“Saapaadu romba sumaar,” (Food is mediocre) sniffed the ladies in silk saris as they wiped their wet hands on cotton handkerchiefs after the nuptial meal and dragged red plastic chairs to sit under swirling ceiling fans.
Stuffing supari in their mouth, the women went on to dissect the wedding, the caterers, the venue, flower arrangements and the bride’s complexion.
“Did you eat?” asked one of the aunties, when she spied mom sitting quietly on a chair, cradling her sleeping daughter in her lap.
“Poor child, she must still be jetlagged. What made you move in this awful heat?” the woman asked, fanning her face with her handkerchief. “I’m looking forward to my
As she felt the beads of sweat pooling in her cleavage, mom was tempted to agree with the aunty. She exhaled deeply and was conscious of her wet blouse clinging to her back, outlining her brassiere. With a sleeping child in her lap, mom dare not stand up, lest her sari be undone, and her mouth ached from the artificial smiles directed at aunties and uncles she hadn’t seen in the last decade.
“I don’t see your husband,” remarked one of the ladies, scanning the crowd. “He’s here, isn’t he?”
“Actually, he’s not feeling well. I think he’s still jetlagged,” mumbled mom, cursing dad for making her cover for his absence.
“I’m not coming anywhere!” dad had promptly declared as soon as she had mentioned the wedding. “I don’t even know these people. You take the kids and go.”
Mom tried to reason with him. “Look, we have to be more social in
“I’m going back to the
The children’s initial excitement over attending a wedding soon petered out as they found themselves repeating their name, class standards, and fielding “How are you liking
“Why isn’t the bride wearing white?” Kuki, the Disney princess addict, wanted to know. "Where's her tiara? ... Are they going to kiss in the end? ... Will they live happily ever after? ... How many babies are they going to have? ... Do I have to get married?”
Despite being told that public display of affection at the mandapam was highly unlikely, the little one willed herself to stay awake for a kiss that never took place, and fell asleep right after a rice-heavy meal served on a banana leaf.
The next morning, as soon as she awoke, the child rubbed her eyes and asked, “Remember the people who got married yesterday?"
"Yes," replied mom. "Did you enjoy the wedding?"
"Are those people going to have a baby today?”
22 comments:
Good one Terri's mom. Brought back memories. Enjoy all the meals on banana leaves and being decked up during famous Chennai summer. And of course good luck socializing;)
sands, mom will be tucking a cotton hankie in her petticoat or her bra from now on to wipe her face periodically at social functions. She might also start criticizing the quality of food and beverage to start her initiation into maamidom.
Kuki is so cute! Poor Mom, sweating it out in maamidom.
hee hee. Maybe exactly nine months later!
Terri's mom:
I get a feeling that this is only the tip of the iceberg of all the happenings in this wedding you thought of writing about . A wedding scene provides oppportunities to observe countless funny and quirky behaviors. ofcourse, i can perfectly understand if this is all you felt like writing about given the jetlag situation and the kattiri veyyal. Hope you enjoyed the kalyana saapadu! :-). THanks for giving us updates frequently.
- Shree
Really need to get some tips from Dad... how does he stay away from functions like this.. I have tried many many times :-(
vijay, have you tried saying, "Not today, honey. I have a headache"?
Shree, this is what happens if one shows up expressely for lunch.
mg, I'm sure they're having fun trying.
dipali, how does one enroll spouse in maamadom?
looks like mom had a fab time! :D
meals on a banana leaf...I want!
ps: why did the last line go missing? ;) :P
Yes.. all tried.. no working.. must be the tone one says it in...
Plus I am also reminded that there could be social occasions where I would want the better half to go...
Spouse to spouse variations, Terri.
Sorry, no clue. I think you need to leave him to his own devices before he decides to signal the ship with all your worldly goods to head right back to the US. Enjoy Maamidom and your kids lovely questions:)
Terri:
Why is your mom in such a hurry to enter Maamidom?
why not atleast wait to recover from the jetlag?
or is the elai sapdu that was pull in this case?
-Sachita
Terri, your mom's been tagged! Now that she's a SAHM, I'm sure she must have so much time to read!
I can't make up my mind if I am jealous or otherwise :-) I haven't been to a good as gold tambram wedding with banana left sapaadu/tiffin and piping hot coffee in almost 15 years, mine included. I hope Kuki doesn't suffer serious disillusionment ;-)
Vijay, accept it, your spouse has the upper hand and knows how to use it ;-)
munimma, as an occasional tea-drinker, I take offence when I'm served coffee everywhere, including at weddings. Maybe I should move to the northern plains.
Muser, mom’s not a SAHM yet. She has her current job for another two months.
Sachita, when in Rome ….
Mayo, last line missing? Nope, that’s the end of the story.
@munimma - Humbly accepted :-(
If I were some kind of internet stalker I think I would have to stalk Kuki the Disney Princess Addit! Amazing logic....only a child can have....
I am a tea drinker too but like the smell of coffee.
terri:
"Muser, mom’s not a SAHM yet. She has her current job for another two months."
good for her!! the universally applicable x+1 phenomenon/syndrome can be used to good benefit now. ;-)
- s.b.
Terri,
Way too many gems are being lost in the time-pass section.
It would hurt to see kuki's word, "It's only a movie," disappear never to be found again.
Can't you store it somewhere?
-Sachita
sachita, done! I'm not passing time the way I want to anyway.
oh, oh, are they being stored offline?
Not fair, the fan club would like to call to non-violent protest!
Anon, I vote for a bandh until I settle down.
s.b., I might have spoken too soon.
munimma, I haven't tried coffee because the smell makes me barf. (I know it's abnormal.)
30, we'd lead a really dull life without her.
Post a Comment