quite understood why the madness has to creep into something that is a celebration of two people uniting and their close friends and family being there to bless them.

The prospect of being able to share your life with someone who completes you is unmatched!  To be able to call someone your own, who will look out for you, look after you, and stand beside you all through, is a gift and a precious one at that. When you’re walking along the sea shore, and you turn to look behind at the impressions of your feet on the wet sand, when you see two pairs instead of one, that strengthening feeling of companionship, is heavenly! :)

To have someone to dance with even though you are the world’s worst dancer, to have a human mirror that reflects to you, who you really are; to learn how to cook things that are not Maggi or plain dal and rice, to be able to step out in the rain without an umbrella and not do it alone; ..these aren’t fairytale stories or Mills and Boons pages. They’re emotions and somehow, for me, they don’t go with the fan-fare!

A wedding is a day for the groom and his bride.. and that’s how it should be :) It’s not a day the bachelor dies. It’s not a day when a mental prison is inaugurated. It’s a day that marks the beginning of the period when you show each other off with the “Mr.” and “Mrs.” Tags :) Sometimes, it’s ok to let the good stuff prevail over the bad, especially when it’s about a very special moment in the lives of two very happy people :)