Reception galatta - what a bulb!!

U know whatz the worst thing abt wedding receptions??? Standing at the entrance and inviting people with the traditional rose water sprinkling... giving rose flower, sugar candies n stuff like that..... Well if its ur immediate family wedding, u would be more than glad to invite the guests..... But in the case of not sooooo familiar family receptions, it feels kinda awkward to be doing that job.....for the simple reason that u dont know most of the invitees...... n u jus have to put up an artificial plastic smile n say "vango maami" "welcome sir...err uncle" or a 'hi' to an suspiciously staring 5 year old....... Now coming to the matter.....i.e. why am writing this blog is because of a major bulb that i got in one of our family friend's reception... I was asked to do the inviting job at the reception... The reception happened at one of the city's famous lawn restaurants (though the reception was not in the lawn)...... As luck would have it, a lot of receptions were happening that day at the different halls located across the floors of the restaurant... Ours...i mean the friend's reception was in the ground floor... I floor there was another... When the aunty (groom's mom) asked if i ll stand at the reception counter, i was about to give some excuse when, my parents stepped in and said..... 'absolutely no problem... what does she have to do?? Jus stand there, look at people n invite them.... anyway she keeps 'paraaku partthufying'.... no problem..' So, with a disgruntled look, i took up position behind that table... People started coming in.... Not knowing whether to say a 'namasthey' with hands folded or a 'hi' with a wave of hand, i started on a wrong note... I wished 'hi' to an old paati n namaskaram to an heppy hep woman... Phew.... starting trouble..................

Then......it happened...

An elderly couple walked in... This time, trying not to make a fool of myself, I welcomed them with a smile and a 'namaskaram'. Something about them struck me... they didnt look like our kinda people.... the way the paati had tied her saree....... But nevertheless, they could be a friend of the groom's or bride's parents..how am I supposed to know??... The thought jus vanished immediately... They looked sceptical initially, but the paati smiled at me reassuringly n took the flower n candies....n I generously sprinkled rose water too....... The couple entered the hall..................out of sight-out of mind.... I totally forgot about them... The other invitees kept pouring in n i was busy with my sprinkling business. After some time, the elderly couple came back..but they looked out of sorts...... I could see my aunty and mom coming quite a few steps behind them... That paati came near me again n told 'nanga indha recepsion ku varala papa.... nanga Murugesan (name changed!!!) recepsionku vando... adhu onnavudhu maadinu sonnanga... nee kooptiya....vandhutom'....... I was dumbstruck.... what a bulb!!! As they crossed me and walked towards the stairs, I heard the thatha tell that paati 'anga poi ennatha saapudardhu? Ingayae saaptomay!!!' Dont ask me how they managed to eat the dinner without seeing the new couple!!!! (am clueless!!!)

Meanwhile, aunty n mom had reached the table.. The aunty was like 'Priya -- U invite all those who come here... those who have come for our reception... not everybody coming to this restaurant' she also added 'n they have eaten our food also!!!!!' My mom n dad (who had joined my mom by then) were controlling their laughter.. But lo... my mom gave way n burst out laughing at what i had done.. I was totally confused!!!! How am i supposed to know that these r (and not) the people who have come to attend this reception????? If they walk up to me, I would welcome them... what rubbish!!! Anyways, i thought 'serves the aunty rite' ......made me stand for 3 odd hours... good!! Heart of heart, i was feeling guilty also..............for the old couple for having pulled them into the wrong reception...Dear Bloggies!!!! please....... in future, if u r in a situation where u have to stand in the reception committee in a multi-hall restaurant, make sure there is a banner mentioning the names of the bride n groom...

Dont bulb adicchify like me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bulbye!!!!!!

The return of the Legend!

Wow!!! It was a dream-come-true for many devoted Sampras fans like me..... A clash between Sampras (once the conquerer of the tennis world) and Roger Federer (the current champ)!!!!!!!!!!! U ask any Sampras fan to describe his play, they cannot... for no word can befit the quality of Pete's volley or serves or aces or whatever strike he plays.... Hez jus amazing......extraordinary...... brilliant..... I mean....jus superb!!!!!!!!! His return between the legs is the Master piece........ He broke my teeny-weeny heart when he called it quits and walked out moist eyed......... How I wished i could meet him and convince him to play for some more time.... Jus watching him play his natural game would fill a million hearts with immense happiness.... Not many can forget his victory in one of the grand slam finals (which he said was a tribute to his late coach) where he jus broke out after scoring the winning point!!!! My heart was choked... i could feel my lungs squeezing.... Oh boy, such a cool headed gentleman could get so emotional........thats Pete for u...

Getting back to the match, Sampras, who had stayed away from tennis for nearly 5 years looked amazingly comfortable in the court..... Beating Roger (the invincible!!!!!) in straight sets...... he made Roger look like a Junior champ.... Wow!! Am a great fan of Roger too.... Roger himself was jus awed... Am sure he would slept that night with a smile on his face... .a contended smile for the reason that he got the rarest opportunity to play against Pete....... to be on the same tuft of grass as Pete....... Roger was genuine enough to accept Pete's Mastery......that speaks volumes about his character............ appreciate a good game.. Am sure he would have taken loads of leaves out of that match..... Nadal.........u better be careful!!!!!! Roger is here to rock!!! But............... lo.........SAMPRAS IS THE BEST n ALL TIME GREATEST PLAYER!!!!!

Three cheers to Sampras!!! hip hip HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tring Tring....................

Kamala (name changed!!!) was eager to attend the call......... Everybody had their turns to pick up the receiver when the phone went tring......tring.......(of course when the operator was not around)...... Today, she was more than excited..... Almost like a gift from the Almighty, it happened!!!!! The phone rang.... Kamala almost instantaneously leaped from her seat to make it to the phone before it got cut.... She murmured something into the receiver, put it down and looked around....... the call was not for her..... with her eyes twinkling as brightly as ever, she dashed to the main door... She stopped near the door, turned and asked her colleague something. But before she could reply, kamala was off..... She managed to bug another colleague outside, who seemed to be happily talking to someone else on his personal fone.... He gestured that he too didnt know n continued with his conversation... Our heroine Kamala- an enthu pattani, could not tolerate this... Determined to help the person waiting over the fone, she decided to bug the Chief himself... In her excitement, she was hysterical..... The chief was in the middle of a serious conversation over his fone. Kamala, with the determination of a soldier, marched straight towards him.. Taking giant steps (almost running), she was about to say 'Excuse me Sir' n lo!!!!!!!! she slipped n swayed to her right side n ended up saying 'excuse me saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar' ... The chief, amidst his serious talk, suddenly seeing his employee swaying before him was stunned beyond words...

Chief (terrified!!!): R u ok? what happened??

Kamala, trying to hide her embarrassment, giggle and excitement, blurted out 'Sir, there is a call for u'

Chief: oh, whos it?

Kamala (totally lost) err sir, well soembody wants ur fax no........ Somaaaaaa something reddy... (name changed!!!)

Chief: Somaaaaa what? I dont know anyone by that name!!!!!!

Kamala (feeling miserable n apologetic): Sir, it was some Reddy...... I dont know............. I couldnt hear properly....

Chief: Ah!! its ok...I ll attend the call..n so the chief cut his mobile fone conversation n walked to attend the call...................

Kamala, feeling highly embarrassed, came back to her seat n told her colleague about the incident.. n Gosh!!!!!! her friend burst out laughing....... imagining kamala doing that 'Saaaaaaaaaaaar' dance made her laugh her head off.... Kamala suddenly felt relieved and she too burst out laughing..... Phew!!!! wiping the tears of laughter, Kamala n her colleague got back to work...

The phone didnt ring another time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oye!!! what a Cakey day that was!!!!!!!!

One of my best days...................my candid confession........ I never thought that WE------- my cute lit'le buggy Bree 'n' I could ever do this!!!!! OMG!!!!! V ourselves couldnt believe it!!!! It all started with Bree...... She had promised to buy me a piece of cake lonnnnnnnngggggggg time back.... But as usual she had her own reasons (at times genuine, at times cranky) to avoid it...... Later, came a situation where v both decided to party along with our dear Kudumba isthiri!! ;) ...But that turned out to be even more worse...... It hasnt materialized as yet......BUT...... wait..........the whole point for writing this blog is this.............................

Bree n I had a bet (on one of the most Unpredictable changes in our city, which always lets our weather forecasters down!! –RAIN…… N rain God decided to have some mercy on me….. He made a guest appearance on earth……enough to declare me ‘victorious’ in our bet!!! ) ..... So Bree had to buy me a cake again... This time, not willing to be fooled, i kept bugging Breeeee (for a change!!!!)...... It happened on a Monday!!! Bugged with work, Bree n I could no longer hold to our seats..... Bree wanted to go for a walk...........I suddenly remembered the cake matter...... n Lo...... to our own surprise.......v were on the Mission Impossible......... With our limited financial resources, v managed to crash into a bakery (v sincerely asked for permission from our Boss)...... Before our eyes lay the most exotic cakes.... Jus like any eager four-and-a-half, v excitedly read the labels of all the cakes. Ramanuja would have been proud of us that day for, once, both of us got our calculations right!!!!!!! v quickly decided on the CAKES.... It was a piece of Choco mud 'n' one of Black forest......

The choco mud was a real beauty....Made of dark chocolate with grated chocolate as the topping...... Wow!!!!!!! We relished every wee bit of it.... with hmmmms..... and yum yum yum........ The bakery guy would have wondered if v had come straight out of the mental hospital...... for it was a scene worth it..... Two hungry souls trying their level best to take smallest pieces of the cake..... Before v could realize, the choco mud had disappeared... Then v took the black forest to task!!! The blackforest was picture perfect!!!!! Rich chocolate with creamy icing n a lovely red cherry sitting right on top!!! Lucky I......for Breee does not like cherries.... So i had the icing cherry. Breee n I were beaming ear to ear....... What a feeling that was...... Blackforest on the table.....n ur best friend beside........ what a day...... We paid our due respects to blackforest n let its soul (50-50 of course!!!) rest in piece (oops peace!!) in our kutty tummies

Feeling elated, v got ready to leave the bakery (of course after paying the bill :( !!!!!!). But Breee...... who till then, i thought was a incurable R...... also turned out to be an incurable cake eater...... V still had some bucks left with us..... Greed crept in silently.... Of course... both of us were equally hesitant to ask each other if the other needed another of something... But the smile on both our faces said it all....... V made a roundabout turn n walked back to the cake counter..... This time it was a choco Mousse.... Dont ask how v got the pronunciation right..... V jus managed to point to the delicious cup n asked for it..... OMG!!!! another choco base.... The bakery man gave us a weird look (to hell with him...whats his problem when v pay for what v eat????? I dont understand now nor did i then....).. We settled on the same table with our new sweetie.... We started eating excitedly....but lo, our tummies couldn keep pace with our appetite.... With hardly 2 spoons down the pipe, v were full!!!!!!!!!!! Not in a mood to give up on the tasty, creamy, mouth-watering, dripping, yummmmmmmy........ mousse , v did a bit of shaking, standing n rocking to accommodate some more.... Finally, v managed to empty the cup to the last bit..... Gosh...... v couldn get up!!!!!!!!! With much of deliberation, v crawled n crawled and came out of the bakery... Thank God v were bankrupt.. Or else God knows what else v would have tried!!!!!!! Walking was never so difficult for both of us who actually love walking...rather gallivanting.... Every step seemed like a mile......... Its another revelation that we reached office.....Everyone in office looked suspiciously at us for v had told that v were going out to have TENDER COCONUT WATER!!!!!!!!!! Could tender coconut water have such an effect on two kucchi souls??????? Nobody questioned though.... Our guilty conscience stopped us from telling the truth..... But the jumbo combo of 3 cakes had its effects almost instantaneously... Bree n I were in a state of hangover!!!!!!! Our speech was incoherent.... thoughts jumbled!!!!! we kept vaguely mumbling about mud and forest and mouse..... Nobody understood the context....but v managed to cook up a story for that....

Phew!!!!!!!!!!!! But what a day that was!!!!!!!! It was almost like a fulfillment of a lifetime ambition……Hey Breee!!!!!! Can never forget that day!!!! Hope there are many more days like this to come (touchwood!!!!!!!!!!!) N my dear kudumba isthiri…….. v have not left u out… this was a different treat… .Bree still owes us that blackforest treat…………. Bree, don’t forget!!!!!!!!

Un theeno cakes ki kasam!!!!!!

Marriage........................

SHE says.....................

For every girl, marriage is an memorable event filled with mixed emotions.......... A new World to step into........but at the same time.............. leaving behind the most comfortable, caring and nostalgic memories-filled World!!. Every girl is sent with loads of 'goodies' which r to become her possessions.... But what about those cherished invaluable real souvenirs treasured for ages????????...........like

* the first cartoon picture which got her a star from the art teacher

* the first pencil box..... though unrecognizable, it would still bring a smile onto the face

* the half-chewed Natraj pencil

* the ol' little teddy bear.... with one ear missing

* the half used crayons

* the first birthday gift

* Greeting cards sent by friends for years

* the dear old BSA SLR cycle.......

* the collection of teddy bears.........of different sizes......

* that Physics, chemistry, Biology record (painstakingly copied??? n written at times, OMG!!!! those wonderful pictures of dissected flowers, frogs, cockroaches!!!!!)....... which had successfully fought its way with the PG medical books to remain in one corner of the shelf

* the table rose plant which had been tended to for so long.......

* the friendly vegetable vendor who had been there right from when the girl had been a toddler...calling her 'papa' till date... Wil there be someone in the new neighborhood to call her 'papa' any longer???

* the mango tree companion.........the kutti kaka.......... can somebody give him the new address???

* that one odd earing which a dear friend had given as a token of love n remembrance..

* the 6th Std maths answer sheet which has a 100/100 score with a V. good scribbled next to it by the favorite maths teacher

* the first pen-pencil ever bought

* the still good hero pen

* the first pillayar (vaguely resembling him though!!!)made out of clay.................

..........Can the girl carry these 'n' other rugged possessions along with her?? wil it be valued n appreciated??Other than her parents, can anyone else realize its worth?????

and above all.............................. leaving the family behind.................... as the d-day approaches, its sadness more than the excitement......

HE says..................

OMG!!! For guys, with marriage comes a free add-on!!!!!!! Responsibility..... The guy is probably expected to be more responsible for his seemingly docile wife than for himself..... How on earth could a funky, care-free, tomboy become Mr. Responsible overnite??????? Too much of an expectation...... forced to make enough room in his jam-packed masculine closet for her things.... guess devoting the space in his entire heart for her is easier than vacating a quarter of the closet!!!!!! Some of his dreamgirlz' posters might have to be unceremoniously removed.......to give her that feeling of a goody goody boy....... will she be able to adjust with his parents n siblings??? he will have to be the perfect neutral pointer in this very delicate balance...... Wil she understand me??? -----Fingers crossed!!!!

He 'n' She together say.........

Wow!!!!!!! here v go!!!! A beautiful Dawn, a wonderful beginning!!!!!!!!!!!!! Better-half!!!Loads of promises n surprises!!!!!!! unparalleled love n affection..... to last a lifetime!!...to fill in the countless days to come...................................... A relationship garnered with trust, understanding, small compromises, a few spicy fights, baseless misunderstandings (of course those that do not last for more than a few minutes!!!!!!!!!!!) and above all.........the feeling of Belonging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that's life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!