What Fun! A Short U-Turn!

Recently one of my friends, Sheetal, got married at hometown called Chikodi. Though the name is difficult to be found on the map but no kidding, it does exist! A few of us from college could make it to the wedding which was two complete days of fulltoo fun that infected us with recurring fits of laughter and aching stomachs. It was more of a reunion than being a wedding gathering.

As Chandrika and I reached Chikodi after about 12 hrs of journey from Bangalore, we were elated to find Annett and Minoy already there from Delhi and Mumbai respectively. Comedy personified Annett and sarcasm king Minoy were in the best of their wits and you anyways know what this severe combination results in... uninterrupted supply of illogical jokes! It got us busy immediately so much so that we forgot to even meet and greet the groom-to-be.

And in a while, once Joseph and Praveen had arrived, the entire place was bubbling with giggles as we got high on humour and ecstacy. Joseph's unstoppable rising weight, Chandrika's addiction to her cell phone and my recently changed relationship status attracted the maximum attention.

The functions started and we enjoyed a round of folk dance with the family members. It was fun to see both men and women of varied age, sizes and shapes enthusiastically participating. The high spirited dance with a jovial song ensured that everyone gets tempted to join and before we realised, we were all a part of it. The icing on the cake was to see even Sheetal dance his tapori style.

Once everyone settled, we set ourselves to clicking pictures. There was a battery of flashes from cameras of all possible kinds. Coloured, sepia, B&W, negative and what not were the picture formats that potential pro photographers were experimenting with! Who cared about the ceremonies happening on the stage? We were busier with ourselves pitying Sheetal missing all the fun as he sat with a pasted smile up on the stage.

And then, post dinner while we thought we were exhausted, little did we realise that the most-energy-consuming-action was yet to happen... It was the time for holi... Oops haldi! Actually more like holi, it was a ceremony where we were being chased to be colored with haldi by all known and unknown invitees of both the sides. After the initial hesitation, we went crazy with the game and chased everyone turn by turn making sure that they are smeared enough that taking bath at 2 in the night becomes inevitable ;D

The next day was the wedding by when Eric and Niteen had also reached which augmented the fun element! While Sheetal was saying his wedding vows, we were busy with the spread of lip-smacking dishes. The unstoppable array of jokes from everyone around attracted funny curses, loathing and moaning from our own gang of buds.

As the ceremony came to an end with priest announcing Sheetal and Priyanka as "man and wife" (Sheetal being the man! ;D) we wished them, exchanged hugs and farewells and set ourselves back to respective places taking with us merriment of the event which got us nostalgic and brought alive that golden period of college when the world around was so uncomplicated and the only thing to worry about were the final exams!

My Years in Bangalore...

Seven years back, after leaving Darbhanga for higher studies, the only place where I have parked my bags, is Bangalore. I hated this city like hell then, as my ignorant and illogical self held it responsible for me having to depart with my much loved family. I felt like a stranger in the unknown place and did not have even an atom bit of belonging towards it, leave alone gratitude for rendering invaluable education.

Whether it be the excellently moderate weather, rare load-shedding, an array of opportunities, fascinating Brigade / MG road, cosmopolitan lifestyle, etc. etc… just nothing about the city was nice then. I hated Bangalore even more specially for being so sickly connected to my place that it took me three whole days to get home even on a direct train… No exaggeration! Every single time, the thought of going to Bangalore again after holidays made me fall sick a few days prior to my travel dates and the final day used to be the most-gloomy of my then life. This episode repeated periodically for three long years.

Then gradually, my odium towards the city started to thaw out a little as my fate for next two years was again sealed in Bangalore thanks to my admission in Christ College. I was forced to surrender as  I accepted the fact that I was condemned to the place. I started to hang out a little and see places with friends. Although shallow pockets and limited accessibility forced us to confine ourselves to Dhaba, Lalbagh and at the most Forum, it surely couldn’t restrict the fun element in there. Being able to roam around without parental supervision, go watch movies of alien languages for the heck of bunking classes, wear funny clothes of weird colours and combinations, being able to make the loudest noise without caring about people looking, walking through the streets with friends even at nights was what I could have never dreamed of doing at Darbhanga.

Subconsciously, I began to develop a tinge of attachment with the city. And then, despite having made a deliberate attempt to relocate, I got my first job again in Bangalore and that too in the Real Estate sector. That was where roaming around about became more of a professional requirement than a fun activity. And strangely, instead of complaining, I loved it.

My fondness of this place developed exponentially mostly because of the people who I made friends with and who have been a family to me, to have stood by my side whenever needed. My stint in Bangalore was made smooth by these paladins  who were so picked-and-chosen to be around me. Though being geographically challenged has severe limitations but the fear of getting lost was out of question because of my friends who, being aware of this disorder, came to my rescue by being available on mobiles to guide whenever I was stuck trying to reach somewhere.

And today, when I am back to Darbhanga, I miss Bangalore like hell. A short while back, I had been there on a trip and the moment I stepped in the city, I felt as if I belong to the place. Darbhanga, no doubt was meant to be my home even before I came to life but I never realized when Bangalore became a haven, which taught me to “live life” :D