Cite-less On-Site!!

One of my friends is leaving for an on-site task for a brief interval of time,as of now the duration seems to be a fortnight. She had been one of my lunch-session members and now, the only member for a long time.

Bored of the routine menu at the cafeteria, she opted to taking her lunch from a vendor who is ever busy supplying lunch for a considerable lot. As usual, today too, in the lunch break she went to collect her lunch box or dubba as it is popularly known on the campus,she informed the dubba-wala, as he is fondly known, that she would be going on-site for some time and she would resume taking her dubba once she returns back.

So, here are the excerpts of the conversation:

She : Bhaiyya (He is the big brother for everyone here), Don't get my dubba from tomorrow, I am going on-site.

Dubba-wala: Oh is it? That's good news. But, when would you resume taking dubba from me?

She : Hmm..maybe in another fornight. However, I will let you know once I come back.

Dubba-wala: Ok madam, So, you will see all places in America.(All joy personified!!)

She: America? (Puzzled look!!). No, it's very far from Taiwan.

Dubba-wala: Taiwan? Ehh...I thought you said you are going on-site!! Oh... you are going to Taiwan, is it?

She : (Confused) Yeah...Taiwan.

Dubba-wala:Oh.... Happy Journey, madam.


This being one of the pressures the folks face, a lot more come their way:

Going on-site is an anxious task, more so if it is for the first time.

Packing the luggage with all the home-made pickles,puliogare mix etc and wanting to take this and that too, but the luggage limit limits them from doing so.

If the dress has to go into the baggage, it has to be brand-new ( baggage new too!!)

Staying away from family and hence bucks spent on those long-distance calls answering what was eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the day!

If the duration is long, knowing the what-is-what of kitchen,laundry etc!!....Uffff

Coming home would mean buying all the chocolates manufactured in lands near and far, some perfumes, some cosmetics ... blah blah blah and a month to distribute them to all those near and not very near too!!
(Distance in relation is never a criterion for distribution, you know!!)

And of all, "the chocolates are simply delicious, so when are you going next?" kind of questions. (Yeah! Will surely get some for you when going next!! Relax!!)

With all this, going on-site and site not being America,then thank goodness!! justification for their going on-site and still not America also needs to be prepared!!

Oops....Going On-site is just not about making bucks as long as the bucks are not dollars..of course,American dollars!!!

The Runaway Bride

Rather eventful, not blogically though, have been the days that went by. To go unrecorded, how’s it possible? I was blessed with the privilege of being a bride who ran away from the intricate real world for over a month and a half. Ran away from office, ran away from traffic-jams ,ran away from everything possible ,all for the wedding event.
With my being one of the (very) early-birds in my friend circle, getting into tying the knot, the event drew the maximum possible attention from the buddies to pull my legs to the best of their ability. After all, I had to get it for all the torture I have put them through, over the years. Folks calling up to remind me the countdown to my wedding, trying their best to make me feel at least a little anxious, nervous and this and that. Not to forget, my being addressed as aunty just when the message of my getting married fell on their ears .
People generally say that however old you become, you are still a kid to your parents. Trust me, when it comes to marriage, it’s exactly the opposite. To everyone on earth but my parents, I looked like a kiddo, far from looking one of marriageable age! However,after having gotten the enlightenment that one has to get married some day, then why not sooner than later like a goody-goody non-fussy girl? Well, I had to make up for all the fuss and mess I had done for two years after graduation to escape from the get-it-right-first-time, cautious, commitment-seeking, cooking-demanding, prank-free(less),responsibility-oriented deal !( oops! A whole lot of adjectives go unmentioned to relieve myself of the pressure that builds up otherwise). For the first time in my life, my parents, despite my lack of awareness, discovered that I have turned out to become a responsible individual to deal with it. So, the forum was set for the encounter for groom-hunt. Less did I know that I would fall for the first encounter that all the excuses I had pre-cooked to reject the proposal just evaporated from my mind. Thus ends the story of how I met my made-in-heaven soul-mate. It’s altogether another story that I have done my best to motivate him to nominate himself for the bravery awards for his gutsy endeavor.

As would every couple at the time of marriage feel, I too felt and still feel (just a month, so why would not I? ;)) that we were made for each other. Perhaps he was at his devilish best in his last incarnation that I was made as a reward for his past deeds. Thus, it was destined for us to tie the knot.

Times change, not the mindset sometimes.Facts says it all:

People expect bride to stand out in beauty amidst a strong competition from all the ladies of all age-groups determined to look their best. Thank God I did, just that I pity the beholders who failed to notice it.

With utmost display of affection, the ladies call the bride to sit next to them with the pretext of congratulating, while they actually would be gazing at the design of her new bangles and necklace, not to forget the pattern of the saree border!

Rather than what rituals are customary to be executed, it’s more a battle of who quotes most of the rituals. Sometimes, for all the fury they have for being enforced to do it during their wedding (be it years ago!), they don’t want others to be spared so easily.

Must be prepared for the “who-know-me-right? Remember, I was your neighbor when you were 2.5 years old, can’t believe you are getting married now! Kids grow so soon!!” kind of remarks. Yeah, I drank Complan that I grew older by 2 years in 1 calendar year!

Supposed to blush when asked the husband’s name! Better still if ample time is taken to utter the same, best if not uttered at all, supposedly owing to shyness.

Now this question can’t slip off my mind: “Are you quitting your job or has everyone permitted you to work?" Gosh! I thought I was getting married, not seeking sanyas that I had to let go of everything!

Now comes the most of blood-boiling questions that gets put: “So, what are the dishes you cook?” (“Do you know how to cook?” would certainly have been the apt question).

All relatives gathered around the bride will 200% beyond doubt say that her in-laws’ house would be her house, henceforth.( Good to know that they have their houses in their daughter-in-law’s name now ,that they are assuring me the same!)

Compelled to improve G.K (read Grocery Knowledge!!). If you are told that tomatoes cost Rs.20, it should not keep you wondering if it were 19 or 21 yesterday or if 20 is costly or cheap!!

Until people find it too late to call us “newly” weds, we have to wear all the ornaments for display lest the relatives presume that the jewellery worn at wedding was borrowed or artificial!!

How much ever you ensure to extend the invitation to everyone, it is never possible to do it to everyone. Guilt feeling follows.

It is considered mandatory to put on weight in just a few days time after wedding! Even my tailor considered the change so very natural and instantaneous that all my clothes were stitched to provide scope for the changes without much alteration in the near future!

All the relatives eagerly watching the wedding video are eager enough just till the frame they are covered,appears.


To be continued …. In the book I intend to author on how brides can feel at the wedding. The title is ready, just the book needs to be authored, that‘s it!!! Hopefully, I record it before the trivial events slip off my mind over the ticks of time.