A wedding and 3 proposals (Anu, Adi and Manikketh)

A few days back I open my mail box to find an invitation. Although it was in a language not known to me, I am a smart girl and I recognise a wedding invitation when I see one. My friend Kirti was getting married- when, where and to whom I could not figure out and that wasn’t the important thing.
A friends wedding is always an event of absolute unalloyed fun which inevitably becomes a walk down memory lane. To me a wedding means old friends catching up over nights of long drawn and elaborate feasting and festivities. It means a heady assortment of fabulous people dressed in gorgeous clothes meeting against the backdrop of colourful flowers, bright lights, soothing music and a sumptuously delicious spread of exotic food. Ah! there is nothing better than a friends wedding.
Kirti’s wedding was just as perfect and I felt honoured to part of the ceremony which symbolised my friend – the bride taking her first step into a new world. Kirti looked like a golden goddess in the yellow saree and the rest of the gang looked great too. So much has changed since our days in engineering college and yet each time we get together it feels like nothing has changed.
I still remember our first valentines day in college which also happened to be saree and rose day, what irony because ours was a girl’s college. However there were a lot of guys hovering around our college no different from any other girl’s college. What fun we had observing nervous glances being exchanged across canteen tables and hesitant guys pacing up and down corridors with a rose in their hand.
I also remember this just out of college professor called Neel. He did not just make the subject of Electrical Engineering very interesting but he also single-handedly made life on our campus very exciting. His arrival on campus would stir up unusual activity, you could suddenly spot a lot of girls walking past the Electrical lab trying their best to peep inside while not making it that obvious. Somehow everyone had a lot of doubts in his subject, leading to doubt clearing sessions. These sessions would typically involve Neel talking passionately about electromagnetic waves and other things from the electrical world while the class would be dreamily gazing at him lost in a different world.
I don’t really know at what stage boys started having a bigger purpose in our lives, but till college their purpose was restricted to making boring applied mechanics and maths lectures interesting and giving us something to laugh and gossip about. However, that change did happen at some stage, suddenly every boy was looked upon as a prospective husband. The first date always had two parallel conversations – the physical conversation and the minds conversation.
Boy: “ I love staying home and reading”
Your Mind: “ Oh God he is so boring, I love to party, I cant stay home reading books all my life”.
If on the other hand, the date is going well
Boy: “ I am thinking of taking a transfer to USA soon”
Your Mind: “Oh! Super, the kids could have a great education there and we could buy a lovely house by the beach (Yes, the mind has already got married, bought a house and even had 2 kids)”.
These dates have culminated in marriage for some - congratulations to them, but there are still a few of my closest friends who are looking for the “best fit”.
There are three in particular – Anu, Maniket and Adi (all pet names), whose weddings I really want to attend and soon.
Anu has been a loyal friend for years now, she has never forgotten my birthday in as many years. She is an eternal optimist, who will find a reason to smile and laugh through the toughest of times. She radiates love kindness and warmth and draws out the same in you. To add to all this, she has a lovely family, that makes anyone feel at home. Her family includes a very funny and entertaining brother, so hanging out at Anu’s place becomes double the fun.
Manikketh is pure unadulterated fun. Her presence could light up a dungeon. She brings wit, humour and fun to the most boring of tasks (namely our MBA assignments).
She is a beautiful girl with earthy looks complimented by her dusky colour, no inhibitions and yet her feet are firmly planted in the ground while her hair flirts with the air.
Adi is a restless soul, on a never ending quest for learning. She is an MBA, a topper, a national level TT player, has a great job, innumerable friends and yet she isn’t satisfied. She wants so much out of life, and there could not be anyone more deserving. She has an infectious laugh and gentleness about her. She is a darling, you can’t know her and not love her and I love her to bits.
(I am tempted to put their pics but I know I will be killed for doing it.)
Seeking handsome, intelligent, well educated, confident and well deserving grooms with handsome pay packages to match for these lovely ladies.

What can I do?

It has been about 10 days since the Mumbai tragedy, and I am trying to move on. However that is easier said than done since this whole episode has had a deep impact on me, just as it has had on most Indians. While the media, the politicians and even Bollywood are all busy making their statements and playing the blame game there is just one question on my mind “what can I do?”

As soon as I think about this my imagination goes into overdrive and I can picture myself in black from head to toe, leading an NSG team with an AK47 in my hand, bringing down terrorist camps. I can almost see myself making national headlines when suddenly I realise that the NSG is not an option for me. This brings me back to the question “what can I do?”

After a lot of thinking and reading and thinking I think I know what I need to do.

The last few days have made me face one reality “the impermanence of life”. In these turbulent times none of us know how much time we have left and what the future holds for us. We have such little time on this beautiful planet, such little time as human beings, such little time to love, give, and create value. So here is what I can and will do

I am going to live each day as if it were my last.

I am going to smile more.

I am going try and bring a smile on the face of every person I meet.

I am going to complain less.

I am going to appreciate more.

I am going to make everyone feel that there is something good and beautiful in everything.

I am going to learn more everyday.

I am going to teach more everyday.

I am going to forget any mistakes of the past and press forward to great achievements in the future.

I am going to talk health, happiness and hope to every person I meet.

I am going to think only the best and work towards doing and expecting the best.

I am going to touch as many lives as I can.

I am going to create as much value as I can.

So that when I am faced with the impermanence of my life, I will feel content knowing that I have given hope, love, inspiration, warmth, kindness, joy and smiles to all those I know. Knowing that I have made a difference even if just in one person’s life.