The End of a Journey, The Beginning of Another

Apparently, it's recession time. Not in my office though! I worked till 12-1am almost every day of February, worked every Saturday. We had so much work, we had to rope in people from our other branches to help us out! Apparently, they are reeling under recession and have a lot of free time on their hands. Maybe I should consider getting a transfer?

It's been quite a month! Thankfully, it's over. The humungous study that was giving me sleepless nights (not from stress as much as hours spent in office) is over & done with. The presentation went on for 2 days at The Park, but it's over & I've had a weekend of blissful sleep, fun & getting sloshed with some friends who were visiting & also spending some amazing time with some even more amazing people!

All in all, I'm in a happy place right now, and feeling blessed. How can you feel otherwise when you realize you are loved immensely inspite of all your short-comings, quirks & mood swings. Loved for what you are, loved by people who are possibly the nicest human beings you've ever known, and loved more than they love themselves. You've got to be pretty darned lucky to land yourself in such a situation. Fingers and toes are all crossed.

Somewhere deep down it makes me believe that all of us have to go through countless trials & tribulations in life....losses, betrayal, hurt, conceit, disappointments....but if you are a good person at heart, good comes your way at the end of the day. Hope floats.

Keep the faith.

Iski Toh Nikal Padi.....Again

Not bad, huh? Any takers? :)

It's A Sony

SONY ERICSSON HAS SOLD ME A PIECE OF SHIT PHONE!!!!!

My phone is brand new. And expensive. Bought it in October 2008. Just one week after buying the phone, I had to give it for repair as there was some problem with the battery. Imagine! I fought and fought and fought with them to replace the battery but they wouldn’t. So I gave it to them for repair & they kept it for two weeks. Two bloody long weeks!!

They suck! Sony Ericsson sucks!!

And now again my phone is acting psychotic. The screen goes dark randomly, sometimes it doesn’t ring even when someone calls/messages & sometimes it refuses to play music. And a little while ago I dropped it - on to a carpeted floor - and the screen conked off! I just cannot use my phone!! So I will have to give it for repair again and God knows how long they will keep it for.

I'm still at work & my darling Motorazr is at home, and so I'm without a phone :(

And GOD, it's difficult!!

People, next time you buy a phone, buy a Nokia or a Motorola (though I heard Moto is wrapping up their business in India or something of the sort. Confirmations anyone??)

So yeah, basically I HAD to blast the sucky piece of shit company called Sony Ericsson on a public forum. I hope they all die and go to cell phone hell where they have to eat & crap big fat cell phones day in & day out :D

I feel better now.

Iski Toh Nikal Padi

Freida Pinto did not have much screen time in 'Slumdog...'. BUT she got to be on stage with Liam Neeson and has signed Woody Allen's next movie that stars Anthony Hopkins!

Know that many of Allen's actresses have gone on to win the Oscar. Case in point...Mira Sorvino for 'Mighty Aphrodite', Diane Keaton for 'Annie Hall' & Penelope Cruz for 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'. Will Freida Pinto be next?

Who knows! Anything's possible!!

What I would like to know is - where did a born-and-brought-up-in-Mumbai girl pick up the kitsch accent from, that was on display at the Oscar red carpet? It was neither English, nor American, nor Indian.

When will us Indians learn to accept ourselves for what we are?

We Are Like This Only

Why do we Indians have to make a mockery of ourselves in front of an international audience?

First it was SRK who turned up at the Golden Globe Awards wearing a tie inside his shirt, in line with his 'Don' look. As if people in Hollywood knew what his "Don" look was all about! There is a time & place for all the tomfoolery that SRK does and the Golden Globe Awards was not it. He can get away with his silly antics at the Filmfare Awards but at an international ceremony, such acts only make one look stupid.

Then Anil Kapoor decided to be one up on SRK. At the Screen Actor's Guild Awards, where he won the 'Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture' award, he touched Anthony Hopkin's feet while receiving the award! Hopkins obviously didn't know the significance or relevance of this gesture & was taken aback!

I really don't understand why we have to make a fool of ourselves in front of the whole world. It would've made sense had Anil Kapoor touched the feet of his father or a senior Indian actor, who would've gotten the relevance of this gesture. For Anthony Hopkins it would be one of the "I-had-no-clue-what-he-was-doing-I-thought-he-was-going-to-pull-my-leg!!" stories that he would narrate to everyone he meets for quite sometime.

Can never imagine someone like Amitabh Bachchan or Abhishek Bachchan do something like this, and therein lies the difference between class and crass.

Why Do They Call It PMS?

Because 'Mad Cow Disease' was taken.

They should really just have called it the 'Mad Cow Disease'. Because that is what it is.

Losing Someone

I couldn't even think of a proper title for this post.....

How do you react when you find out that someone you knew casually - not a friend but someone you've met a couple of times through friends - died last night in a car accident?

You can't feel the loss, obviously, because you didn't know him well enough. It's slightly shocking but more strange.....to think that the live, walking, talking person is not there anymore. It's surreal.

I'd met the guy a couple of times at a friend's place. He liked to drive fast, a liking picked up from his friends who are professional rallyists. He was driving drunk and at very high speed when his car rammed head-on into a truck. The picture of the car is published in today's paper...it's nothing more than a mangled piece of iron & steel. Completely squashed. Like one squashes an empty can of soda.

He took with him two other boys - one 25 year old, the other 20. One of them belonged to a family that barely manages to make ends meet. He hung out with this guy because he had aspirations....he wanted to make his life better....wanted to experience things affluent kids can. He was the only son of his parents. His father died a few years ago.

This entire incident is so tragic, it's not even worth debating over the issue of drunk driving. The bottomline is three boys died last night.

Skirting the Issue

WARNING: GIRLY POST AHEAD

Moonshine put up a post on skirts. I just HAD to follow it up with one of my own!

I love skirts. There is no attire, except gowns & saris, that can make a woman feel as feminine and fabulous as a skirt can. You start feeling pretty the moment you put on a skirt, it's that powerful! :)

The other reason I love skirts is because I associate them with spring & summer. And the moment I think of spring, visions of flowers in full bloom all around and a pleasant breeze start flashing in my head. I quite dislike wearing jeans during the summer, so a skirt works just fine :)

I mostly wear knee-length skirts.....sometimes with stilletos for a dressed up look but mostly with flip flops or any other kind of flats for a casual look. I have the most trouble with skirts that end midway down your calves. I just don't know what kind of shoes to wear with them! Flats.....Heels.....Wedges? Nothing looks good on them.

My favorite though are really short skirts that one can wear with knee-length boots. They can kill ;)

I remember as a kid I used to feel really shy wearing trousers! Or jeans for that matter. For what joy, I do not know. But I used to howl....I used to howl my lungs & eyes out the moment I saw my mom laying a pair of trousers on the bed before taking me in for a bath. I was such a dumb child.....I'd never run around the house and give my mom hell. I'd just stand there like a stupid child & cry!

I used to play mainly with boys so I don't know why I was so shy of wearing trousers. I just felt so awkward in them. I would only wear skirts & frocks.....spaghetti, tube, halter, the works! And I'd make my mom get these really lovely gowns stitched for me on my birthday every year, that I'd wear for my birthday party. I had quite a few of them accumulated across the years.....don't know where they are now!

Point is.....I used to be really girly when I was a kid. Traces of it still remain.....I love dressing up every once in a while, love wearing heels, love to wear earrings, love wearing skirts, love pink! But for the most part I dress conveniently which includes jeans, capris, shorts and the like.

Dressed To Kill

If you come to my office on a Saturday, you'll feel there is some sort of a fashion show going on! People come dressed in bizarre/dressy clothes, as if coming to work on a Saturday is the high point of their lives!

This past Saturday - which incidentally was Valentine's Day - this one guy who is also a part-time body builder came dressed in a bright yellow t-shirt with silver stuff on it! Completely bling. The t-shirt itself was made of the thin crumpled material that sticks to your body & is generally worn by girls! His excuse? He was planning to ask two women out on a date!! I wonder if either women agreed to go out on a date with someone dressed like that! A colleague quipped to him, "Do you think wearing this t-shirt will empower you to take two women out in a single day?"

Then there was this woman who is known as the 'Bengal Mallika Sherawat' in office because of the cleavage-revealing clothes she wears to work. She came dressed in a black clingy cleavage-revealing top.

Don't these people even look at themselves in the mirror before stepping out of their homes? Don't they have folks at home who can tell them how they're looking before they leave home? I wonder.....

Disturbia

I had a horrible dream last night.

I dreamt that my parents have adopted a little baby boy. They ask me to drop him at Play School on my way to work. I do that & when I come home, the whole family is sitting around & brooding.

I was like, “What’s going on?”

They tell me the baby got kidnapped!!!

They’re all blaming me for it. They go out looking for him & discover that the kidnappers had taken him to the factory of a very big manufacturer (who happens to be my client) & killed him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I woke up at 4.30 feeling horrible & barely slept after that…..

Cigarette research does not gel with me :(

Have You Mailed a Pink Chaddi?

What could be the most horrifying gift a man - an orthodox, regressive middle-aged man – can get on Valentine’s Day?

A box of used or cheap pink chaddis for sure!!!

Yes, they can be dug out of your closet as well :)

The Pink Chaddi Movement has spread like wildfire. And rightly so. A man who does something as heinous & abominable as getting a bunch of women beaten up for pubbing, and does nothing to stop the millions of men who visit prostitutes & the covert dance bars of Mumbai & other small towns, deserves to be treated no better.

Apparently, Pramod Muthalik has retorted to the Pink Chaddi campaign by saying that he will send Pink Sarees as a return gift to the 'Consortium of Pub-Going, Loose & Forward Women' who are the originators of the Pink Chaddi movement. He has also said that any unmarried couple that will be seen hanging out on Valentine’s Day will be forced to marry!!!!!

While he is works over-time spewing venom, what does our government do? (Ostensibly) arrest the man, let him out on bail & watch him do more goondagardi. Publicity-hungry hooligans who have no respect for the law are ruling our country and our impotent Goverment is watching the country burn with folded hands from the sidelines.

I really strongly believe that any man who oppresses women or tortures them in any way what so ever should be castrated & left to live out his life in s**ual frustration. No punishment could be worse.

Things Fall Into Place

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been working on a category I had no knowledge of at all, leading to stressful days & sleepless nights.

The project is humungous (not to mention extremely research oriented, the kind of research I have never done before), has a strict deadline, my clients are demanding & some of the most research savvy people I’ve met, and I had no clue how to go about doing the analysis!!

But finally, I’m past the first hurdle and things have not only started making sense, they're becoming interesting even!

And with every passing day I believe what Moonshine said to me more & more, “You do this one study well & you’ll know all there is to know about cigarettes!” :)

Something To Be Thankful For

Read this.

Bougainvilleas

When I was leaving for work this morning, I got showered by bougainvilleas thanks to the slight, cool breeze. They weren’t orchids or roses but they were still pretty. Made the weight of the laptop on my shoulder, gym bag on my back & my handbag on the other shoulder disappear. It was a pleasant morning & I felt more or less ready to face the day, inspite of a truncated weekend.

Don’t remember when was the last time this happened, so…it was worth a post :)

Because I Worked On Saturday

I don't understand how people sustain six-days-a-week jobs. I worked this Saturday & Sunday got over sooner than I could blink. It's left me feeling like I didn't get a weekend at all. I need my two days off to retain my sanity & my life :)

I'm stressed out, tired, sleep-deprived & have been braving the onslaught of Daler Mehndi - Baba Sehgal music over the previous two nights. You see, there's a marriage hall near my house & the people getting married there over the past two nights have decided that no music is better than 'Main Bhi Madonna' type Baba Sehgal music, sung by a completely besura band of singers! Damn it, where's the night police when you need them the most??

So...this is going to be a completely useless post. Also a chick-friendly one, so if you aren't one (a chick, I mean) or not interested in one (in a chick-friendly post dahling, not in chicks :) you are best advised not to read on. Don't tell me I didn't warn you!

I LOVE BAGS & SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D:D:D

I think the humungous bags that can see almost every woman (who's not an aunty, sorry if I'm offending anyone's wives here! ) carrying these days are man's best gift to womankind.

Actually, it has to have been a woman who came up with the idea of such a big bag b/c as they say in our movies 'ek aurat hi doosri aurat ka dard dard samajh sakti hai'. Let me modify that to 'ek aurat hi doosri aurat ki zaroorat samajh sakti hai'. Yuck! I can't believe I just wrote that!!

But then I warned you this would be a useless post. Please add irreverant to that.

Anyway, coming back to the point. The big bags are unbelievably functional. You can literally carry your entire world with you! The increased style quotient is just an added bonus.

BTW...For men who always wonder (but haven't manage to find out yet) what women carry in their bags, here's a peek.... wallet, cell phone, lip gloss, kohl, pocket mirror, hair brush, wet wipes, face wash, face cream, moisturizer, mint, sun glasses....as I mentioned that's just a peek.

To the men reading this - don't you snigger! Just today a guy at work came to me asking for moisturizer!

And no, we don't carry protection, so don't assume we do. Just carry your own! ;-)

Coming to shoes, I love stilletos! The higher the heels, the better. Doesn't matter if we can walk in them or not. Stilletos make your feet look so damn pretty, they can completely change the look of an outfit. Take jeans for example...you can wear flats, slip-ons or open-toed sandals with jeans for a casual, laid-back look. Wear the same pair of jeans with a pair of stilletos & you're all set to party!

According to research (don't ask me who did it, I didn't) stilletos also enhance one's s*x life. Apparently, women's pelvic muscles get exercised when they wear stilletos and that means better action ;)

So next time men tell us we have more bags & shoes than we need, we MUST tell them that by stopping us from buying bags they are violating the perception that they are more rational than women b/c they give more importance to functionality than to mere looks, and by preventing us from buying shoes they are causing a deterioration in their own quality of life. There!

I think I'll spend whatever is left of my measley weekend reading some chick lit....or maybe watch a chick flick. Which BTW are other 'chicky' things I love. They're so much fun...the bitching, the gossipping, the fashion, the hot men, the revenge of the woman over her cheating boyfriend, her encounters with men who are 'forbidden fruit'. It all comes together in a happy ending and makes you feel that at the end of the day, women are SIMPLY FABULOUS!!!!!

How Many People Will Buy Her Yoga DVD for...Well, Yoga?

Culinary Invasion by 'The Man' :)

When I spoke to my mom today, my dad was cooking dinner!

That doesn't happen too often. My dad isn't one of those Indian men we see in advertisements who love to cook for their family, apron & a chef hat in place! For that matter, even my mom doesn't like to cook. Both my parents are BRILLIANT though "special occasion cooks"...mom would cook only if there was a special occasion in the family, during festivals or if we wanted her to make something special, and dad would cook only if he was feeling really "culinary" (if there IS such a feeling :)

Mom used to enjoy cooking strictly calorific & fattening dishes such as paneer, malai kofta, alu dum etc. and was really good with them, which explains why she didn't cook very frequently. She never liked to cook (or eat) greens, so we always had a cook for everyday meals :)

On the other hand, there were some dishes that were designated to dad. In that if we were going to have them for dinner, dad would be the one cooking them. Chicken chilly, mutton, fish, pork, keema, kebabs, tandoori etc. were completely his domain...and we used to lap up his cooking!

Today when I called he was making chicken keema, which might sound like sacrilege to mutton lovers but trust me, IT IS AWESOME if made well.

Which brings me to the point - who do you think make better cooks...men or women?

The best way to find this out would be to get Nigella Lawson & Jamie Olivier/Gordon Ramsay (who according to Paris Hilton doubles up as the Prime Minister of Britain!) to cook the same dish, wouldn't it?

Tollywood Calling

The following is a review of the Bengali remake of 'Jism' published in The Telegraph. The movie stars one of the topmost actresses of the Bengali film industry who, I believe, has also acted in a couple of Hindi movies (which I have NOT seen and therefore, do not remember the name :-)

Read it...it's H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S!!

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Which of the following best describes Trishna?
a) gross; b) silly c) lewd d) bawdy

All of the above!

Half-an-hour into the Friday premiere show at Menoka, the lights go out and you feel like scampering out, taking advantage of the darkness, with your sanity still intact.

Though almost a scene-by-scene copy of John Abraham-Bipasha Basu’s Jism, Pritam Jalan’s Trishna is nothing more than a sleaze fest with Tolly’s leading heroine ‘showing’ the way.

Rituparna, like Bips in Jism, grabs a man (here photographer Angshuman) by his you-know-what only to use him to murder her husband Arindam Sil and grab his you-know-what (wealth, silly).

The tale of deceit and murder begins in Sundarpur and ends on the beach of Miami (Mandarmoni, we presume), when Rituparna is a freebird and Angshuman a jailbird.

There’s a lot of Jism in terms of plot but nothing of its polish, a lot of Jism’s flesh but nothing of its fire.

Because Rituparna tries to do a Bips and ends up doing a Sambhavna Seth (and that’s an insult to you-know-who — Sambhavna, silly)

Rituparna’s Trishna dresscode — off-shoulder tops, multi-coloured tights and black underwire bra — does little to hide her not-so-toned tummy and thunder thighs when she stretches on the beach to send her paramour into paroxysms of puerile pleasure.

Angshuman, the man with plucked eyebrows and a stupid smile, lives in a room with pink walls. All he does is stare at Rituparna’s bosom and butt, rub his face against her thighs and cleavage, and make you cringe.

The songs and dialogues add to the horror. He sings Silky sona, lovely sona, Dona Dona, Madonna... and says “Tomar shorir aamar shongo chaichhe” (your body needs my company) with eyes fixed on you-know-what (breasts, silly).

Rituparna is a biological wonder — almost always in an orgasmic state, often when her loverboy is still a safe distance away. Breasts heaving, pelvic thrusting, moaning and groaning, she is unquenchable.

Trishna’s Big moment? Rituparna contorting her facial muscles and whispering: “Just grab me....”

Hiltonisms vs Bushisms

Can't believe people can be so stupid. Read on & laugh your insides out! :)


(Paris) HILTONISMS

"There's nobody in the world like me. I think every decade has an iconic blonde, like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana and, right now, I’m that icon."

"I’m so smart now. Everyone’s always like ‘take your top off’. Sorry, NO! They always want to get that money shot. I’m not stupid."

"I love Africa in general — South Africa and West Africa, they are both great countries."

"Wal-mart... do they like make walls there?"

"London is my favourite city. But I haven’t been to England yet. "

"Essex? What’s that?"

"Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink in her closet, a Jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a jackass who pays for everything." --- This could actually be one of her "Memorable Quotes though" :)

"A true heiress is never mean to anyone — except a girl who steals your boyfriend."

"I don’t really think, I just walk."

"Ever since I was little it’s what I knew I wanted to do — be a blonde icon."

"People think I’m stupid. But I’m smarter than most people."

"All British people have plain names, and that works pretty well over there."

"My advice to Sarah Palin is, you’ve got a hot bod; don’t keep it to yourself."

"One of my heroes is Barbie. She may not do anything, but she always looks great doing it."

"I pledge to support the American workforce by wearing only American designers: Calvin Klein between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Donna Karan the rest of the year."

"No, I’ve not heard of a pint...what is that? Is it beer?"

"Essex? What’s that?"

(On being asked if she knew who the Prime Minister of Britain was, at a promotion event of her new reality show 'Paris Hilton's British Best Friend) "It's Gordon...Gordon Ramsay."


BUSHISMS

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

"I’m telling you there’s an enemy that would like to attack America, Americans, again. There just is. That’s the reality of the world. And I wish him all the very best."

"Oftentimes people ask me, ‘Why is it that you’re so focused on helping the hungry and diseased in strange parts of the world?’"

"I heard somebody say, ‘Where’s (Nelson) Mandela?’ Well, Mandela’s dead. Because Saddam killed all the Mandelas." (On the former South African president, who is still very much alive)

"I’ve heard he’s been called Bush’s poodle. He’s bigger than that." (On former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.)

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions."

"I don’t particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it."

"I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass in my lake." (On his best moment in office.)

"I like my buddies from west Texas. I liked them when I was young, I liked them when I was middle-age, I liked them before I was president, and I like them during president, and I like them after president." (While he was still President)

"We’ve got a lot of relations with countries in our neighbourhood."

"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law."

"Americans should be prudent in their use of energy during the course of the next few weeks. Don’t buy gas if you don’t need it."

"I’m going to spend a lot of time on social security. I enjoy it. I enjoy taking on the issue. I guess, it’s the Mother in me."

"The United States of America is engaged in a war against an extremist group of folks."

"Because he’s hiding." (Responding to a reporter who asked why Osama bin Laden had not been caught.)

"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection... an election in Iraq at this point in history?"

"I’m honoured to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein."

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace."

"I’ve been to war. I’ve raised twins. If I had a choice, I’d rather go to war."

"I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq."

Who do you think is the better of the two? My vote is with Paris. Atleast she's not President of the most powerful country in the world! Besides, she's an "iconic blonde" ;-)

Charmed Life

My office overlooks the American Consulate. The diplomats & staff stay within the premises. Every morning, without exception, you can see their kids playing in the well-manicured, lush green garden of the embassy.

I envy them!! They play in bright sunshine all morning while I sit in front of a computer screen in an artificially controlled environment, doing work that wouldn’t have mattered to the dolphins of sub-Saharan Africa (if they existed) & being delusional about the relevance of my work!

Don’t these kids have school???

Watching them play makes me want to go down & start playing...anything! The garden with the bright sunshine is so inviting!

Remember playing ‘It’ as a kid? The game where you chase people & when you manage to get hold of someone, they become ‘It’? No one wanted to be ‘It’ b/c it would get so difficult to chase people!

Or hopscotch!

Or badminton!

Or Hide & Seek!

Remember how earnestly we used to hide behind furniture...under the bed... inside the closet...behind doors...in dark corners? And the excitement when the 'Seeker' came towards us...how fervently we used to pray that he/she is not able to find us!

Life as a kid was so much fun. All we were expected to do was go to school, come back home, sleep, play, study, have dinner & go to bed again! There were no bills/EMIs/rent to pay...there was no reason to worry about our future or where we want to see ourselves five years down the line...no deadlines to meet...no appraisals to worry about...no commitments or obligations...we did not have to worry about managing our finances...we did not have to take any life-altering decisions...Yet we cribbed so much about school & having to study after school? :)

Life was blissful then! Don't you wish we never had to grow up?

The Not So Big Fat Punju Wedding

Disclaimer: If there are any Punjabis reading this post, my request is that you do not get offended by the use of the word ‘Punju’. I use it not as a slang, rather affectionately. Besides, Punjabis seem to be an integral part of my life. I’ve had three roommates during the course of my stay in Bombay and all three have been Punjabis! That too by random stroke of luck b/c I didn't know any of them before I started living with them.

I went for a Punjabi wedding this weekend, that of a colleague. The families of both the bride & the groom are loaded, if you know what I mean, so the wedding had all the chances of being a full-blown tamasha that north Indian weddings can become. But this wedding was quite classy & subtle. It was very unlike most Punjabi weddings in Delhi which are all about showmanship.

There was no DJ at the wedding. They had light instrumental music playing in the background, with intermittent smatterings of the Gayatri Mantra.

The decorations were muted & classy. There were lights strung around & hanging from the trees but lending just the right amount of festivity to the place. The color theme was cream, powder pink & mauve, with pillars & chairs decorated with cloth, ribbons & flowers of the same colors. Not one piece of decoration was over-powering to the senses.

Surprisingly, there weren’t many people at the wedding. The men were dressed mainly in grey & black suits, or cream sherwanis. No men strutting around in blue, green, orange, red heavily-embroidered kurtas & golden dupattas. And the women...they were superbly dressed! The saris were decorative but very elegant. I couldn’t spot a single woman who was dressed over-the-top. Even the colors on display were muted & elegant….white, off-white, baby pink, fuschia, onion pink, aqua blue, teal, sea green, dull magenta. There was bling alright, but strictly under control.

The piece-de-resistance though was the bride’s lehenga. She wore a Sabyasachi lehenga that cost – hold your breath – 70,000!!! It was a beautiful red, green & peacock blue lehenga with a lot of golden embroidery on it – all mixed in a way only Sabya knows how to! I don’t know if it was worth 70,000 but it was definitely exotic. And like most of Sabyasachi's creations, you probably wouldn't like it so much when you lay eyes on it first, but you would want to look at it a second time and love it for it's sheer exquisiteness, and for the fact that his stuff is so different from that of other designers.

The most amusing factor at the wedding was the priest. He was reading mantras in Sanskrit, then translating them to English. He was also giving himself too much importance & started yelling at people, mainly the kids to behave! He kept exhorting parents to keep the kids away, he even went to the extent of being rude to the bride’s brother! He had a mike to speak into so everyone could hear the wedding proceedings, and he kept yelling at people to shut up so they could hear him speak!

I love Punjabis for their joie-de-vivre & the gregarious, warm-hearted, hospitable, fun-loving people they are. And this was a wedding I would remember not for the spectacle, but for the elegant, classy affair that it was.

Slam Bang Double Century :)

This is my 208th post. Damn it, I missed celebrating the 200th mark again! But YAY!! 200+ and still loving every bit of it. Thank you Blogger :)