Who does not want to attend a wedding? That too after a long time. That too at home town. To meet people whom one hadn't met for years. To meet people whom one does not wish to meet otherwise ! But surely to meet two happiest people, the bride and the groom.
I set off there one day earlier. To attend the wedding end to end. In this scorching summer !
I had a hunch that it would be very difficult to get train tickets, as it was festival season. So kept an alert/alarm on my mobile to book the tickets online the opening day of reservations. I was so happy that I managed to get book tickets, two lower berths in that "UML" (UPPER, MIDDLE, LOWER nothing IT about this ! ) scheme of things!
I expected older people than me in the coach who would invariably request me to exchange their upper berth for my coveted lower berth. I was right. As I settled down in my seat, an old couple entered announcing loudly "what to do, we got only upper berth due to this last minute booking !" I tried not to make any eye contact with those pleading ones as much as possible, looking "nothing" outside the window. But in one weak moment, the senior citizen managed to get my attention and asked the inevitable " Is it possible to exchange my upper berth with your lower one?" I told him it may not be possible as I needed to get some "nice" hot breeze from outside as the train entered more and more into Tamil Nadu/Kerala. I asked him to check with the TTE for a swap.
TTE never appeared as there were more number people in the coach with no reservation or even ticket compared to we - the minority. To my relief the old man managed to get a swap from somebody else before I had to offer him my berth seeing him struggling to enter and keep his 6+ foot body straight on the 5.5 feet long side upper berth - by bending his neck and legs to 90 degrees !
I had to stamp a few people to enter the toilet - the western style - the only western thing in the coach - as people had started sleeping at the entrance, spreading old as well as new newspapers. I knew I would have some "interesting" graffiti to read on the walls of the toilet. I was not disappointed. Apart from the usual ones, this one was new. Comparing a man who can provide a thing to clean the toilet Vs a man who can provide another thing to bring in fragrance in the toilet - election time, they have to appear there too !!
I had a hunch that the train would be late. To my relief it was late by just half an hour. To a greater relief to my call-taxi driver who had been waiting at the station for more than an hour !
"How many times you had come here, you never visited our place ?", my aunt complained loudly in the wedding hall. As if I had visited houses of all the other 900 people in that auditorium ! "You put on some weight", "you lost some weight", "your appearance have changed - good one, continue like this" these were the usual comments I heard liberally. Which I told to others also, more liberally.
While attending a function in a far away place from home or work, it is common to receive a phone call from one of my friends or relatives. To inform me about some "not that good" news for me. Hearing which I can just feel sad and panic, with nothing else possible for me to do. Yes, there was a call like that this time too. Luckily I had not stored that alternate number of that person, did not pick up that emergency call. So I came to know about that failed attempt to inform me "not that good" news only later. By that time good part of the wedding was over ! Including lunch with 40+ items spread. I had eaten three times more quantity than I originally decided I would eat in my strict diet regime !! Still with a disappointment that I could not do enough justice to many of my favorite dishes and desserts.
I returned home safe with many more of my hunches becoming reality. Meeting many more of my expectations. Yes, we need to have hunches, we need to have expectations. To make it highly interesting - also to reduce the impact of last minute surprises - whether it's a journey or life itself !
I set off there one day earlier. To attend the wedding end to end. In this scorching summer !
I had a hunch that it would be very difficult to get train tickets, as it was festival season. So kept an alert/alarm on my mobile to book the tickets online the opening day of reservations. I was so happy that I managed to get book tickets, two lower berths in that "UML" (UPPER, MIDDLE, LOWER nothing IT about this ! ) scheme of things!
I expected older people than me in the coach who would invariably request me to exchange their upper berth for my coveted lower berth. I was right. As I settled down in my seat, an old couple entered announcing loudly "what to do, we got only upper berth due to this last minute booking !" I tried not to make any eye contact with those pleading ones as much as possible, looking "nothing" outside the window. But in one weak moment, the senior citizen managed to get my attention and asked the inevitable " Is it possible to exchange my upper berth with your lower one?" I told him it may not be possible as I needed to get some "nice" hot breeze from outside as the train entered more and more into Tamil Nadu/Kerala. I asked him to check with the TTE for a swap.
TTE never appeared as there were more number people in the coach with no reservation or even ticket compared to we - the minority. To my relief the old man managed to get a swap from somebody else before I had to offer him my berth seeing him struggling to enter and keep his 6+ foot body straight on the 5.5 feet long side upper berth - by bending his neck and legs to 90 degrees !
I had to stamp a few people to enter the toilet - the western style - the only western thing in the coach - as people had started sleeping at the entrance, spreading old as well as new newspapers. I knew I would have some "interesting" graffiti to read on the walls of the toilet. I was not disappointed. Apart from the usual ones, this one was new. Comparing a man who can provide a thing to clean the toilet Vs a man who can provide another thing to bring in fragrance in the toilet - election time, they have to appear there too !!
I had a hunch that the train would be late. To my relief it was late by just half an hour. To a greater relief to my call-taxi driver who had been waiting at the station for more than an hour !
"How many times you had come here, you never visited our place ?", my aunt complained loudly in the wedding hall. As if I had visited houses of all the other 900 people in that auditorium ! "You put on some weight", "you lost some weight", "your appearance have changed - good one, continue like this" these were the usual comments I heard liberally. Which I told to others also, more liberally.
While attending a function in a far away place from home or work, it is common to receive a phone call from one of my friends or relatives. To inform me about some "not that good" news for me. Hearing which I can just feel sad and panic, with nothing else possible for me to do. Yes, there was a call like that this time too. Luckily I had not stored that alternate number of that person, did not pick up that emergency call. So I came to know about that failed attempt to inform me "not that good" news only later. By that time good part of the wedding was over ! Including lunch with 40+ items spread. I had eaten three times more quantity than I originally decided I would eat in my strict diet regime !! Still with a disappointment that I could not do enough justice to many of my favorite dishes and desserts.
I returned home safe with many more of my hunches becoming reality. Meeting many more of my expectations. Yes, we need to have hunches, we need to have expectations. To make it highly interesting - also to reduce the impact of last minute surprises - whether it's a journey or life itself !
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