Ke aayi ab apni bhi baari......

Okay okay.....so hold your breath for the biggest news from our fold! I remember the last two times I said this was first in 2006- to announce the seeding of my first born and then 2008- to announce that we have another baby coming along, in case you didn't wish me for the first one! But this time the news is BIGGER! It relates to our first baby- Rahul- who is set to step into matrimony at the end of this year :). The bride of the year is Nishita! I wont say much on her or she ll call me up and say- "Parul Di, mujhse pooch to lete aap! Main aapko aur mirch masala bata deti!". All I should say is that she and her family have fit into ours - like the most perfect missing link :). 

And just in case you are curious, Nishita has by-hearted my earlier post on my version of an 'Ideal dulhan' for my brother and we will be conducting a reality show like function, with her on the hot seat, where she can answer every bullet point. Await invitations ;)

So, madness beckons our household where Venue, menus, functions, their sheer scale, invitations, phone calls, sherwani shopping, ghodi booking, coordination with umpteen suppliers is already taking its toll. Oh yes- I know its still seven months away! But all of this needs discussions and re discussions so each one of us is on the same page! And the icing on the cake is that my parents- who are obviously one half of the crucial stakeholders (the other half is Nishita' parents), are located in Ahmedabad. Thankfully they have handed over the power of attorney (boon of having two lawyers in the family) to Saurabh who will now represent Papa in the court of......this wedding! So while this madness will continue even after a week of THE day, lets concentrate on the things you cannot imagine I have been thinking about!

1. The questions- "What will I wear?", "How will we go?, "What will we gift?"-  which were so pertinent to every other wedding we attended have assumed graver meanings as they will all apply to us. Now people will wonder- "What will Parul/Rahul wear?", "Will they invite that particular relative of mine?", "Shall we ask Saurabh/Parul if we can gift this?". I wish one could marry off their younger brothers in a pair of denims!
2. All the glittery wedding and sagai pictures you see on facebook? Now we will be in the center of those pics! Isnt it a norm to put the important people in the center and automatically stand like bent brackets around them when one is getting clicked?
3. Till the day doesnt come, everyone we will meet will ask- before saying a Hello-"Kaisi chal rahi hain taiyariyan?". And we will all give a practiced answer : "Bas chal rahi hain"
4. On the functions, a halo will appear on our heads which will easily indicate to our guests that we are the ones they need to ask/blame/question for running taps, missing phones and crying babies. Thankfully this being the last shaadi of our family, they are all aware that these things are NOT in our hands!!
5. We will be checking into various Chatarpur farms, Hotels and banquets in the initial months (venue selection), then Chandi Chowk and Karol Bagh (for invitations), then South Ex and GK (for shopping), then parlors (for our own overhauling) and finally our cousins and their kids will be checking us in, on our own functions!
6. Every conversation will begin and end with a new word that is customized for EVERY marriage. A word that will almost have a meaning by the end of it all- "RahulNishita this and that....RahulNishita here and there....."
7. Even after months of planning we will still miss out on a lot of things which we ought to have done two months back. For all such mistakes and more- Saurabh is our excel sheet cum alarm clock cum notepad cum reminder alert cum taskmaster who will even turn back time to ensure things happen the way they should have!
8. V and N are super excited to get a Mami home. Although they call her Nishita Didi as I am sure their Nishita Didi has secretly asked them to do so. Why else, when I have told them to call her Mami now, they insist that 'Didi' is just fine! Oh by the way, since Nevaan is an exact replica of his Rahul Mama in habits- he once mentioned that he will also get married to Nishita Didi when he grows up!
9. At the end of it all......we wont be able to please each and everyone still. Some will complain about the date, some about the food and others about the colors of the plate. But like this post isn't perfect (see it ends with an abrupt 9 points), weddings too are supposed to be- Imperfect but fun :)