Monday 1 June 2015

Marriage: A long conversation which always seems too short

Last Sunday, I was reading "NameSake" by Jhumpa Lahiri on my Kindle. The beautiful descriptions of life decades ago, with particular mention to the Bengali traditions/customs are very intriguing and heart-warming, to say the least. 'Twas the beginning of the last week prior to Pran (my husband) flying away to the U.S. for 3 weeks, so I decided to cheer him up after a cricket loss with some candles, 'Awfully Chocolate' dark chocolate truffles and some Bundaberg ginger beer! He obviously was taken by surprise and that evening ended with Mumbai Indians winning the IPL cup.

Monday marked 26 years since my parents' wedding. And they were on a short holiday at Pondicherry, with their younger child and my brother. Having been such a close witness to their marriage, I've learnt a lot from them and if anything, I'd like to emulate those values in my own marriage :)

Another weekday evening, my husband surprised me by coming home early from work! I so didn't expect that! He not only did the weekly grocery shopping (while I attended to some administrative work that I had at my workplace) but also treated me to some yummilicious 'Ilao Ilao' frozen yoghurt with fresh fruits and chocolate syrup! Didn't he just bowl me over?

The weekend was here soon enough and we were at the Esplanade theatre with our friends' gang to catch a Hindi play - Mera Woh Matlab Nahin Tha starring veteran actors - Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta; Rakesh Bedi as well in a cameo role. The play was well executed; with some nice, crisp dialogues. The acting by the trio was fabulous, as expected! T'was a lovely way to kickstart the weekend, indeed! We had some 'Max Brenner's' chocolatey drinks/pastries and then headed to the next stop for the evening.

The two of us have always liked heading to the theatres and watching movies together. "Margarita, with a Straw" was a movie I've been wanting to catch for quite some time, and it was finally showing in Singapore. So here we were. Unlike, other commercial films, this one didn't quite attract a huge audience but oh well! Glad, we could make it! It explored a sensitive topic - sexuality in persons with Cerebral Palsy; here, I must confess, even though, I've worked with children with Cerebral Palsy, the very thought of sexuality hadn't crossed my mind even once. I personally think, Kalki Koechlin displayed some brilliant acting; and if anything, her relationship with her doting mother, reminded me of my own...

The night didn't end there! We headed to Magic Carpet for a few shots and grooved to some desi songs including Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai?; Made in India :D It was so much fun! To dance like no one's watching and just celebrate with your partner, is awesome!

The next evening, we were at the "Kebab and Biryani Festival"  at Raffles Hotel for their dinner buffet. The ambience was nice and so was their service. The food, I must confess, wasn't extra-ordinary; but I must congratulate them for their choices on the buffet menu and not making it too extravagant! And well, we love our Indian food; so no complaints! We enjoyed the kebabs, chaats, biryanis, curries and not to forget the desserts. It gave us good time to chat and catch up with each other; and reminisce about #SocialShaadi - 'twas our half-year anniversary celebration in advance.
And as I basked in all the love and joy showered upon me, that week; I felt immensely grateful for having him as such an important part of my life.

He flew away to the U.S.A. early Sunday morning, but prior to that he made sure I had my favourite South Indian breakfast at Ananda Bhavan :D And when, I got back to an empty house - I realised 'twasn't home without him... The TV would be on with random cricket/TED talks/online tv series streaming... I'd be beseeching him to go have a shower :D... and nagging him to do all those mundane things :P but instead, he'd be on the iPad reading Harvard Business Review, oblivious to my nakhre. We'd have long talks and discussions about all things under the sun! There's always so much to talk about, to laugh about...what not!

In today's age, where Indian girls push getting married to a much later time; I've been asked if I thought I got married too early, at 24. But is there a right age to get married?! I am happy I got married to the love of my life, and my family and friends supported my life choice and decision. To have that one person, who has your back, come what may; to be able to share and care unconditionally; to understand each other even without the utterance of words; to be able to evolve and grow as individuals and as a couple; to have common dreams and goals, and persevere together towards them; I think is a blessing in the name of "marriage" - and the right time to get married, is when you feel so - no one can tell you that, except yourself. To each, his own :)

To many more long conversations, dear one! If not face to face, there's always FaceTime :D

T-19wks


1 comment:

  1. Very well written, my dear girl, straight from UR heart. I too enjoyed a very happy marriage,with a wonderful person, who was my best friend, favourite companion, guide, mentor,& every moment we spent together, was a treasure.Little things mean a lot,& its the little moments of love, that make a relationship very big.So keep going,& make it fun all the way.

    ReplyDelete