A Beautiful Experience!

My friend Christy's wedding... An experience of lifetime that I lived on the 17th of January 2010... Almost a fortnight before the D-day when I had met her, she told me about having me as one of her Bride's Maids and my excitement knew no bounds. Since then, I had been eagerly waiting for her wedding to approach so I get a chance to play the ideal BRIDE’S MAID to this dearest friend of mine:) we watched movies such as Bride Wars, 27 Dresses, etc. to get into the appropriate mood. It was an absolute delight to be able to form an imperative part of the making of the much-awaited nuptials! 

Although being close to Christy right from the initial days of our MBA, I had never imagined that I held this important a place in her life that she would have me as one of the prominent persons on her most special day. Flashing into the memory lane, I see that right from the time when we sat on the first bench promptly taking down notes in first year of college till today when it appears to be a different life altogether, we have always been in close touch atleast during the vital times of each others lives. Strangely enough, we never had any sort of altercations primarily because more than being good friends that we anyways were, there was another special bond that we shared... the "Chechi-Chutki" connection! Yeah, I called her Chechi which is how one addresses elder sisters in Malyalam and she called me Chutki which means the 'younger-one'. It was strange how on most of the issues we seemed to reach an easy consensus even after hailing from completely different school of thoughts. 

To come to think of it, there is actually nothing common between the two of us... Talk about Background - She was born in Kerala and brought up in Dubai which is I-don’t-even-know how many miles away from a town called Darbhanga in Bihar where I grew up. Talk about taste and hobbies - She likes to watch movies, rather is CRAZY about them, can sit through every movie with absolute interest and has the capacity of watching two to three movies back to back and that too in a theater. On the contrary, I like only selected ones which either have absolutely wonderful reviews or stars my favorite actors.... Talk about Career - She is a marketing expert and my specialisation is finance. She worked for a radio and I do consultancy in the field of real estate.... But yeah, there is something that we share - the craze of going foot-loose on a dance-floor but even there the taste of music differs... :)

Well, so the point is even though we are in quite contrast with each-other, there remain some trivial similarities that have been able to strongly keep us together. In fact post college, it was after six months that we met up but we spoke right from where we had left. After spending 4-5 hours or maybe more (I lost a count of hours after a while), we could fill each-other with what was happening in our lives. Honestly, it was then I realised that I share a special relationship with this wonderful person who is as open to me as she gets me to her. There was nothing that kept me from sharing my problems and my shushhed secrets. 

I would have never known how special it feels to be a bride's maid, had she not provided me with the chance. I think I lived the responsibility of the role on the previous day of her wedding more competently than what I did on D-day.  Fortunately having an off from office, I was able to be a company to her for the entire day when she went around winding up her last bit of work before wedding. We roamed around about the city collecting her wedding gown, getting her reception saree ironed, doing some end moment shopping, having a dry-run of her wedding, getting the make-up guy try her hair-do, etc, etc, etc. and finally said a good night after her Rose-Day ceremony.... It was this day when all her bride's maids got to see each other and despite having never met before, made terrific buddies. The war of PJs, comical picture shoot, clumsy dancing, off-tune wedding songs, funny parody, etc. defined our act of fun that left some clapping for us and the rest joining the group.

Having super fun while getting ready together, while singing nuptial hymns and while setting right the make-ups and dresses of each other to exhibiting the efficiency of highest order in getting the bride dressed before the reception was how we proficiently lived up to the role of Bride’s Maids! Christy no doubt looked like a dream! Beauty to its peak and serenity to its superlative degree! Everything… just everything was so perfect about her and her wedding. 

The journey throughout the day was full of excitement and fun. The venue became a rendezvous of all old and new friends who were in the best of dresses and spirits cheering loudly for the prime reason behind them all being together. The entire ceremony was a brilliant combination of grandeur and sophistication. Beautiful people, beautiful place, delicious food and mesmerizing atmosphere got us all joyed and keyed-up. With the culmination of the function, as we headed home, while the others carried with themselves the fondness of this wonderful day, I had with me A Beautiful Experience which is very special and would remain a book-marked page of my diary!