JOIN USRecently, when spouse announced that we’d be driving to Mysore to attend a wedding, indeed I was pretty exhilarated. For, after over two decades, I was visiting this enchanting place, redolent of lovely past memories.
The city’s sprawling zoo area with thriving fauna, the breathtaking architectural marvel of Mysore palace, the jaw-dropping splendour of Brindavan Gardens, the numinous feel of Chamundi Hills and the spellbinding, sweeping view of the city from its summit – all of these are ineradicably graven on my mind.
So, we set off to Mysore on that morn, with biting-cold winds buffeting our face. The journey was quite a glitch-free one, with two whistle-stop coffee breaks.
As we were nearing the venue, tucked in the outskirts of the city, tracts of verdant arable lands were visible here and there. The roads too looked squeaky clean, with hardly few vehicles zooming around. The surroundings, shrouded in sheer serenity, gave a feel of being transported to some surrealistic world.
When we stepped inside the marriage hall, however, I saw a striking contrast to the serene atmosphere outside. The opulent hall was teeming with throngs of humans.
The heady fragrance of perfume sprinkled on guests; the vibrant , multi-hued floral torans; the high-decibel sound emanating from the clarinet-like shehanai; the rhythmic religious chants, the heavily bedecked female-folk bustling about with high-octane energy; the gaggle of guests, gabbling incessantly, the central dais adorned with hand-drawn rangolis, the raft of gifts, heaped beside the squatting bride and groom, all contributed to the quintessential wedding ambience.
In the midst of all these, I heard someone calling out my name. I cocked up my ears and craned my neck to see a childhood friend, who I had lost touch with post marriage, beaming with delight. Her family was closely related to the groom, I heard.
This was truly a fortuitous meet. From that moment on, we latched on to a lengthy scintillating chatter. We began reminiscing those days, where we had revelled in rollicking moments, replete with rip-roaring fun. We segued from one topic to the other – right from our shopping sorties, to our singing sessions crooning the legendary songstress Lataji’s numbers, to our sleepovers at each other’s place.
Finally, it was time to bid adieu to legions of relatives and my friend. As we were driving back, I started ruminating. Truly, these mega social events always spring on us a fusillade of fun moments.
But I didn’t know there were surprise elements woven along too, where you meet someone, whom you’d have least expected to see there. Now, I have started looking forward to more of those surprise meets, wondering who all I may brush against at future weddings!