Part II: Weddings and other scary things

by Huma Sattar

like thigh flab.

Stifle yawn. Proceed to where bride sits, bling is blinding, adjust eyes and try to focus,  shut eye for bit but try not to bump into men with fat bellies and half a tooth missing- they ogle- should know they look like ogre while ogling but pity, have not slightest clue.

Look around for bride. Bride looklikes make search for bride more difficult, do not understand why every girl should put as many layers of make-up as bride, must they ruin bride’s special day? and not let her alone look like runaway godzilla from zoo.. bride must want to look unique, think sympathetically, must hate look alikes, blood must boil and redden cheeks but then layers of make-up must do good job of hiding said cheeks, ohhhh, now understood, congratulate beautician for foresight, and clap, several layers of make-up is actually dual-purposed and part of beautician’s contingency plan, is impressed…

Jump unaware when hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) squeals and points at be-jewelled creature whose face looks like baby spice transitioning into posh spice, and stopping between transition, not a pretty sight, body seems out of proportion with face but that is least of its problems, it is bride afterall.

Nod, prepare to utter convincing ooh- and aah at dress and if necessary, make cooing sounds and say how-beautiful-you-look–what-(designer)-are-you-wearing?–what-a-gorgeous-couple-you-make -…with-that-confused-guy-over-there-who-seems-to-be-screaming-in-his-head, add only inwardly..

Move toward creature with caution and conciliatory fake smile on in case she is clairvoyant and can hear thoughts (look supernatural, don’t she? teeheehee), adjust hair for benefit of camera man click-click-clicking away, (hair is second best feature next to eyes, afterall)…  camera man is one of richest man at wedding second only to beautician who painted creature’s face,  job is to get bride and groom to pose for  ‘natural-looking’ pictures and just not stop clicking, also to make bridezilla here look beautiful after beautician ruined considerable chances, chuckle at self, no wonder richest man at wedding…

… see richest man stealthily use sepia, dark-grey and all sorts of black-and-white modes on his camera more and more often; most when bride giggles and bares teeth, maybe reminiscent of Hannibal the Cannibal… should not let hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) hear thoughts, should not let anyone hear thoughts lest they think is jealous, is not jealous, is scared of such day dawning upon self… *shudder*

Stand at stage with bride and groom and smile properly for first time; can see waiters stand close to dinner tables ready to take off lids, only redeeming quality of event would be caterers being third richest people at wedding, shall forgive hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) in such case.

Get off stage, fast, fast, fast, flower trail after shoe, do not want to fall off stage but stomach demands haste, be first one to stand beside waiter who stands beside food, smile, bugger stares, so whistle and move a little away, feign indifference, flip hair for affect, fix slipping-smile back where lips are until lids come off, feel perverted thinking of lids and them off but only talking about food dishes…  be first one to grab onto hot steaming naan, gobble thankfully and chew away at chicken piece, do not make eye contact with hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) in case she reminds of things like etiquette and decorum, chomp, chomp, chomp… chomping away like baby elephant must look bad for image, chomp more, and voraciously, forgive hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) immediately and wonder thoughtfully whether she will be hopeful enough ever ever again, resist and fight thought, proceed to chomp.

Look out for “Weddings and other scary things, an afterthought”.

Also read Part I: Weddings and other scary things

26 Responses to “Part II: Weddings and other scary things”

  1. The richest camera man is really a pain in the ass.. instructing the bride and the groom: ‘ap kareeb ajain.. thoda aur kareeb..’ until the couple is so close to each other that the air thinks twice passing between them :) Woman photographers are the best!
    And .. food.. man!!.. people pile up food in their plates creating a little mount everest..and they eat it like it’s gonna be their last intake before they die!! if gluttony was a sin then most people at thee wedding would end up in hell!
    There has to be a part III to this.. an emotional part.. rukhsati-wala-part..but considering your general aversion to be at such occassions, i dont think u ever lasted that long at the wedding..hahah
    oh and did i mention this was ur funniest writ by far.. so stop being a glutton and write more! :)

    • I wait until after the food is served to nag my family to get a move on. I have never really seen a rukhsati but a lot has been gathered about them through hearsay and Indian movies. WHY do they cry???? I once asked my mum if she would cry when I get married and she was highly offended when I said I wouldn’t. Apparently, that is like THE sentiment to demonstrate love for your family. Besides, the only person who ought to be crying is the groom.

      Thankyou and long time. How come you are not writing? I visited your blog several times but you had not written anything new.

  2. yar office work is killing me.. there isnt much time to blog.. but when i do get a little time off i update my ‘notes’ on cell phone.. so like if my cell phone gets stolen the person would know all my dark secrets :) have been reading a lot of Rumi lately so i think my next post would be about spirituality!

    Anyway, you keep writing and i’ll keep reading.. :)

    • I do that too sometimes; write on my phone. I get the bizarre-est of ideas when I am not infront of a working screen or a pen and paper.
      And Ah, I wish I had patience to read Rumi. I mean, you cannot just read it like a chicklit. These days I just read things which do not involve using my brain. I am tired of using my brain. And Rumi must require a level of patience to sit and ponder and marvel. I don’t have the mind to marvel :)

      But I look forward to reading something you write soon.

  3. I found this to be really beautiful ..thus i decided to share:

    I died as a mineral and became a plant,I died as plant and rose to animal,I died as animal and I was Man.Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?Yet once more I shall die as Man, to soarWith angels bless’d; but even from angelhoodI must pass on: all except God doth perish.When I have sacrificed my angel-soul,I shall become what no mind e’er conceived.Oh, let me not exist! for Non-existence Proclaims in organ tones,To Him we shall return..

    Rumi is deep, i agree. I shared this with my friends and each had his/her own opinion, would love to know yours!

    Keep writing!

  4. It is indeed beautiful but I am in the unphilosophical state of mind, remember? Send me something mind-numbing :p

  5. And i thought i’d get a mathemticians insight of Rumi.. guess mathematicians and philosophy dont go together! tell u what ive been working and reading rumi.. all the while trying to write..i have also developed this bad habit of comparing whatever i write with ..ahem.. Rumi (excuse me for saying that … i mean mein kahan aur Rumi kahan! :p) and when i do that i find my work to be so inferior that it embarrasses me to even blog about it! I think spirituality is lost on me! Is it normal? hahhaha

    here is another somethin special from Rumi:

    You wander from room to room ..hunting for the diamond necklace ..that is already around your neck! (Do the math and u should be able to figure out what it means :p)

    • Hahahahaha Actually I have studied too much philosophy and the only certain thing about philosophy is that it is uncertain :p Quite opposite to mathematics, which as everybody knows is a sure science.
      and I laughed so much after I read about how you are comparing Rumi with your writings? Apart from the obvious funniness of that statement. Lets consider why you should NEVER do such a thing with anyone:
      1) Having an inspiration is great but you have to find yourself in your writings and through your writings. If you start comparing already, you will never be able to find your original voice.
      2) Every art and every work is one and of itself. Go with the assertion that it is not comparable. Every art has an audience. And you will find yours :)
      3) Having an unhealthy obsession with another person’s work is self-deprecating and self-mutilating and the only thing you end up doing is replicating them. You don’t want to be the second-hand version of someone else, do you?

      On a personal note, I found Ghalib to be more enlightening than Rumi. Maybe its because I have read more Ghalib than I have read Rumi but even the ones you posted here; not quite deep enough :p

    • So post something. I shall read.

  6. You laughed..na? i knew it! this is how it works.. i write.. compare.. laugh and delete. And about your third point: i can be the second hand version of Rumi any day.. im sure its better than the first hand version of me hahahahhha.

    oh and you’re so ‘proper’.. even ur advices have points.. full on grammar.. punctuation marks in all the right places.. so like if i can managethe second hand version of Rumi and a ‘proper’ version of You i’d be the Writer people would be writing about :)

    and about Ghalib.. havent read anything by him.. from what i hear he used to drink a lot..its amazing how some people find words in spirituality.. others..well . in the state of inebriation (wow i sometimes surprise myself with my vocabulary hahah)

    i dont know what you call ‘deep’.. for me its something simple the first time.. then when u read it again its not that simple and when u keep on reading again and again u drown in its simplicity .. thats deep for me! (spare me this one time for lol)

    And Rumi, again:

    The garden of the world has no limits, except in your mind. :)

    • I laughed because it is ridiculous a thought.
      I LOVE your description of deep. It is very, umm. deep :p No but seriously, you have to, you just have to be the first hand version of yourself. Have you ever heard someone for being a famous replica? No, right? Have you heard the song which goes “shut up and shout?”, well…
      Shut up and write. Seriously. I can’t have this ‘I-am-not-good-enough’ from you when you can obviously use words like inebriation <— i did not know this word existed until today.

      You should definitely try Ghalib but read him in urdu, of course. Hardly any of his work has had good translation.

    • I like being ‘proper’, I guess.

  7. okay, okay i’ll just shut up and write :) Thanks for bringing out my original self.. thought i had lost it somewhere………oh and about ghalib i’ll definitely try reading him.. mom also says he’s good. And im sure you knew the word ‘inebriated’.. come on!

    • Hahaha, if you don’t believe me, then believe me. I really did not know the meaning of inebriated. My vocab sucks! But I really feel that the real art is to write something difficult in easy words instead of something easy in difficult words. Know what I mean? Big words are exhausting unless they were beautiful sounding and necessary. Like ‘aberration’. I love that word. And ‘cacophony’ and ‘anomaly’ and ‘gauntlet’ and I could go on.

      You don’t necessarily have to ‘shut up’ in real and write. I just meant, just shut up and write, you know? I mean, just write. Hahaha

  8. aberration.. anomaly.. ahem.. kheriat tou hai? :p and yes i have to agree with simple words.. infact i remember thomas hardy explaining farmer oak in ‘far from the wedding crowd’.. the words he used were simple.. and yet so much substance ..he used one whole paraagraph to explain the farmers look.. that was awesome(ok tht was totally random so excuse me for that :))

    • Isn’t it ‘far from the maddening crowd’? And no, I don’t mind randomness. Have you written anything so far?
      Do you eat a lot when you are depressed?

      • No, it’s ‘Far from the madding crowd’.. madding doesnt actually mean ‘pagal’.. its different..cant think of a word for it right now.. its a tragic tale and Hardy was a master when it came to tragedy.. think u should read it.. u may find it boring at first but you’ll get used to it :)

        I’ve written so many things but all in bits and pieces.. a short story called ‘Bon fire’(had an encounter at french beach so i had to make a story out of it) but its still incomplete.. cant figure out the ending hahha… two spiritual posts..and another dark one.. all incomplete.. dont know if its a writers block or what!!

        I write when im depressed.. stop eating haha.. i have noticed this with my women colleagues at work.. they pig away like mad.. i think they are all depressed hahahahah. but are you?

      • Yes, I pig out. Yes, I’m depressed. No, I haven’t read Far from the madding crowd but yes, I would like to read it. Since its tragic. Actually, I dislike happy things these days. I mean, back in the day when I was still very innocent, I used to think that movies and books represent what ‘could’ happen, way into your imagination, this world of ‘could be’.. But I eventually realized, why dwell over something good that could happen to you, when it doesn’t really EVER actually happen?! You know what I mean? Why read happy ending books and watch happy chirpy movies? When all they do is give you hope and make you have things like expectations? And don’t even get me started on romantic books and movies. I could gag.
        I watched Daybreakers the other day and I loved, loved, loved it. So much blood Ooooh!!

        Send me your unwritten pieces!!!!

  9. Shit! shit! shit! i just noticed i said ‘far from the wedding crowd’ hhhahahaha (man i cant stop laughing.. see? the effect of your post.. wedding is all over my mind hahahh)

    okay serious now.. first of all you’re so not gonna read ‘far from the madding crowd’.. not in a depressed state of mind. NO!secondly, i think expectations are good – think as human beings it’s quite natural to develop expectations from something or someone- but you hve to be realistic in life.. and sometimes i think its best to just let it be.. i mean if somethings meant to happen then it will! expectations in a relationship, however,can be .. i dont know how to put it.. tricky?.. cos u need to be really lucky to find the ‘one’ who would come close(being practical) to meeting ur expectations. If its about a break up. get over him.. i mean come to think of it if he’s having fun after the breakup and ur thinking abt him.. expecting how it’d be like if u guys were together.. it doesnt quite add up now, does it? Enjoy life.. have fun(please refer how to get over lurveeee by Huma Sattar :p)

    The little that i knw about u .. i think ur in a good place…a safe place.. a well grounded educated woman..with a lot of talent( i hate to admit that but ur more talented than me lol) with a really good familty to back it all up! What more do u expect from life? I have seen people who have less in life and yet they are happy.

    Thank God.. thank God.. and thank God again! :)

    I havent read a lot of fairy tale stuff and neither do i watch vampire movies so i wouldnt want to comment on that… have been following ‘touch’ and ‘the river’ lately.. think both the shows are outstanding so far!

    Anyway i think i have covered all the bases considering little that u said abt ur depression :)

    Again cherish what u have and have reasonable expectation :)

    • Hahaha, So I have a shrink who doesn’t charge me anything? Hahahha That is so cool.
      So you are a shrink, who likes to read tragedy and thinks about weddings all the time? How’s my evaluation?

      No it is not about a guy. *rolls eyes*.. *rolls eyes* Nooo, ofcourse its not.. *rolls eyes*…How could it be? *rolls eyes*.. Okay, maybe just a little bit :p but shhhh, I don’t want to share that with everyone on the internet who ‘religiously’ (:p) follows my blog Hahaa.

      And why do you hate to admit that I am more talented than you? Does that threaten your masculinity? God, I am dying, like dyinnnng to have a heated conversation with a male chauvinist. It would totally rile me up and I’ll get furious, and you know, I WANT to get furious. I want to get really really furious and fiery, like a tempest.

      While I’m ‘cherishing what I have and having reasonable (ha bloody ha ha) expectations’, can you please send me what you wrote. I want to read.

  10. Whoa! That had sarcasm written all over it! Wow! But I think after your response I’d like to believe that I’m a good shrink as I helped with those pent up emotions :p About your evaluation, I think you should stick to math.. I mean I wouldn’t want it even if it’s for free!
    Oh, so it’s about a guy after all but you didn’t have to reveal even a little bit because your ‘religious’ follower didn’t even ask for it! Did I? Did I? *rolls eyes*.. btw, i think it was really conceited of you think that i was your ‘religious’ follower :p
    And about the talent, I think I messed up with my evaluation, I mean it was as bad as your evaluation about my inclination towards reading books about tragedy and thinking about weddings! So like I said before, I wouldn’t want even if it’s for free! Oh and u called me a male chauvinist? Funny (you know the kind of jokes that are stupid but funny..) but it helped with my overestimation of your talent.
    While you’re cherishing what you have and having reasonable (ha bloody ha ha ) expectations, I think I’ll just shut up… now!.I
    didn’t mean to offend you with my previous comment. Sorry.

    Peace

    • What? NO. That was not sarcasm. God, you are nuts. And I was not saying You were my religious follower. And ‘religious’ was sarcastic because I HAVE no followers, hello?!.

      I was joking about the evaluation and the male chauvinist and everything. I hate explaining jokes. I’m sorry if you thought I was saying anything to you. But I guess, I become sarcastic without really knowing or meaning to. Several people over last week have shared this observation :(
      Anyways, why would you not share your written pieces with me?

  11. F*ckin’ amazing issues here. I am very happy to peer your article. Thanks a lot and i am having a look ahead to touch you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?

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