On starting the day early

Waking up early in the morning is an enlightening sensation. Though I have always been a shining beacon of 'late to bed, late to rise', I am discovering a strange feeling of contentment on rising early.

Sunlight does wonders to the mood. A few rays of brilliant gold, defeating the tightly drawn curtains to gleam into the room and create a warm glow, can uplift the bleakest of moods. Scientifically, one may attribute it to the natural rhythm of the body resonating with the frequencies around.

Then, there is the leisure of having a warm bath, soaking up the luxury of being alive and well. It is soothing, relaxing and reassuring to feel a trickle running down ones face. A lazy breakfast braces one for the challenges of the day. The very thought of piping hot dosas and coconut chutney, butter and toast and jam, eggs and fruit, and a cup of milky coffee is delight itself!

Starting the day early also gives one the psychological advantage of being ahead of the snoozing friend. You have finished half your work by the time he rises with a large yawn. There are very few emotions which are comparable.

A wedding to remember

My best friend got married yesterday. 1 down, 6 to go :)

It was the best of times. We had been planning for the wedding since last June. It has been a whirlwind of activities for the SWINS since then, right from planning for the engagement, to the bachelorette party, the pre-nup ceremonies and the D-day. Every dress was carefully selected, every look carefully rehearsed. Suggestions for improvement kept pouring like a deluge. There were gifts to be selected and memories to be captured.

We met for the sangeet at Khyati's place. Though we were all late(that is the usual SWINS stuff), we rocked to the peppy numbers. It was fun to watch the to-be-weds dance, all conscious of the watchful eyes of the elders ;)

The next day was the mehendi party. Four of us, lugging huge handbags, strode bravely with both hands splattered with the henna. For the first time I realized what 'both my hands are tied up' really means. We stayed at Khyati's place till late in the night, helping with the last minute preparations. Wedding jitters, well, I saw what they were like.

Finally the big day arrived. I got up around 8 (which is pretty early by my current standards) and had a leisurely breakfast. I started dressing up around 9. By 10 I was ready, well, almost :) I reached the venue around 11. There was a flurry of activities going on in the dressing room. Girls bond best over dressing up. We share our make-up kits and tips and help each other drape sarees perfectly. There is a great sense of altruism that a wedding inspires. Gorgeous Khyati and debonair Ashish got married. There was food and fun and lots of banter around. The reception in the evening was a grand affair. All friends, with their parents, were present. It was an evening to remember!

And now that it is all over, life for the six of us is slowly edging towards the mundane routine. But for Khyati, it is still the start of a lifetime of happiness.

Ripples on Trees

I have seen ripples on the lake outside my window. The reflection of the moon on the shimmering waters is a sight to behold. But ripples on trees! That was something new.

I was yawning through yet another boring session of trade theory and development, when a soothing gust of wind brushed against my cheeks. I instinctively turned around and looked out of the window. I was awestruck. There were shades of green, so many of them. There was a patch of tender green, a lump of olive green, a cluster of viridian and chunks of yellow-green. There was the dull brownish-green of dry leaves and bright green with a few shades of red thrown in for the effect. It looked like a huge mosaic that floated on air and swayed with the wind in perfect symphony.

Marriage: A Mirage

A couple of days ago, I heard my aunt telling us her perception of a love marriage. A couple meets, falls in love. The two spend a lot of time together, knowing each other, talking. And most of the times they end up marrying each other. The next morning, he cooks a breakfast of eggs and toast for her. And she wakes up to tell him that she is hates bread in the morning. All this while, they never spoke of their differnces, they were so head-over-heels in love with each other. He suddenly realizes that she does not dress to the occasion. All through their courtship, he had never noted what she wore, she looked beautiful anyway. These small differences, or awakenings, start gnawing at the foundation of their happy life. My aunt was quick to conclude that love marriages are failures.

It made me think if she was indeed right. It is true that people in love tend to ignore each other's flaws. They like to think they have chosen the perfect person. Marriage acts as an eye-opener. He realizes that the lady of his dreams cooks to kill, her sparkling prattle is useless banter and she is obssessed enough to turn his happy home to an institution. She wakes up to a not-so-dashing knight-in-armour, a lazy idiot who spends the entire weekend watching senseless football and never lends a hand at home. He hates her arguments, she hates his drinking, he loathes her friends, she despises his relatives. The list of complaints goes on.

What makes or breaks the marriage is what couples do with the list. They may decide to fight each point out, matching word for blow. Its quick, its simple and it always has a winner. And a loser too. It is a recipe for disaster. For, it not only cooks a stew of satisfaction and an instant vent to all pent up frustration, but also brews a sediment of ill-will. The leftovers are unpalatable and you are bound to wake up the next morning ready to throw up.

Or couples may decide to sort the points into silly, sillier and silliest. Some of them will help them have long discussions on evenings, some for senseless arguments in bed and the rest can be used readily for a hearty laugh.

Quarter Life Crisis

The time when our parents were just out of their shells and learning to savour life, we are worrying our hearts out. Welcome to quarter-life crisis!
Everyone who is on the verge of hitting 25 is struggling to understand what is going on in his life.

You know you are suffering from quarter-life-crisis if

1. You wake up and wonder why you are still alive.
2. Sleep evades you at night (you sleep through the day).
3. You spend your day in introspection.
4. You are bored with everything, been-there-done-that.
5. Orkut and Facebook are your favourite hang-outs (even they are boring, but are they not a part of routine??)
6. Every long lost aunt you meet seems to be worried that you are not married yet.
7. Every friend you know is either committed or engaged or married, and you are not.
8. You are too bored to flirt or date or even look around.
9. You think you are in love, but don't want to be.
10. Your parents seem to have a different mother tongue.
11. You are perennially irritated, everything from your best friend to the dog on the street seems to be getting on your nerves.
12. You engage in soliloquy.
13. You feel you have neither a past nor a future, and even the present seems to be ephemeral.
14. You suddenly start counting your sins as if judgement day is tomorrow and you have to make a presentation.
15. You turn to spirituality.
16. You start counselling friends and colleagues.
17. You find nothing better to write than 'quarter life crisis'.