I have always wanted to do two things. One is to meet a person I met in the cyber world in-person in the real world. The second one is to attend a wedding party where I know no one. By sheer luck and weird coincidence, I came close to doing both on the same night. I did attend a wedding where I knew no one but the online friend I planned to meet at the wedding was the notable absentee that night.
My friend Swati's sister Sweta was getting married. I had been friends with Swati for over a year and she invited me for the wedding and the reception. The wedding muhurtham was on Thursday 18th Nov, 2010 at 5-55 AM and the reception was scheduled for Friday evening (and the dinner from 7:30 PM onwards). The thought of attending the wedding was tempting but it was scheduled too early in the morning. I am a night owl and was not in a mood to attend a ceremony that early in the morning. As I am a bachelor, who cooks for himself, I shall never miss the opportunity of a free meal. As a natural choice I planned to attend the wedding reception along with my brother (who was staying with me).
The address on the invitation read
The address on the invitation read
Grand Solitaire
Vasavi Shreemukh,
Beside Lee Showroom,
Himayathnagar, Hyd.
Vasavi Shreemukh,
Beside Lee Showroom,
Himayathnagar, Hyd.
I reached Himayathnagar by 8:30 PM, sought the blessings of Lord Venkateshwara of Himayathnagar temple for my little escapade but it took another hour to find the Grand solitaire or the Vasavi Shreemukh or the Lee showroom. I was so much into the endeavor of finding the address that even after finding the Grand Solitaire and the Vasavi shreemukh, I was still searching for the Lee showroom. We laughed at my stupidity and walked into the reception.
At the entrance, I caught a wild glimpse from a fat man. My conscience caught me for a second. I remembered that no one knew me there and fear engulfed me with the idea of getting caught & being shamefully kicked out. I assured myself that I knew Swati but here's the catch; she had an exam for the next day and was not attending the reception in the first place. Then what was I doing there? I was about to fill my heart with an exhilarating experience; I wanted to attend the wedding (at least the reception) where I knew no one and still come out of it not getting caught.
After we got in, the first thing I did was emptying my bladder; it was an AC hall and also a winter night. Fear combined with a full bladder is a deadly combination. It was only after we reached the seating area that I noticed the fat man had followed me inside. I thought for a moment on how to prove my genuineness. As the bride and groom were ready with the cake on the dais, I wasted no time, took my digital camera out and went near the podium and took a few snaps. Hoping that either of Bride's and the groom's parties would think that I was from of the other party, I felt relaxed.
It was much past my supper time and I could feel my stomach complaining, but the reception was still in progress with everyone waiting for their turn to get a photograph with the newly-wed. I too wavered to do that but the idea of announcing that I was an alien right to the bride and the groom felt like the stupidest idea. The dinner arrangements were spot-on. All the dishes were very neatly arranged and divided into starters, main courses and desserts. The main courses were still divided into veg and non-veg categories. The plates, spoons and forks were arranged right in front of the dishes in an aesthetic fashion that to disturb them and spoil the beauty would be an atrocious crime. Soon enough, someone made a move and the pile of dinner plates started to grow down. We filled our plates with the starters, main courses and what not? It was aesthetically delicious, wedding special besides being a free meal.
I took my time to complete my meal, refilled the plate several times all the way calculating the remaining room in my stomach to accommodate all the dishes. While I was busy chewing, I overheard someone talking something about Swati. I concentrated hard to hear the conversation. One middle-aged uncle was inquiring a grey-haired aunt about Swati's absence. I remembered Swati as a very diligent, highly competitive student who took her studies too seriously that she was not even attending her sister's wedding reception where everyone was sincerely missing her. I, on the other hand, talked my brother, (who also had an exam the next day) who didn't know much about Swati and honestly nothing about Sweta, into attending the reception.
All the time, it felt like everyone was looking at me inquisitively. The feeling of guilt was really killing me. But no one ever showed at least a little interest in knowing about me., even I carefully avoided everyone's eye contact. It was almost 10:30 PM when I checked my watch. We finished our meal and calmly came out of the banquet hall. To my utter surprise the fat man at the door was still eyeing me suspiciously. He observed us until we took our bike from the parking lot and until we left, or was it just my feeling?
The party ended there with me crossing off one item in my long list of "At least once in a life time to-do" things. But the one to meet an online friend in the real world still remains.
After we got in, the first thing I did was emptying my bladder; it was an AC hall and also a winter night. Fear combined with a full bladder is a deadly combination. It was only after we reached the seating area that I noticed the fat man had followed me inside. I thought for a moment on how to prove my genuineness. As the bride and groom were ready with the cake on the dais, I wasted no time, took my digital camera out and went near the podium and took a few snaps. Hoping that either of Bride's and the groom's parties would think that I was from of the other party, I felt relaxed.
It was much past my supper time and I could feel my stomach complaining, but the reception was still in progress with everyone waiting for their turn to get a photograph with the newly-wed. I too wavered to do that but the idea of announcing that I was an alien right to the bride and the groom felt like the stupidest idea. The dinner arrangements were spot-on. All the dishes were very neatly arranged and divided into starters, main courses and desserts. The main courses were still divided into veg and non-veg categories. The plates, spoons and forks were arranged right in front of the dishes in an aesthetic fashion that to disturb them and spoil the beauty would be an atrocious crime. Soon enough, someone made a move and the pile of dinner plates started to grow down. We filled our plates with the starters, main courses and what not? It was aesthetically delicious, wedding special besides being a free meal.
I took my time to complete my meal, refilled the plate several times all the way calculating the remaining room in my stomach to accommodate all the dishes. While I was busy chewing, I overheard someone talking something about Swati. I concentrated hard to hear the conversation. One middle-aged uncle was inquiring a grey-haired aunt about Swati's absence. I remembered Swati as a very diligent, highly competitive student who took her studies too seriously that she was not even attending her sister's wedding reception where everyone was sincerely missing her. I, on the other hand, talked my brother, (who also had an exam the next day) who didn't know much about Swati and honestly nothing about Sweta, into attending the reception.
All the time, it felt like everyone was looking at me inquisitively. The feeling of guilt was really killing me. But no one ever showed at least a little interest in knowing about me., even I carefully avoided everyone's eye contact. It was almost 10:30 PM when I checked my watch. We finished our meal and calmly came out of the banquet hall. To my utter surprise the fat man at the door was still eyeing me suspiciously. He observed us until we took our bike from the parking lot and until we left, or was it just my feeling?
The party ended there with me crossing off one item in my long list of "At least once in a life time to-do" things. But the one to meet an online friend in the real world still remains.
