Valentine's with "The Friends"

Friends, the family away from family, always have a special place in our lives.

Although I have never had many friends, yet I managed to have some special friends wherever I went.

Starting with the wonderful school times, Aman or Moto as I always call her has indeed been a friend in need. Be it a bunking mate or a shoulder to cry on, Moto has been there, no matter what. It doesn’t matter if we don’t talk for month’s altogether or don’t even see each other for years, nothing seems to change ever.

The first time I left home to go to hostel to enjoy “The Freedom”, Ragini (Nagini) has been my partner in all the crimes. The crimes cannot be revealed here, but I sure miss that ‘Aalu ka lachcha’. Those late night chats and my ‘alone time’ she used to hate, we have been more of sisters than friends.

Anjal (Khajjal), my batch-A mate, I know hated me for being in her room more than I used to be in mine. But I never cared. I enjoyed the privilege of being her Batch-A mate and her neighbor in all the clinics. She was engaged and I thought she finally has a boyfriend. She was lucky to have dated her fiance for about a year before getting married or was she not. Hehe that’s best known to her.

That one night with Ankita (Uppal) changed our relationship with each other. Oh no no, you dirty mind, not that kind of night, it was about talking our hearts out. Those deep meanings that we used to dig in every little thing, never really made much of a sense.

Moving to another college expecting to find as great friends as I have had earlier, Shruti (Bheema) being my roommate became my first friend. And then came the next door neighbors, Janhavi(Kabutar, oh sorry, international kabutar), Megha (Bhati aunty) and Richa (Gulabo). These people always made sure never to miss the slightest chance of torturing me. They have dragged me to mess (literally), threw cold water on me in winter mornings, always been with me when I had to go get the milk (LOL), cursed me when I used to go to sleep at 11 pm a day before exam and made me cry when I was finally leaving that place.

As Shruti says-To begin with.....Me and My fiancé Rajeev are engaged from past 6 months (Which actually appeared as 6 years to me).Writing about him and our relationship is a great pleasure but somehow i do not have Rajeev available to write anything about me, but never mind i will write something on his behalf coz i know how wonderful i am ;). It was a typical arrange marriage meet where we were complete strangers and the journey began to make us feel like we know each other from ages. I and Rajeev were quick in getting in each other’s' wavelength and it was soon after our roka we released we understand each other well. We shared similar Beliefs, liking, disliking, choices etc. which helped us to gel in faster. Rajeev is a straight forward, fun loving, outgoing person.

                                   

Now started the professional life, Symphony. If you don’t know anything, there is one answer to everything, the panacea, Neeraj Sir. He made sure I am not left alone on Diwali. More than a colleague, he has been a support and a great friend.

                                    

Priyanka, a new friend in the office, ready to have fun anytime, anywhere, even in the Boss’s office, yes you read it right, is one person I miss the most in that otherwise boring office. Endless butter baron challenges, fighting for leaves, and shower of those abuses (the dirtiest ones), we have done it all.

                                                 

So, this was about my unfortunate friends who have sacrificed their lives for the good social cause (marriage, of course). (A shradhanjli to all the Shahid). But I do have many fortunate friends too, who get to enjoy their lives a little more than me (I hate you. Bahadur Jawan jaldi shahid honge).

Liza-The nervous kumbhkaran; Aditya- the carver fighter ; Pallavi- The emotional one; Diljot- The room lender; Richa Modgil-the bewdi daredevil; Uditi- The most difficult person for dupattas; Sumita- Yaar dassi na kise nu; Ankur-The one who could eat trunk, mattresses, books, cosmetics and anything for making that extra pocket money. You know what I mean!

                                       

Hey guys, I am not dying, I am only getting married. I know it sounds synonymous, but I am sure I will spot the difference and tell you soon. So wish me luck and be there to see me smiling (maybe for one last time!).

Different moods of love - Dastaanein mohhabbat

Love is special. It makes both the lover and the loved special. It gives a purpose to this otherwise boring life. As we start our journey together, Aditi and I thought of highlighting some great couples who inspire us with the strength of their relationship. You guys make our Valentine's special.

So here we bring to you some terrific couples and a few words about them. Aditi's list will appear as a separate post (Click here).

Garima & Deepesh

Anuj speaks - "Gary is my little cute baby sis. There are many women a man can love and sisters take the top rank. Garima and Deepesh married in March 2012 - a perfect arranged marriage. The memories of the naach gaana in her wedding is still very fresh in my mind. They are such a sweet couple. Always be like this guys!"

Aparna & Varun

Anuj speaks - "Varun and my friendship dates back to the year 2001. Oh my goodness, it's been 13 long years... time flies away. As you must have guessed, he is a man who builds solid relationships. Probably that's what he learnt during his Civil Engineering days at PEC :))

Aparna happened to him at PEC, Chandigarh, and world was never the same again. I have been part of his days of early affair, the naram-garam time of the relationship. But both of these beautiful people grew from boy and girl to become the man and the woman. Today, they are a globe-trotting couple jumping from one nation to another wherever their work takes them, and yet they try to be together. I remember attending their wedding reception and it rained heavily that night. God showered its blessings on this lovely couple and they are going stronger with each passing year. Keep the flame alive guys."

Richa & Vinay

Anuj speaks - "It indeed takes guts to marry my intelligent, yet eccentric friend, Vinay. We both were batch-mates at NIT in Mechanical Engineering and mechies are supposed to be very difficult guys to handle. Richa must have met Vinay in 2009 when both of them were preparing for their MBA entrance exams. MBA entrance to side mein reh gayi, ye dono relationship ki entrance jaroor clear kar gaye :))

In love they fall, in love they rise! Love marriage is not an easy task. It takes an infinite amount of perseverance and patience to ensure that you graduate from girlfriend-boyfriend to husband-wife and hats off to these 2 great people, they made it!! I'm going to miss this idiot during my wedding, as much as he missed me during his wedding. Badla le liya tune saale kamine kutte...."

Shweta & Varun

Anuj speaks - "Varun was my flat-mate in 2008, my ex-TCSer friend who isn't ready to vacate my heart even when I vacated his flat in 2008 itself. Ab main to chala gaya MBA karne, par isne peeche se gupp-chupp ek aur TCS wali ke dil mein flat kiraye pe le liya... Pata chala saala uske dil ka maalik bhi ban gaya... aur hume pata bhi nahi!! Ye tune accha nahi kiya dost.

I don't really know how Shweta handles this wierdo... but she also didn't consult me before marrying him, so mera koi kusuur nahi... bhai ne 2011 mein shaadi kar li, aur shaadi ka nyota shaadi se 5 din pehle diya... how much I miss meeting my bhabi... par is kameene ko kya maalum ek devar ke dil ka dard... Varun is a gem of a person, a friend you would die to have... kyunki varun ke jaisa friend life mein hona jaroori hota hai... ho gayi na Airtel ki ad free mein is ullu ke karan. Waiting for you dude on March 1st."

Pooja & Ankur

Ankur speaks - "If it's difficult to be an entrepreneur. It is more difficult be an entrepreneur's wife as initially you neither have money nor time. Pooja has sustained that rough phase with me without any slightest remorse rather being the greatest support, I am sure with this litmus test passed, the rest of life would be a cakewalk. Now we are celebrating the life wherein we have single cherished dream which we see together with four eyes!"

Anuj speaks - "Ankur and I were MBA batch-mates. We studied together and we scored together. We secured the top ranks. And we both left our stable jobs to lead the life of disillusioned entrepreneurs who dreamed to change the world. It's hard to marry a guy who's already in love with a dream and Pooja took that risk. As Ankur says, it's damn hard to be an entrepreneur's wife. You are never too sure about the future. I have taken inspiration from their relationship from the time they got married in November 2011. Sometimes a marriage demands colossal amounts of understanding between the partners, and Pooja and Ankur are living examples of the same. When I was searching my wife, I told my mom, I need a girl like Pooja. She's someone who brought a lot of stability in Ankur's otherwise adventurous life (and adventures aren't coming to an end anytime soon). Wish both of you tonnes of love this Valentine's. Keep rocking!"

Ankita & Mukul

Anuj speaks - "My (hone-wali) aadhi gharwali, yes my one and only saali, Ankita, is Aditi's elder sis. Of all the couples listed in this post, this couple has stepped into parenthood and have a sweet kid - Ihit. Ankita ji, as I affectionately call her, is my source of all the hot and masaledaar khabar about Aditi. It's aptly said that saali ka darja gharwali se bhi upar hota hai, Ankita ji matches the saying."

This post was especially meant for those who have crossed that line.. i.e. who got married. This post is an inspiration for all my unmarried friends that they should follow the footsteps of those whose names appear above. Happiness is not the only motive of life. Marriage prepares you for the hardships :))

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you people.

PS: Plan's all set for my Feb 14 outing with Aditi. Do remember to share some romantic ideas to make this moment special. Shaadi ke baad to Feb. 13, 14 and 15..sab same to same hi honge na :)))

Two pieces of the same hearts

Arranged marriage brings two complete strangers together. Once you are there, you start exploring someone from scratch, the sense of curiosity and the art of observation perform at their peak when you are seeking the finer details of your partner's personality. In our case, we've been relatively quicker to develop affection for the unknown, and while we enjoy what we know about each other, we still seek to explore each other further.

In just a matter of a few days, Aditi and I would get married. But before that happens, we will be engaged. The engagement will also comprise of the Ring Ceremony, where Aditi and I exchange rings of love and commitment. We are lucky that we got an opportunity to go out and shop together for our rings. It surprises me how much times have changed (and yet continue to remain the same), our parents allowed us to go together for this important shopping. I have never been active during gold shopping, and here I am with Aditi trying to buy gold for her as well as myself. Aditi sahi bolti hai... ab chalega pata bacchu.. Frankly I don't wear rings and didn't plan to do so in future, and my mom's like... tu pagal hai, engagement ki ring to pehen-ni padti hai... tere papa bhi to pehente hain... tujhe kya problem hai... :)))))

As we drove to the jeweler's shop, I asked Aditi, what kind of ring do you want. She had no idea. I joked to her that let's find a pair which together forms a heart but individually carries only a part of the heart. Oh yes, she laughed at my idea like some of you would :))

We went to Tanishq only to be disappointed by their collection. The funny part was that neither Aditi nor I knew which is the finger for which we should buy the ring (we went completely unprepared). I asked the salesman and he was equally clueless. They finally got hold of a salesgirl who got married recently. She indicated the finger for both boy and girl for which the rings should be bought. I also called up my dad and my mama only to find that they had different ideas for the finger for which the boy's ring should be bought. I guess there's no standard practice for it, that's why no one really had the correct or dependable information for the ring finger for the boy and the girl. Actually there's more confusion regarding the boy's ring finger.

Anyways, after Tanishq, we both went to another jeweler in sector 19 market. Again I asked the same question about the ring finger for the boy and the girl and again I got mixed answers from those present at the shop. After carefully going through the collection, Aditi and I selected 2 rings each for both of us. Since the jeweler is known to our family, I brought the rings with myself (without paying anything) to take the opinion of the elders about our choice. While Aditi's mom was okay with our choices, my mom gave us a thumbs-down. Maybe destiny was at its play :)

Next day I went to another jeweler in sector 37 with my sister to check more designs of the rings. This time I spotted a ring which had 2 hearts made on it in an artistic fashion. Simple, elegant yet meaningful. I shortlisted this one for myself. In the evening I took Aditi along to the same shop to select her ring. As we were going thru ladies' ring collection, Aditi spotted a ring with the same design as the one which I had shortlisted. That was the only design which was available in both ladies and gents collection. Two pieces of the same two hearts. Aditi selected the same design for herself as well.

It is our destiny to be united through something we humans feel we 'arranged'. God has his designs we merely live to follow. Separated by time and age, our hearts have been found on two pieces of gold. Wish that the pieces stay together. For a lifetime.

Making it happen - The venue

Marriages are made in heaven, but the party happens on Earth.

Aditi and I both belong to Chandigarh. Oh my mom was so crazy about getting me a girl from Chandigarh. My mom hardly had any sympathies for the girls from outside Chandigarh. My sincere apologies to all the girls who missed a chance to be my life-partner because of my mom's idiosyncrasies. Anyways, no time to lose heart girls, I'm always open for EMAs :)

Ok Ok, be serious, this post is to introduce you to the place where a life-changing event is going to happen. Aditi and I are getting married in our hometown Chandigarh. For those of you who would give us the privilege of your presence during our wedding, our city has some nice places to visit in your free time in-between the ceremonies. For couples, Sukhna Lake is a good place to have a romantic walk (and keep your wife away from shopping) away from the urban madness.

For guys, the best way to spend the free time would be to go to Sector 17's shopping plaza. You will find enough reasons to bless me as most of the girls of this city go for their retail therapy to Sector 17's market. Try your luck! Visit Rock Garden (before 5 PM) to see how someone had taste for the waste and made beautiful stuff out of it. Chandigarh also plays host for Festival of Gardens, popularly known as Rose Festival, during the last week of February. While you won't be able to participate in the fest, the Roses would be all blossoming during our marriage date. Photography enthusiasts shouldn't miss this chance!

The marriage would take place at Wedlock Manor, a marriage hall on the outskirts of Chandigarh. To guide the guests to the venue, here's a view of the location of the marriage hall on Google Maps. For those who are going to drive on their own to the venue, let me caution you: the hall is exactly at the point on the road where the flyover at Zirakpur starts (the end of the flyover towards Chandigarh). In case you miss to notice the hall on your left hand side and you take the flyover, you would have to drive till Metro and then take a U-turn, and then you drive till Chandigarh Airport's traffic signal and again take the U-turn to come back to the marriage hall. So remember, at Zirakpur don't get on the flyover by any chance if you are coming to the venue (because you would have to then drive atleast 5 Kms to come back to the venue). Remember to call me or Aditi for directions if this map doesn't help.