Wedding Season Again

It is the wedding season again. Everyday hundreds and thousands of people are tying the holy knot of matrimony. Day by day this once in a lifetime affair is becoming bigger and grander. People are ready to go to any limits for making it memorable and the big fat Indian wedding has truly come of age. Wedding season in India is full of enthusiasm, fun, frolic and not to forget those sleepless nights [spend by the bride and groom in you know what, and by the relatives in celebrations].

The whole family gets together, and one even gets to meet all the distant relatives whom we get to see only on occasions like these. No doubt that for the family the experience is truly memorable and enjoyable. After the big time planning and preparations, all the pre-marital functions finally the ‘d-day’ arrives, and by the time it is there everyone is tired like hell, but you cannot feel it just by looking at them. The ‘n’ no. of rituals starting in the morning continues till the wee hours of next morning. Nothing is new in it, and where there are wedding celebrations obviously there are guests.

I have already told you about what your fate can be like when you are in a family wedding [http://www.zhagdoo.com/2007/06/27/weddings/]. But then there are times when you are not in a family wedding. It is some wedding of any of your parent’s acquaintance and you are supposed to go there with them. Unlike the family one, where you tend to know many people, here you hardly know anyone except one or two at the most. In every season we attend one or two such weddings and this time [UN]luckily I happened to visit quite a few of them. So what was am suppose to do there? Nothing, but watch the plethora of people around me [Watching different people indulging in different activities and then trying to write about them is emerging like one of my favourite time pass].

The first guy [in fact two guys] I find worth mentioning were the ‘bechain atmas’ [restless souls]. Both of them were hopping from one place to other and initially I thought they were desperately looking for a loo. But soon I realised they were the members of world famous group FOSLA [frustrated on sided lovers association aka FOSLA]. Both of them were on a mission on getting into the route of each and every single gal present in the wedding [don’t know to whose side did they belonged, bride or the groom?].

The second type is of the dreadfully eating species. This group can be seen around the food stalls and around the food stalls and around the food stalls only. The moment they enter the pandal, just after the customary greetings to the host they are continuously munching something or the other. All the people whom they meet during their brief stint in the wedding are in this area only. After looking at them it feels as if they have been on a fast [in preparation of this day] from the day they received the invitation card. These people do not have any particular choice and favourites. They are on a mission of trying out each and every dish on the menu atleast once and then if the stomach permits rechecking the ones they liked. This category has a sub class of wedding crashers, because these crashers are also there for the food only. One can say about them ‘yeh category wale kiske? Khaya-piya aur khiske’.

The third category people are the Mr. Know Everyone. These women or men know everyone present in the gathering and they personally meet everyone like they are ‘langotiya yaar [underwear friends][doesn’t matter even if they don’t know them personally]. I personally feel these are the most avoidable sort of because if you happen to know them, then they will take you along and make at least 2 or 3 rounds of pandal to introduce you to each and every chacha, tau, mama, bhateeja etc. of the bride or groom [depending upon from which side you are].

The next class is that of avid dancers [mostly the grooms family constitutes this category]. These people gets on to the dance floors and just refuse to get down. They are my personal favourites because they provide you with non stop entertainment and that too without any ‘rookawat ke liye khed hai’ excuses. The DJ has something to do in the wedding, courtesy these people only. Then in this category there is a sub category. It is of those who wants to dance but are too shy to step on the floor on their own. They keep on standing at the edge and tapping their one feet. They will be in this position only, until someone from the parent class comes and pulls them on the floor. Initially they will try to shrug them off [mind you it is just a customary gesture, no serious intentions involve] but after one or two requests they will start with their highly stylised steps and then there is no looking back.

Last but not the least category is of the people who do not have anything to do in the wedding. They hardly know anyone and they are just seen quietly sitting or standing at some place and looking at what others are doing. You guessed it right, the category of people like me. This is one of the most important group because in the whole wedding they are the only ones who have time for looking at others [rest all are too indulged in their activities and hardly has any time to look at anything else]. They are the ones admiring your dresses and your dancing steps.

All these people are an integral part of a ‘big fat Indian wedding’ and without them this once in a lifetime experience [for the bride and groom] is incomplete. So next time you go to a wedding try and identify these categories. Let’s see how many you can spot?

2 thoughts on “Wedding Season Again”

  1. Must say too good.. I have recently been to a marriage, n i can apparantly put all the relatives i met in one of the category …
    :)

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