As in a railway platform, most people you meet at a wedding hall represent a floating crowd. People with whom you strike instant conversation, exchange credentials and promise to meet, but rarely do, until the next wedding, when you go through the rigmarole all over again. Such is the way I usually meet with some of my wife’s Sulur cousins. They are a lively bunch, and a well-knit group. I can count on spending an hour with them at wedding receptions. They rarely miss weddings and other social dos in our extended family. Weddings are designed to bring together distant relations who are otherwise not in touch with one another.
At a recent wedding of a nephew I ran into Venkat, son of my wife’s Balu chittappa. Venkat and our son are of the same age-group; and they were schoolboy friends when our families were based in the same city – Hyderabad – in mid-1970s. After an year in Hyderabad journalism took me back to New Delhi, from where we moved to Bhopal, Chandigarh, and Chennai. The last we had seen of Venkat was over 11 years back, at my son’s wedding in Bangalore.
At our recent meeting in Chennai Raghavendra wedding hall, Venkat introduced us to his wife and college-going son. Based in Coimbatore Venkat is a radio journalist specializing in sports. He is a veteran of Commonwealth Games, Army international athletics meet, and world Cup Hockey, having covered these events for All India Radio. During off-sports season Venkat produces radio plays broadcast from Coimbatore AIR station. Venkat and I spent over an hour together ; and, true to the script of wedding hall meetings, we promised to stay in touch. He invited us to visit him in Coimbatore. It didn’t occur to me to take his address. But then, if we do take him up on the invite , I know where to find Venkat in Coimbatore - local AIR station.
Venkat wanted my contact details, URL of this blog, but , in that crowded hall, we couldn’t find anyone with a paper and ball pen. And we don’t carry our address book/ card to wedding receptions, do we.
Filed under: Chennai
Phone is an alternative to everything these days..acts as a notebook, pen, photo album, camera etc etc. But then at a place like wedding, one can always miss to get the details. I hope you get to connect again.
Yes, even the seating arrangement at the Wedding hall resembled the waiting room at any fairly important railway station. More than staying in touch, it provides an entry point to renew old contacts, relatives and friends whom we otherwise miss out in life. The only hope is that our lives do not get just anchored to railway stations! With Lord Tennyson one may sing, “trains may come and trains may go, but attachment is a bogey nobody wants to shunt out! With regards, venkatesh / chennai
very true..but for me even thats also not possible as i am living far away..and cant attend any weddings….
Very nice analogy…
and you forgot the long lines for meeting the wedding couple and ofcourse the long lines for a Pandhi seat… 