HALL OF FAME

We owe serious and heartfelt thanks to some amazing friends.....

Aneesha Chopa: BFF. Chief Wedding Planner. Responsible for not unleashing Bridezilla. Painted 140 pipal leaf skeletons with gold paint for table centre-pieces. Opened hpuse, heart and mind to planning this wedding. Aneesha s absence was the darkest cloud over our wedding. BFF always!! I still cant believe she wasnt there and we got married without her!!!
Was quarantined due to swine flu in the family and had to miss D -Day :C

Anita Chopra: Aneesha's mum. The magic of the hall was all her planning and contribution. Since she was also quarantined, she reluctantly handed over to the more than capable Samia.However, she sent a tempo load of home-made magic tricks for the hall!!The wedding favours were her idea!!

Wendy D'Cruz: mum-in-law who made the beautiful cards using her artistic skills, also the mural we used in the hall (the cartoon couple). She helped with everything and organised the choir.

Samia Khan: dear old friend, erstwhile Production Designer, who jumped in at the deep end and gamely took over from Anita and made the magic happen! The "upside down lilly pool' was all her!

Petronella and Ashley Eates: Sweetest cousins-in-law, this couple spent all Sunday in the hall working their magic with Samia. Peta also took loads of pictures!

Sabah Siddiqui: Dear, dear friend who gamely made hundreds of paper flowers, helped with lots of little chores and was a true friend of the bride!

Caitlin Burke: Lully, all gangly a year ago is now a graceful and elegant swan! She was bridesmaid, and helped with dozens of little things. Her good humor extended to making us watch " Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging" before the wedding!

Family D'Cruz:John Wendy, Daniel Ewelina, Joel Shauna, Nina, David, Nico and Ray: my new in-laws. They carried precious parcels from across the seas for the wedding brunch,they made hundreds of paper flowers, fetched, carried, strung flowers, decorated the car, made decorations, painted things, played beautiful music and sang like angels. muaaah!!!

Vivo: Vivo came and gamely tied flowers on golden bamboos.

Sudipta: Dearest Sudipta's good humour and outrageous statements had everyone in splits thru the mehendi, the hen night and the wedding day. This woman can be counted on to wave her magic wand and produce make up, jokes, laughs, assemble table centre pieces, and wotnot!!

Rachel Reuben: Ahhh.... she s the BEST. Am I blessed or what?? My dearest friend styled me, Alekhya and ROb. The clothes, the flowers, the hair, the makeup.... she wanted me to look "ethereal" and I did..... Best Woman at the wedding...Words fail me. Rach has been family for years, to me, to Rob, to Alu and to Mike.

Sean B: Best Man, who didnt lose the rings but was late and had the bride circling the Turf club in her car! His sms said it all: I had a great time. You married my best freind. What else could I want?:)

Shabari Shetty: My telepathic neighbour. We have the SAME taste in curtains, crockery, tupperware, wrapping paper... its insane!! Plus she has to be forcibly restrained from cooking and coming with heaps of food for parties. She opened her home, her hearth and her heart for the wedding and all of us basked in her warmth and laughter.

DJ Agnel: His wedding gift to his best friend's sister was to play the funnest music ever at our wedding, and we laughed and danced away to Goan Masala and good ole goenchi tunes!

Janhavi Borawake: The baby sister I ve never lacked cause I ve always had Janu. She was brilliant.

Leila Fernandez Khambatta: Lola, Lolly, Lolita Lempicka: sister-in-arms for all mad things. voice of reason. best person in a crisis. most organised person.and always full of surprises. She was responsible for making the wedding brunch the yummiest ever with the divine creme brulee she brought. Among a million other things...

Ketan & Rishika Dossa:My baby brother and his wife. Ketan was the best MAster of Ceremonies ever! He had the audience in splits and the wedding rocked thanks to him. HIs "item number" with his gorgeous wife sure spiced up the dancing!!

The Merrie Men: Taizoon, Appu, Bunty, Aleem, OJ, Zaheed: Robin's merrie men made the evening delightful, helping everywhere and keeping our spirits up!

Rustom Sherdiwala: Best-est photographer ever!!! So now we have super pictures of our magical night. He was patient and laboured for hours to give us 1200 photos!!xxxx

Shahine Ardeshir & Zareen Bahrucha: Soul sisters. Thanks for being there in all the important ways.

Niloufer Ebrahim: The wind beneath our wings, she has tirelessly worked towards keeping us together and helping us deal with all the obstacles and hurdles in our path.

FR Peter: Robin's uncle who blessed us at our wedding and genreously and rightly concluded that God is always with us, everywhere.

Taizoon Baker: Best Man #2. Thanks for getting RObin to the altar on time!!! (among a million other "taiz" things he did)

Michael Remedios: His love, his warmth, his smiling face and spirit of joy helped this wedding become even more magical!

M*I*A

Thos who did not attend..............


A: Aneesha Chopra- Mistry. Anita Chopra. Andrea Falleiro. Amin Haji. Annie Sukheshwala. Arun Saigal. Adfilmvalas. Ayesha De Sousa Family.

B:Bobby Nishant Aurora.Bruce Dunn.

C: Carl Bhiladvala. Charlotte Haji. Cyrus Wadia.

D: Dhruv Saigal. Deepankar Chaturvedi. Dossas Nitin & Yatin & families. D"Souzas, Clarke House.

E:

F:Fernandes Family. Farah Bharucha.

G:Garcia Bhiladvala. Good Morning Films.

H:

I: Insiyah Shikari.

J: Jayeshwari Bhinai. James, Paul & Shauna.

K: Katie Hoosein. Karsihma Karnik. Kate Wadia. Kunal Kapoor.

L:Leela Kumar.

M: Malini Bhatia. Meenal Sreenivasan. Monika Gulati. Minal Makar. Meetashi Makar.Marques Family. Mark Cruikshank. Manali Dossa.

N: Nachiket Joshi.Neha Mirchandani. Nirvana. Noyonika Bhaduri.Neil Juneja.

O:

P: Priya Vithani. Prabhakar Shetty.

Q:

R: Raoul Juneja. Richa Singhal. Rustom Mistry. Rodgers. Ryan Falleiro.

S: Shayaan Mistry. Shirin Dhabhar. Sandhya Juneja. Singhal family. Shiva. Soniya James.

T: Taariqa Raj.

U: Uncle Pat. Ujaala.

V: Valentino Gaspar. Vikram Oberoi.

W:

X:

Y: Yakuta Poonawalla

Z: Zareen Bharucha. Zoo Grips Jib team. Zokkomon Crew.

HOW TO POST A COMMENT

HELLOW!!!
HAVE HEARD MANY OF YOU FIND IT HARD TO POST COMMENTS HERE. ITS RATHER EASY, WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE COMMENTS BUTTON, YOU NEED TO SIGN IN. CHOOSE YOUR PROFILE WHICH IS YAHOO, GMAIL ETC (IT POPS UP) AND YOU USE YOUR EMAIL ID AS A SIGN IN AND EUREKA, YOU CAN POST A COMMENT!!

SO CAN THIS BE MORE THAN ME WAXING ELOQUENT?????? WRITE IN PEOPLE, THIS WAS MEANT FOR ALL OF US TO SHARE IN THE LAUGHS!!!

Shopaholic's Diary

Today I rediscovered the hidden treasures and earthly delights of good, ole, under-rated MG Road. I definitely spent more money here on one long expedition than I have in any mall or superstore.

First, I found parking immediately. Maybe because it was the unearthly hour of 3pm. Most of Main Street was still shut. That was a damper. I mean, people STILL take off for their siesta??? Apparently Pune hasnt changed all that much!!!

First stop, CT Pundole. ( actually that's coz I was parked just besides their store)and 'hello' to Robin's class mate Hormaz Pundole. Then Half an hour perusing dress watches for my hubby-t-be. I wanted to give him something special, and he's not a jewellery person. Found what I liked within 5 minutes, but did a full chukker to make sure it was 'the one'. Take a peek on D day!!

Fell in love with an exquisite Balmain ladies dress watch but desisted. Control, control, I'm very proud of myself.

Next stop, kolsa Galli. Was actually headed to somewhere on Centre Street, near Mulchand Sweets ( also Robin's classmate and by far the best mithaiwala in town: his ras malai is to DIE for) and Kalidas Gandhi, but stopped opposite my favourite bakery, Persian for a whiff of freah broon and scrummy jam tarts. There stands a little hole in the wall, Lupesh Cloth Centre. My vote goes for it being rechristened "Alladin's cave!!"

Two hours later, and after numerous calls to Rob to get there with the cash ( he had this weird idea that Kolsa Galli accepts plastic, which they don't) I stagger out having purchased a dozen gorgeous saris in a rainbow of colours for all the maids and wives of assistants. There's a deep magenta nav-vari for Susheela bai from #40 Sopan Baug, a bright orange with an exquisite royal rani pink pallu for amma. Carmeline gets deep purple with a haldi coloured pallu. Kumar's new bride get's a pretty pink and purple ( ok, so Im a pink and purple sari person and I have 3 myself). Rust for Sameer's wife. Greens and salmons for the other maids. All in all, a very good haul, with petticoats and fall to match!! I haggle and plead and come away with a darn good deal!

I have also yapped with Sonalie and accomplished much with her on the phone. Who says we cant mulit-task??

I crawl into Persian and regain my energy with a flaky chicken patty from Persian and some pizza base for Alekhya.

I wander back to Pundole, collect the gift, and wave Rob and FIL on their way to buy more booze for the wedding.

I stride towards the mecca of homeware, hans metals and am greeted fondly.The kadhai cannot be repaired. I buy a hardy tawa that the maids wont be able to scrub the teflon coating off. Some steel utensils, a new kadhai on their exchange offer, and wonder of wonders, finally... the perfect flatware. I have been looking for a good set of tableware for over a year, and I finally found a solid german set. AH!!!! What joy!!

I lug the very heavy bag next door to the affable Pradeep at Gulab jewellers and am joined by Rob & his dad. We settle on our wedding bands. K.I.S.S.

Back to the car, depositing more heavy goods onto the seat. The gym bag glares at me and I swear I will rush and get my booty on that circuit.

I call Leila who says she will come in 15 mintues and help me with the upholstery ( I have been desperately trying to get her for the last month or so for this). So I meander down Main street and find:

cotton dresses for nana, from two very frail, sweet old men who spoke in kutchi ( not knowing it's my father's tongue) and they promise to cut the cottons to size and stitich them for me all by tomorrow. They are disappointed I buy only 4.

Flex shoes has white faux leather school keds for Alekhya ( the canvas ones get soaked in the rain , plus we are polishing them all the time). I also peeked into Bata and Liberty but they didnt stock these. I get her white socks, ankle length.

At Dabholkar's I get her what she wants most: a transparent exam board. Yipee!!

I also find her a burberry patterned insulated lunch bag. And munch on a bar of snickers for some energy.

At Yemajee's I gaze at pretty sheer white curtains with girlie pink tulips embroiderd, but give them a pass.

Leila and Ali arrive and we scrounge through Indo- Foreign for new upholstery. I was right, she has exquisite taste and I shall now be 'elegant' instead of good, ole "bohemian". Think teal, taupe, bronze and sand.

We rush to Yemajee's for more fabric. And we're HORRIFIED to find we have FORGOTTEN Ali in Indo - Foreign!!!! ( It's the old case of I -thought-she-was-with-you) Leila dashes back and finds the sprite! Whew!!!!

Left alone, I find more lovely blues and order some more fromthese lovely samples they have. It's a bad, evil place. There s floors of pretty fabrics, in many colours and they have shimmery curtains, deep jacquards, jewel-hued bolts of glistening silks.

I am so happy they give me a huge discount without my even asking for it.


And now I am home and so happy and well- shopped I couldnt do this in a million years. ( I just did one WHOLE DAy with Sheetal....last week)

Tonight I shall dream of my elegant new living room.

Note to self: DO NOT FORGET TO TIE PIGGY UP WHEN I USE THE NEW SOFA COVERS AND CUSHIONS AS HE HAS RIPPED 1 DUVET, 1 BED SPREAD, 1 SHAGGY RUG AND 2 CUSHION COVERS IN THE LAST 3 WEEKS.

FB Conversation with my madcap, soul-mate GFF Samia

Samia: Hey mail before tomorrow evening. Leaving Muscat tomorrow night. Call you once I get my plans fixed in Calicut. What happenend. Why the panic?

Samia:i just can't remember the spelling for this fucking word anymore.....that h word....i feel like a five year old struggling with big words......

Raadhika:have assigned big duty to you and need to confer before so you can say no if you want!! also need u to meet my aunt in bbay as i want to assign yu to her on the decor!!! :P say u will darlin!!!

Samia:yeah what big duty. as long as i don't have to marry robin or have illicit sex with some one to make your life easy, what big duty do you have in mind. Yeah, i'll meet your aunt. anything else. and no i will not be sharing my bed with anyone either!!!!! might make an exception on the sleeping or sex bit maybe...but i have to know who it is, what gender....specifically male on the sex bit, preferably six ft and above and more on the lanky side. no goras....but i might make an exception there also....

now can you stop with the fucking buildup and tell me what the fuck it is. supense....oh queen of hyperness makes me freak a bit....

and incase you haven't understood....yes. and no offense to robin. i'm a little off cradle snatching currently. LOLOLOL.

Radhika Dossai really want to post this converstaion on my blog: do you mind????

51 minutes ago:Samia Khan: no if it gets me advertising....which i need desperately and a fan club, which also i need desperately and a really amazing human being who can give me loads of things.......yes go ahead. i am pretty much unreserved.


Samia, I LOVE YOU!!!! So does Rob!!!!! truly, truly!!!

The 10 commandments of Shopping

What an absolutely manic monday!!!! But oh how I DO thrive under pressure!! I got sooo much done today, and so did Robin!Here goes...

Diary of a Shopaholic (of sorts) who is about to be married:

Rule #1: comfortable clothes and footwear essential for the expedition. Wear the hot pink wellies that lully gave you, and carry the crocs for lighter weather. Ah, not forgetting the acid green kolhapuris for a dry day!
Rule #2: phone a friend, and chat, and 'walk and talk'- what an idea, sirji!
Rule 3#: Car essentials: water, a snack, change for parking, a big brolly, lots of spare battery on the cell.
Rule #4: Have a friend join you. Before that, have the groom and FIL join you. Reeeally makes you want to throw away the visa!
Rule #5: Carry spare invitations so you are not stuck buying the groom a gift from his friend's store and having to evade the "whats-the-occasion-for -the-splurge' interrogation.
Rule #6: Make sure it's a wet, rainy day so you can spend more time browsing stuff.
Rule#7: Send the Mother on errands with her visa on her side of town, thereby saving on travel and time.
Rule #8: Delegate some more. Get BFF to get her mom to shop in Bombay!! And save more time and travel!
Rule#9: make a list and shop smart.
Rule#10: walk, walk, walk!!!And walk some more!

from ale

the recipe for happiness cake:1 wicked stepfather,1pepper hot chocolate mom , one smart-sophisticated-pipsqeak sugary alekhya. mix together with 4 furry dogs, 1 well-ripened greatgrandma. a dash of grandmother for spice. Garnish with 1 papa, 1 crazy cook. Mix well and toss with love. Watch as it rises in the oven. Ice well with cuddles and hugs.sprinkle with kisses and smiles.

from alekhya

It's raining

Here comes the rain!! And how! Water levels in Pune have risen to higher than total levels from last year. This after fears of a neaar draught. Phew!! At least we wont have to get a tanker for the wedding! And all our guests can bathe happily!

Our Children

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

The Secret

We are finally getting in gear and my world is filled with writing envelopes, sending emails and keeping track of addresses and more lists. Rob has finally jumped right in and we've tackled a lot of the important things.... like his suit!!
And the caterer!

Through all this merry chaos, what stands out the most is how happy everyone has been to hear our news, and how everyone is glad to be coming or sad they aren't able to. This feeling of such love and encouragement and support makes us feel all warm and fuzzy and happy that the world is such a happy place!

Robin's family has thrown itself into helping, and suggestions and helping hands are pouring in. It feels really nice that they have chosen to be supportive and involved in our so very unconventional 'relationship'. The D'Cruz cousins are all super fun and I like having sisters -in-law... Andi, Shona, Ewelina, Shauna (whom I will owe forever) and Petronella. They are all diverse women, strong women. I look forward to getting to know them even better!



To be honest, I'm not a big family person, as my brother Ketan and I grew up alone with our parents in Lonavla. And our circle consisted of friends, with extended family somewhere in the background. After my dada, and much later, my dadi-ma passed away, our links to the family home in Bombay grew more distant as my father and his siblings grew more estranged. And papa's passing away made it all even more remote. I like to think that my generation has tried to remain friends and let the elders have their disputes. At the end of the day, Facebook turned into one huge bonding platform and now I'm in touch with cousins and aunts and nieces from Mumbai and the US.

Today brought a big surprise on FB again.... I met my mother's side on-line. Ma is an only child, but her mother ( my Nana who lives with me)had a whole cricket team of siblings so I have aunts and uncles my age and cousins too!! TOday I connected with Janice from Ontario, and so we have a link more instantaneous than snail-mail, to ma's cousins and aunt in Canada.

This blog is being read by Robin's far-flung relatives too,in Europe, America and possibly Down Under. I still marvel at how the internet has linked us all so close.

Then there is OUR family: the family Rob and I have had through all these past years. A family full of rock solid friendships, fantastic womena and sources of strength, laughter and love. Za, Yaku, Sha, Andi, Rachel, Aneesha, Janu, Leila, Niloufer, Judi,Minal, Monika, Sheetal,Jay. Truly, you are the sisters of our soul.And always family.

Strangely, there are few men on this list. I wonder why? I think the women just entered our lives and surrounded us with all their love.

Most striking of all is how many messages and emails I have received from friends, both men and women, saying Rob and I are an inspiration to them. That we have made them believe that love does conquer all, that dreams can come true and that families can get over the whole 'class-caste-religion-dogma' bars. To be honest, we just stopped expecting any kind of support and believed that as long as we held true, our world would be happy.

WHich brings me to dwell on something important: I recently read that each of us has a God-given duty to pursue happiness actively. If we do not make it our mission to find happiness and be happy, we will not be able to spread happiness around and therefore, we will spread unhappiness around. Put the other way,it sounds like this: If I am an unhappy person, my unhappiness will percolate into my life, and by extension into the lives of those closest to me, and then they become unhappy in turn. Ii, instead, I find my level of happiness and I allow that to percolate into my life, everyone else responds to my happiness and it's spread around and we are all happy!

So I say: we must all actively pursue happiness, that which brings us joy and light that we can share. SO go and punch a boxing bag, or go for a long walk, pant around the race course and work through your anger or your pain. But when you come home, look around and count your blessings. Every day I count my blessings and give thanks, and what can I say?? The secret of happiness is right there, inside me, around me.And we will keep spreading it around.

Tout-suit(e)

Ok, Robin does not have his wedding suit yet. Any ideas who in aamchi Pune will do a good job?? We have some great options in Bombay, but unless we paddle there ( and I seriously doubt the car will make it)we have no suit!

It's finally here, the monsoon! Yabadabbadoo!!! It's so lovely to be all cozy at home and to actually wear wellies and a raincoat to step out! The dogs hate the wet, but even they are happy to snuggle into their gaadis and sneak on to the sofa.

Saw "The Proposal" last night. Ummm, I'm sure Rob and I have had many 'Drew & Margaret' moments.... like the missing proposal. I live in hope!!! ANyway, by the end of the movie, Drew still didnt propose to Margaret, he just TOLD her. Like I said, it was a 'Drew & Margaret' moment, or vice-versa!

Just for the record: Robin TOLD me. He never asked. But who's complaining???

HE's back!!

No, no! I don't mean Voldemort, although he will be back on celluloid this weekend, and the 3 of us are all geared to a Harry Potter weekend!

Robin's back! He's finally back. Which means he can do all the guy stuff and all the boring guy stuff... you know, bills and accounts and transport and whatnot. Whew!!! I was soooo worroed, especially since Bobby is now in Bonn (Bobby is the MAIN obama-manouevre man). Well, now I don't have to worry about kidnapping Robin and bringing him home!

Yaaay! Robin's home. What more can I say??? :)

Counting Down

OHHHMYYYGAAAAWSH! We are less than a month away from the festivities.
Here's the plan so far:
13th August, Mehendi ceremony, at my house, ladies only. (invitations will follow)
14th August, Hen Night and Bachelor party.... suggestions, anyone??? Seanie, wake up!
15th August: recover from the excesses of the 14th (men especially)
16th August: signing at the Registrar's (tentative, before lunch o/w at venue)
630 pm Wedding

Most of the overseas invitations have left last week. Am working on sending the outstation ones by this weekend. Please send your RSVPS, your veg-non veg preferences!!

I think I need to go write invitations, so ......cheerio!!

Tech Support

dear radhika,
reading the blog but cant work out how to comment, so here my reply per email
pls note:


dont worry, since you have an older model just dont change the settings too much. they usually work fine as long as you dont feed them with too much new software which seems to confuse them, the new programs never work.
stick to the old versions and just update them once in a while and it should all run quite smoothly.
love
dani

The Truth About MEN!!!

Should I be freaking out?? Rob has started sendin me these seriously WEIRD jokes!! Read on and tell me if I need to worry!!!


Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and I noticed a distinct slowdown in the overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewellery applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as
Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NEWS 5.0, MONEY 3.0 and CRICKET 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,

Desperate Woman




Tech Support Reply,
DEAR DESPERATE Madam,

First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.htmland try to download Tears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update.
If that application works as designed, Husband1.0should then automatically run the applications Jewellery 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1.
Please note that Beer 6. 1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-In-Law 1.0 under any circumstances (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.
You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance.
We recommend: Cooking 3.0 and Hot Looks 7.7.

Good Luck Madam!

5 WEEKS TO GO!

Last week has been a real roller coaster!
Time to fill out envelopes with addresses and go to the good ole post office and hope our 'snail mail' flies to foreign shores! The card is finally ready, and I am delighted and touched by how much care and effort Robin's parents have put into it. Please note the balding man and the scraggly rod-stewart haired woman on the card! And please note that John and Wendy have tied all the bows, and insisted they don't need our help.

The rain seems to be moving in and will hopefully make up for it's delay. I just hope our big night isn't washed out. Felt a HUGE pang of regret today that I didn't check out Cheeru and Praful's rooftop wedding venue at Post 91. We are now well and truly stuck with the Turf Club, and while it is old -worldy and charming, the rooftop sounded fab... :( Awww well...

RSVP s have started trickling in (hint, hint). No prizes for guessing that my dearest Yakuta cannot make it from Spiti. That has to be the biggest blow to our day. I can't even bear to think about it. And if Richu doesn't make it, I'll be really sad. Ditto for Andi. We will anyway miss Vikash, Saby, Ayesha and Sylvain, Nachi, Nina, Perizaad, Aneesha D.............. That's quite a list. On the plus side, we get more cake :P

Did a very important round with Priyanka Rajiv, who is dressing the bride. Rachel has made sure Priyanka extends herself to the limit and I am sure I will look great. OOOH I am so excited and totally thrilled cause Rachel's eye and taste is impeccable! Does anyone know or remember the catastrophic disaster that was my last wedding dress? Cheeeee!!!! Never, ever, ever trust Gavin Miguel... so - called designer from Bombay. I shall post a picture and you can all decide for yourselves!!

The bridal party is getting in gear: Ring Bearer (or Frodo) is Shayaan. He will be followed by Alique and Alekhya who insist they want 'matching-matching' ghaghara cholis and who will sprinkle flowers before I walk in after them. (Don't be late for the little ceremony....)

We really do need to practise the 'Obama- manoeuvre" as there seems to be no sign of Robin coming home yet!

Got some lovely table tops for the candles today! In my colours too : sunset pink and burnt orange. I found the EXACT shades on a bunch of frangipani growing in my garden! I shall make me a bouquet of flowers from my garden or wear them in my hair!

SUNDAY BRUNCH WITH MID-DAY

While this has nothing to do with the wedding, except in the way that I 've always wanted a Champagne wedding brunch in lazy winter sunshine, I must chatter away about the Mid Day 30th Anniversary Brunch I attended last Sunday.

We were unfashionably late. But it was still full of the 'whos-who" and the "movers & shakers". It was loud, noisy and crowded.
Walking through the Oberoi - Trident sucked. I kept thinking of 26/11 and even looking down towards what is now "Frangipani" and searching for the old waterfall didnt help. People died here. People died here horribly.

Can life ever go on?

Well, upstairs at the Rooftop, it did. I got dizzy from rotating my neck and people spotting! ( I love people -watching). There were Page-3s, Page-1s and even the Business Pages!!
So there was Ad world God father, Prahlad Kakkar. My mental camera took snapshots of Arjun Khanna and his wife Shefali, Atul and Vandana Kasbekar, Devika and Suresh Bhojwani who rocked the dance floor, Kahled Ansari, his dashing son Taariq, the gentil-homme Sunil Doshi, a striking Malavika Rajbans Sanghvi, Prahlad's son Anjin and his friend, a few models, Gerson da Cunha, Dolly Thakore, no bollywood stars, and a very sweet, old fashioned band playing golden oldies that had everyone grooving and jiving! Such fun to see dashing older men spin on the carpeted dance floor.

The buffet brunch was beyawesome!! Let's see... there were pancakes with 4 kinds of fillings and syrups, eggs benedict with salmon and hollaindaise, souffles, pastas, salads, breads, french cheeses, tartlets, sliced roasted salmon, the most mouth meltingly tender roast beef and I cant remember the rest of the buffet spread because for me the brunch spread began and ended with the fresh oysters. Larger than my palm, I kid you not. They were fresh, alive and every bit as memorable and sublime as every food writer has extolled, from MFK Fisher to Nigella and Tony. A dash of tabasco, a squeeze of lime and slurp it down. I fell in love. That something so utterly simple and so truly fresh and divine exists and can cause a rare and hitherto unknown sensory experience was mind-blowing. I only regret Rob and I were not sharing them on a deserted island in the South Pacific.

Mimosas and tickly glasses of champagne has effervescence coursing through me and I swear I teetered wholly drunk into my seat on the DQ back home!

Ps: I liked the 'different' custard dessert. Not creme caramel and not quite creme brulee, but somewhere wholly satisfying and in-between. Otherwise the desserts were definitely 'comme-ci-comme ca'.

Pps: I like to think RR packed quite a punch in her pure white shift.

Ppps: Now I have to make sure I am invited next year as well... hint, hint!

Marriage jokes

Hmmm... Robin is finally seeing the funny side of marriage! Here's his joke... don't be surprised if it pops up in some wedding speech.....

MEN

1. All men are extremely busy.

2. Although they are so busy, they still have time for women.

3. Although they still have time for women, they don't really care for them.

4. Although they don't really care for them, they always have one around.

5. Although they always have one around them, they always try their luck with others.

WOMEN

1. The most important thing for a woman is financial security.

2. Although this is so important, they still go out and buy expensive clothes and stuff.

3. Although they always buy expensive clothes, they never have something to wear.

4.. Although they never have something to wear, they always dress beautifully..

5. Although they always dress beautifully, their clothes are always just "an old rag".

6. Although their clothes are always "just an old rag", they still expect you to compliment them.

7. Although they expect you to compliment them, when you do, they don't believe you.

Wisdom:

WHEN I WAS MARRIED 25 YEARS, I TOOK A LOOK AT MY WIFE ONE DAY AND SAID,

"HONEY, 25 YEARS AGO WE HAD A CHEAP APARTMENT, A CHEAP CAR,

SLEPT ON A SOFA BED AND WATCHED A 10-INCH BLACK AND WHITE TV,

BUT I GOT TO SLEEP EVERY NIGHT WITH A HOT 25-YEAR-OLD BLONDE."

NOW WE HAVE A $500,000 HOME, A $45,000 CAR, NICE BIG BED AND PLASMA SCREEN TV,

BUT I'M SLEEPING WITH A 50-YEAR-OLD WOMAN.

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU ARE NOT HOLDING UP YOUR SIDE OF THINGS."

WIFE IS A VERY REASONABLE WOMAN. SHE TOLD ME TO GO OUT & FIND A HOT 25-YEAR-OLD BLONDE,

AND SH E WOULD MAKE SURE THAT I WOULD ONCE AGAIN BE LIVING

IN A CHEAP APARTMENT, DRIVING A CHEAP CAR, SLEEPING ON A SOFA BED

AND WATCHING A 10-INCH BLACK AND WHITE TV.

Calendar of chaos

Thursday 25th june: 5am Wake up. Hooray! I'm actually on time.

530 am Wait down for Za and car, terrified cell signal wont work if I move.

730am: I'm frozen with fear. Has she left without me??
Za arrives and rightly says, "Told you I'd call before I left home!"

1130am: Deposit Za safely at Sahar airport, having braved traffic snarls and what promises to be the advent of a real monsoon. Images of a flooded Bombay wash over me, and I think getting stranded in a Skoda is not a bad way to be.

1pm: Stagger into Aneesha's factory in Dharavi. Am distracted by all the gorgeous bags and it takes her to get me thinking back to the wedding. We ponder over invitations and redirect and consult with Wendy a few times. Wendy is very stoic and calm and most helpful, bless her!

3pm: Grab a cab and go to Khar to deliver gigantic laminated photos to big client. HAte hate hate traffic. Refuel at Candie's, even more ridiculously expensive than ever, but hell, the chicken mayo sandwiches still rock.

7pm: Am finally home chez Aneesha. Half asleep and numb with fatigue. Rustom orders us a fab meal from 'sizzling wok' and Rob and I tuck in and crash. Aneesha and I reminisce about the Michael Jackson concert we went for, the best concert ever, Mumbai , 1996. We argue over our favourite songs and posters on our walls.



Friday 26th June : Wake up to horrible news: Michael Jackson is no more. WHat?? We were just remembering his concert yesterday!!! HOw can it be so weird. We' re sad and dejected. We grew up on MJ. :"(

Aneesha has taken the day off to be my personal shopper. Except it's raining and raining and well, we better shop before it floods. We hit High Street Phoenix and head to the Triumph showroom, lunch at Spaghetti Kitchen and then we hop across to Atria Mall and immerse ourselves in some serious retail therapy, despite La Senza sales and NineWest on discount. We stagger into Coffe Day, ex---hausted. Poof! Shopping is serious work! And Aneesha is the best person to go shop with, she knows when you should splurge and she knows when to yank you away! Wait, one stop left, although it's late and raining and we 're cross eyed from all the bright lights and heavy loot.



Next stop: Mac. WOw! A Fairy God Mother waves her wand and poof, I look 18 again! I stare goggle -eyed and silently hand over the visa platinum. WHY didn't I learn make -up artistry on that whim 10 years ago?



We FINALLY tumble in through the door and sneer at Rustom's wicked peals of laughter and avoid all conversation to do with money.

A lousy Thai dinner ("I told you so", says Aneesha) follows. And we are rejuvenated enough to attempt "T3" at Metro; 11pm. Joined by Cousin Ian and the very sweet Hamin, we make it to Metro, the gorgeous art deco cinema. We stare and stare and stare at the grand Rolls Royce, all silver, luxurious, grand and blubber incredulously when we see who get in: old men, podgy, GFFFFG (if you remember what this stands for, you lived in Bombay in the 80s) and ... ugh!! WHy couldn't it at least be a Hrithik or someone dashing???

T3 is in all fairness a fab production. If I had to reveiew it, however, I would say this: "rat...tat...ratatatatatat". Now say this in different stacatto bursts, try turning it and twisiting it and try all the combinations you can think of...tat a trata a tat, rat a tat a tat a rat, or rat rat rat at at................

3am: we sink into blissful oblivion, mine peppered with dreams of dentists and root canals, thanks to Aneesha who says Rustom slept throught T3 like he does every root canal, where he genuinely falls asleep with a drill in his mouth!

I miss Alu terribly.


Saturday 27th: We head out and shop some more. Destination: Alladin's cave/city/ street... or souk. Crawford Market it is. For paper, gift bags, ribbons, bargains, and walks through Petticoat Lane, past Kipling Sr's Bas relief friezes on the grand, old, main market biuilding. Past hawkers selling brollies, combs, dusters, bags, trinkets and whatchamacallits. Past streets quaintly named Lohar Chawl, Sutar Chawl, Zhaveri Bazaar. Shayaan and hunger drive us back to find a Mcdonalds.

6PM: We are booked for seats at stand-up comedian Jonathan Atherton's show at Sophia Babha Hall. We are informed by SMS that it's pulled to 7pm. Rustom actually gets us there on the dot from Colaba, in rush hour TGIS traffic, careening wildly on Marine Drive. I tell Aneesha to close her eyes in the same breath as I goad Rustom on to pushing the pedal saying RObin drives faster in his sleep!



We make it only to find out it's at 8pm and so I teeter in my new highest heels until my toes go numb. Rachel joins us and we have a good time at the show. ( I must say the funniest joke was about "compromise in a marriage"). Now we head to Olive, for a not-so-great meal, and to the MJ tribute. Zenzi is packed and the Blue Frog is fun. The sound rocks, the Dj sucks. We dance to MJ hits and feel all teary. WHen was the last time a DJ played MJ anyway?? Don't these guys recognise the genius behind " Keep it in the closet", "Thriller", "BAd", "Blood on the dance floor", "They don't really care about us"....???

130am: Rob and I head home with Rachel and promptly fall in love with her tastefully done up, elegant , revamped appartment. It's like seeing your colourful, bohemian college sibling now a swan in all the elegant, graceful ways a swan is a swan without being a peacock. Less is always more.

Sunday 28th June: 10 am . Alarm bells sound in our head. Post smoked salmon and cream cheese on bhakri ( a Reuben classic),we have a girlie morning after Robin has gone off to his shoot. We chat, we primp, we preen, we make ourselves pretty and drive to the Oberoi ( now re-christened the Trident) Rooftop for the Mid-Day 30th Anniversery Brunch. ( That deserves a whole new post). And eventually Rob and Ian make sure I make the DQ back to Pune.

510pm: And it's bye-bye Bombay...... laden with shopping I make quite a sight on the train. I sink into oblivion till Lonavla and sink back into Nod after I sms darling Shabaree who is to pick me and my precious cargo up.

830pm: I make it into Shabaree's car, happy to be home and cold in amchi Pune and into Alu's hugs. The dogs are ecstatic. And I find myself... home sweet home!

Stress Checklist

venue.mandapwalla.caterer.cake.port wine. flowers. lights. camera. sound. music. dancefloor. bookings. invitations. printer. paper. trousseau. shoes. photographer. stripper. alcohol. food. mehendi. bangdis. ribbin. gajras. sparkly lights. Sha 's speech. the toast. car. license. excise. permit. bootlegger. pimp. best man. bridesmaid. wedding song. wedding march. goan masala. chocolate. pre nup.post nup. in-laws. out-laws. Robin. Robin Hood. Merrie men. sugar paste. marzipan. fruit cake. mud cake. thai food. barbeque. booze n brains. wedding night. honeymoon. new moon. airports. visas. tickets. passports. fittings. shirts. ties. gift boxes. postage. post office. addresses. old friends. new friends. bffs. rsvps. guest count. budget. taxes. registrar. video. bachelor party. bridal shower. blessings. prayers. vows. candles. decor. chamki. tiklis. bindis. little girls in ghaghara cholis. diamonds.kundan.mithai. dry mehendi. wet mehendi. beauty parlours. coiffs.chignons. kajaal. rod stewart hair. bald and beautiful.shaadi ke laddoos. ras malai.money. first dance. new heels. corsets. dilwale sulhaniyan le jayenge. Meet the parents. Father of the Bride. Monster-in-law the film. Shaadi ke laddoo the film. Sex and the city weddings. thank you cards. black ink. heat press process. friends. relatives. manicures. pedicures. sweet limes. khatta limboos. best women. good fairies. elves. th'ink shop magic. guest book. face book. blog.....
Have I forgotten anything?

Huffing and Puffing my way down the aisle

I actually joined a gym. I live in hope. While I almost die with the killer routine, I'm willing to try! A case of too little, too late?? Here's a joke someone sent me:

> A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM
>
>
> This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.
>
> Dear Diary,
> For my birthday this year, my Husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me.
>
> Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try..
>
> I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.
>
> My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
>
> ____________ _________ _________ __
> MONDAY:
> Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me.. He is something of a Greek god - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!
>
> Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!
>
> Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!!
>
> ____________ _________ _________ __
> TUESDAY:
> I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT-!! It's a whole new life for me.
>
> ____________ _________ _________ _
> WEDNESDAY:
> The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.
>
> Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.
>
> My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Chris put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other shit too.
>
> ____________ _________ _________ _
> THURSDAY:
> Asshole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes.
>
> He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny bitch to find me.
>
> Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.
> _________ _ ____________ _________
> FRIDAY:
> I hate that bastard Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.
>
> Chris wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.
>
> The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?
>
> ____________ _________ _________ __
> SATURDAY:
> Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.
>
> ____________ _________ _________ __
> SUNDAY:
> I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband (the little shit) will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Of Paranoia and Conspiracy Theories

Have deputed Robin's very Merry Men ( Taizoon, Bobby, Bunty, Appu, Dhruv) to make sure he " gets to the church (in this case, the hall) on time"!
The way Robin's shoot schedule is still not over, I think we need to gear up for some drastic action. I propose that the Merry Men go hi-tech and pull off an 'Eagle1' kind of evacuation. I'm thinking of an Obama-esque manouvre.... you grab the man and haul him into a limo and drive off with squealing tyres and spraying asphalt...
Then there are the few who doubt I'll be ready on time. Hmmm.... I am always running late... so I shall do a "4 weddings and a funeral" and set a whole bunch of clocks and be a whole hour early.....

Post TV show stress syndrome

Don't ask, but we caught one whole hour of a programme on Discovery Travel & Living: The Great Indian Wedding (or something like that). We sat zapped by the whole circus ( it was definitely a circus) that was Vikram Chatwal's wedding to Priya Sachdev. While I oohed and ahhed over her divine trousseau, and cringed at all the gorgeously buff bikini bodies, I shuddered at the thought of organising one.

Does that mean I wouldn't mind HAVING a circus of my own?? Anyway, that's never going to happen so Rob and I breathe easy! Instead we are counting on lots of close friends making it a most special evening. The cherry on the cake is Daniel and Joel flying in from far, far away just to be with us! Cant wait for them and their lovely wives to get here! :) Poor Nina is already back home in New Zealand.

It has finally rained today, and while I'm super thrilled the monsoon seems to have arrived, I hope we have a clear spell on the big weekend.

The Tv show gave me a wholoe load of ideas, simple things I can incorporate. And a lot of 'food' for thought!! (Did anyone SEE how much food there was????)

I still have to get organised on a lot of fronts, and Robin going away for 2 weeks to wrap his schedule with Highlight Films is giving me a case of jitters. Thank God for Aneesha, my Production Manager!! (this is what BFF 's get saddled with!)

Still trying to collect all the addresses (hint, hint). And have started a new email id: raadhikarobin@gmail.com

LOL message received from Niloufer, while she's away in Toronto: Procure happy inhalants and recreational pharmaceuticals. Give both to Robin for consumption before the wedding.

:D

On a road less travelled

At lunch today with the ladies, S remarked that this whole wedding, romance and relationship was ve-ry unconventional and she was amazed at how we managed to live in conservative ole amchi Pune and lead such an exciting life. Hmmm.... It got me thinking. To be really honest, we just grew into this 'relationship' and it seemed to evolve on it's own into something free spirited and wonderful. Mostly, I think we flouted all convention, made exceptions to all the norms and I guess people just grew WEARY of not accepting us. And we have been blessed, blessed with supportive, caring, generous and resilient friends who have always been there for us. Which reinforces my belief that the truth does set you free. When you have nothing to hide, you are free to truly live your life. And looking around, there are so many of us everywhere, defying the rules, carving our own niches and forcing the world to make space for us as we are.