Hari wedded Gurpreet on 17th Jan 2009
Sangeet @ Hotel Coronet Deccan Apte Road on 16th Jan
was a happy affair. The invitees were just family, Gurpreet and Hari's close friends. There was loud foot tapping music and dancing and mehendi done on our hands. Food was simple with great starters. Everyone danced and it was a unforgettable evening. We missed Vidya a lot as she would have danced so beautifully. Thyagarajan ( vidya's dad) ofcourse made up for her absence. He danced with great spirit ( inside and out !! ) and joy sometimes holding Uma close. I had pretty Arabic mehendi done on my hand. We southIndians were all dressed in hesvy silk sarees with thick Jari border and Gurpreet's people who are all punjabi were dressed in punjabi suits with glitering jardosi type work. It made for a nice conglomeration of north and south dancing together. Gurpreet's family members were expert dancers while we danced like we were doing aerobic exercises. Fun !!
The irressitible foursome - Abhir, sarmishta, Gurpreet, Damini danced like professionals and beautifully too- very enjoyable
Hari gets dancing lessons from Kushagra, Giri, Shounak and Balaji
Wedding on 17th Jan 2009 at Poona Club
17th dawned a beautiful day for all of us at our house. There was magic and happiness in the air. Uma and Thyagarajan - Vidya's parents stayed with us and that really added to the feeling of joy of the occassion. We decked the house in marigold garlands and pretty mak-kolam. Bala jaya came over and we had a nice breakfast of idli, chatni, some dokla too. Lunch as usual my great sisters rose to the occasion and sent : Usili parupu curry, morkuzambu, rasam( ? ) karudam. We made some rice. Evening we all had to leave together for the venue at Poona Club.
Hari is glowing
We are waiting at the Entrance at Poona Club
Come 5:00 p.m. all of us were excited and ready dressed in our best clothes and jewellary in our respective cars. The plan was we should all drive together and enter the venue together. That was what Gurupreet wanted. We were going to get a surprise welcome ( typical Punjabi welcome I imagined with Dolak and music and all ) .
I was dressed in a very nice saree ( green and purple combination which I thought may not look good but all photos should me looking great in that saree) I also had matching jewellary ( a nice set in light purple and white stone - liked the set very much) .
Lalitha wore Green sari , Ganga wore the pink with blue border silk ( was gifted by me for Hari's wedding ) , Sachi a blue/green with big red border. Jaya as usual was dressed smartly . She always knows to drape her sari so well. How she managed with one hand in plaster - I wonder?
Hari looked radiant in a nice suit, so also Vivek as usual so smart . Both my sons are good lookers - really tall and handsome They need not take trouble to look good. The icing on the cake was my mother also coming along with us. Vivek's wedding Amma could not just make it so I was so happy she was able to take part in Hari's wedding. Bala and Jaya were the soul representatives of Raghu's family. I felt a bit saddened by that. I missed not having Raghu around - How happy and thrilled he would have been to see his two sons settling down in life.
We were at the venue at sharp 7. p.m. The Venue was "Poona Club Swimming Pool Side" The entrance was done up very beautifully as also the entire place. It was a nice spacious venue with excellent arrangements. Each and every aspect was looked into by both Hari and Gurpreet and the result was really wonderful.
The registrar of weddings was there , my dear friend Devaki and her husband Vivek, My neighbours Deshmukhs, Sanghvi Family, .. were all there. Gurpreet looked very beautiful in a rich looking outfit and she and Hari made a nice pair together.
I was dressed in a very nice saree ( green and purple combination which I thought may not look good but all photos should me looking great in that saree) I also had matching jewellary ( a nice set in light purple and white stone - liked the set very much) .
Lalitha wore Green sari , Ganga wore the pink with blue border silk ( was gifted by me for Hari's wedding ) , Sachi a blue/green with big red border. Jaya as usual was dressed smartly . She always knows to drape her sari so well. How she managed with one hand in plaster - I wonder?
Hari looked radiant in a nice suit, so also Vivek as usual so smart . Both my sons are good lookers - really tall and handsome They need not take trouble to look good. The icing on the cake was my mother also coming along with us. Vivek's wedding Amma could not just make it so I was so happy she was able to take part in Hari's wedding. Bala and Jaya were the soul representatives of Raghu's family. I felt a bit saddened by that. I missed not having Raghu around - How happy and thrilled he would have been to see his two sons settling down in life.
We were at the venue at sharp 7. p.m. The Venue was "Poona Club Swimming Pool Side" The entrance was done up very beautifully as also the entire place. It was a nice spacious venue with excellent arrangements. Each and every aspect was looked into by both Hari and Gurpreet and the result was really wonderful.
The registrar of weddings was there , my dear friend Devaki and her husband Vivek, My neighbours Deshmukhs, Sanghvi Family, .. were all there. Gurpreet looked very beautiful in a rich looking outfit and she and Hari made a nice pair together.
Hari's registered Marriage:
First Hari signed the marriage register, then Gurpreet, then we three witnesses - myself, gurpreet's parents. Then the registrar made hari and gurpreet take a oath and then he declared them married. Then there was the tradinal exchange of garlands, Hari put a ring to gurpreet and the marriage ceremony was over. It was a magical moment in my life. This special son of mine whom I felt so responsible and so protective (having lost his father at the age of 11 months) - So many ups and downs in life with him - was happy for him for having found a life partner. I prayed to God that he should always be happy in life with his chosen life partner.
The one person we missed the most was Vidya- Vivek's wife. This was such a special moment for my family and she - an important part of our life was missing. Anyway her parents were with us and made up for her absence.
Food:
The menu was excellent - some starters were going around but I was too busy and excited to even try them. I was later told they were superb. There were nice tables and chairs with very pretty flower and candle arrangement. The food counter was to one corner and there was live DJ and music playing some soft music. There was hot jelebi being made and served with Rabadi and that was a hit with the guests. Every body loved the novel idea. The weather was pleasant ( a bit chilly really as the time went by) . Hot makki roti was made and served with hot sarso-ka-sag with white butter, gur and some chatni and was most welcome. There was also hot appam made and served with chettinad Chicken ( which ofcourse was not tasted by us vegetarians). Many of us thought the appam was dosa and had it with chatni and whatever else. There was also some rice ( jeera _ peas? ) item, Shahi Paneer, some dal preparation, salads etc.. On the whole The menu choice was simply superb and simple and elegant.
Guests:
People I had called from our area ( esp. Bhajan group ) stayed away as there was a autorickshaw strike that day and most of them did not have a vehicle. Daya Maya were there but Swetha was missing. Rashmi, Krishna Abhitha were there. A very welcome guest was Peggy Tumbe with her sister. She had taken the trouble of coming all the way from Bombay. Other then them, no one else turned up from Bombay( like Balraj, Kappu, Papu , Pyya... ) My dear friend Bhaviskar was there with his family as also my neighbours the khoths . As I had not invited more than these my guest list was limited to around 50. HAri's office colleagues had turned in large numbers and were having a good time. Lots of Gurpreet's parents' friends turned up. As it happens in any marriage it is difficult to meet everyone and remember their names.
Photos were clicked with Hari and Gurpreet and guests.
All good things must end. So also this magical day. For Gurpreet's family it was a tearful and touching "Good bye" .
Hari true to his adventurous nature, drive off with Gurpreet in his bullet all decked up with baloons and ribbons and a placard displaying "JUST MARRIED" We all drove away back home. We saw Hari and Gurpreet riding past in the motorbike on the highway and the scene looked straight out of some movie.
Lalitha and sacchi had come to our house early to get the house ready to welcome our new member Gurpreet as Hari's wife now. We gave her a traditional welcome. The house was lit so beautifully and looked like a place in heaven. It was an unforgettable joyous moment in my life. Leaving the newly weds to themselves in our home, we all went to Lalitha's house to sleep.
First Hari signed the marriage register, then Gurpreet, then we three witnesses - myself, gurpreet's parents. Then the registrar made hari and gurpreet take a oath and then he declared them married. Then there was the tradinal exchange of garlands, Hari put a ring to gurpreet and the marriage ceremony was over. It was a magical moment in my life. This special son of mine whom I felt so responsible and so protective (having lost his father at the age of 11 months) - So many ups and downs in life with him - was happy for him for having found a life partner. I prayed to God that he should always be happy in life with his chosen life partner.
The one person we missed the most was Vidya- Vivek's wife. This was such a special moment for my family and she - an important part of our life was missing. Anyway her parents were with us and made up for her absence.
Food:
The menu was excellent - some starters were going around but I was too busy and excited to even try them. I was later told they were superb. There were nice tables and chairs with very pretty flower and candle arrangement. The food counter was to one corner and there was live DJ and music playing some soft music. There was hot jelebi being made and served with Rabadi and that was a hit with the guests. Every body loved the novel idea. The weather was pleasant ( a bit chilly really as the time went by) . Hot makki roti was made and served with hot sarso-ka-sag with white butter, gur and some chatni and was most welcome. There was also hot appam made and served with chettinad Chicken ( which ofcourse was not tasted by us vegetarians). Many of us thought the appam was dosa and had it with chatni and whatever else. There was also some rice ( jeera _ peas? ) item, Shahi Paneer, some dal preparation, salads etc.. On the whole The menu choice was simply superb and simple and elegant.
Guests:
People I had called from our area ( esp. Bhajan group ) stayed away as there was a autorickshaw strike that day and most of them did not have a vehicle. Daya Maya were there but Swetha was missing. Rashmi, Krishna Abhitha were there. A very welcome guest was Peggy Tumbe with her sister. She had taken the trouble of coming all the way from Bombay. Other then them, no one else turned up from Bombay( like Balraj, Kappu, Papu , Pyya... ) My dear friend Bhaviskar was there with his family as also my neighbours the khoths . As I had not invited more than these my guest list was limited to around 50. HAri's office colleagues had turned in large numbers and were having a good time. Lots of Gurpreet's parents' friends turned up. As it happens in any marriage it is difficult to meet everyone and remember their names.
Photos were clicked with Hari and Gurpreet and guests.
All good things must end. So also this magical day. For Gurpreet's family it was a tearful and touching "Good bye" .
Hari true to his adventurous nature, drive off with Gurpreet in his bullet all decked up with baloons and ribbons and a placard displaying "JUST MARRIED" We all drove away back home. We saw Hari and Gurpreet riding past in the motorbike on the highway and the scene looked straight out of some movie.
Lalitha and sacchi had come to our house early to get the house ready to welcome our new member Gurpreet as Hari's wife now. We gave her a traditional welcome. The house was lit so beautifully and looked like a place in heaven. It was an unforgettable joyous moment in my life. Leaving the newly weds to themselves in our home, we all went to Lalitha's house to sleep.
