There are the juicy details…
I reach Chennai on the evening of 5th,which was the evening of Shikks’ Sagai so she sent her driver to pick me up from the station. The driver promptly deposited me in front of Shoppers Stop (babs, you remember we shopped there the last time we were in Chennai) the place was closed but in 10 min Suni and Suresh were there to pick me. Once home, Suni fed me to a healthy diet of home cooked (courtesy excellent culinary skills of the maid) food and fresh episodes of Desperate Housewives.
Next morning we were supposed to go leave the house by 8 but it took me one hour to drape Suni’s sari which we first tried by doing it upside down because both the sides were the same. The pallu was coming on the right shoulder instead of the left…Suni kept insisting that it was the right way and if I had listened to her instead of following my instincts we would have had a fashion fiasco walking, talking at the marriage. We referred Suni’s marriage photograph and finally called Suni’s mum for her opinion. Finally we got the sari logistics right and left the house at 9 ….Suresh had work the entire day so he was unable to come for the marriage and the evening reception.
We reached the venue at around 10 AM, for the main part for the ceremony. Shikks was looking so serious that we could hardly recognise her. In fact I thought we had stepped into the wrong marriage hall. Then we saw Sonith and Rolla… she was looking so lovely with the mustard coloured sari and the Marathi headgear complete with the false hair and jasmine flowers.
Sometime during the ceremony Shikks stepped down from the marriage stage. We pounced on her…we even managed to take snaps with her....he he he.
Sudeep was totally chilled out. He didn’t scruple even to wave at us during the ceremony. We got to see the tying of the mangalsutra and poor Sudeep had to struggle through all that head gear and flowers and he had to put two of them on her. There was a very funny thing that happened…it was before the exchange of the garlands. The pandit had given a garland to Shikha’s dad and told him to give it to Sudeep. Her poor father misunderstood and proceeded to put the garland on Suds and our man was actually bowing down to receive it. Suddenly Sudeep’s dad frantically came and said –No No No…the groom has to put it on the bride!!!!
The whole wedding was long, long and long…even after we had lunch at 1:30; she had to change for the third time and there were still more ceremonies. This time she was in the white mallu sari and was looking divine.
The lunch was veggie and we mistook the ‘Yam Chops’ to be beef fry because it LOOKED like beef fry and it was done like beef fry, but it was only yam!!
The evening reception was better. We met Deepti and her 6 month old baby, Akshara, Maccha, Deepak and his fiancé, Tresa, Sandeep, Tarun minus wife and of course Sonith. The draping of Suni’s sari was again courtesy mua…hmmm…I should start charging for my services for the next wedding…we had a good time bonding with each other till Suresh started calling Suni to remind her for a movie night show…Suni-Suresh have a weekly custom of catching the night show on Thursdays. This time even I was a part of the company.
We finished the dinner buffet in a jiffy and rushed from the reception venue to Inox.
We watched ‘Aaja Nachle’ in City Plaza (I think, that's what it is called).
Babs, you will remember this place. It was the lousy shopping complex shaped like some architectural wonder with invisible exists and NO AC; shikks, you, and I went there to the last time we were in Chennai.
And guys, irrespective of what the critics say, the movie was very good. I actually enjoyed it…we got home around 12:30 and after Suresh finished his midnight dinner; we slept at 2:00, up at 5 for my morning train.
You know what, it was raining through out my visit in Chennai and it rained the worst on Friday morning when I had to leave!!! Sheesh…
Btw, kindly admire the only snap that came out well in my camera phone, of Shikks and Suds.
I got one of Litty’s 21 diamonds pendent too!!! glitter-raz
