One More Time 23.03.2006

I guess this summer belongs to Santy and his refreshing summaries. Our visit to Pune has indeed been a terrific outing and the star of the trip arugably was Hemanth Kollipara. But for him, I don't think the picnic would have been half as funny! Be it his imaginative interpretations in Dumb C, his inadvertent reincarnation of Akbar the Great or his Chip or not to chip situations, he was the source of most of the entertainment all through.
Dedicating this travelogue to HK, here's giving you the 10 most memorable moments of the weekend that was! Mostly in chronological sequence.
10. Arun swaggers into the railway station taking all of us by surprise. Santy had kept the sixth person under wraps till the very last moment. And this journey already promised to have a lot of excitement in store!
9. Jayanth gives out two of the most difficult English words - Room and King, after pausing and pondering at great length during word building ! We stretched the game as far as the last word beginning with Y would take it.
8. HK strikes - It's dumb c season! Long after the lights have died down in the other compartments, we played and played into the night. Long after Jay and Murali surrendered to sleep, we continued playing. Initially it was team against team. Then it almost transformed into mono-acting with HK given the liberty to monopolise the enacting department. The game became so addictive that it would spring up almost anywhere…at Sam's house, at the ice cream parlor, on the streets, at the wedding hall, during the afternoon siesta…you name it! Who'd ever forget HK's "Whoooooooooooooosh" and Jay's typing chicken!
7. The surprise in Didi's eyes when she swung around to see Arun tapping her on the shoulder! I'm sure she wished that the moment never passed and for a whole ten minutes, she was in total disbelief. As Santy then said, it was worth every pie of the fine Arun paid for travelling incognito!
6. Meeting Sam's folks. Lovely people and extremely hospitable. In spite of the schedule, amidst all the work to be done, they made sure we felt at home, ensured everything was ok and took real good care of us. Sam materialised after an endless wait. Her hair radiant with henna, she had that special glow on her face which was not from the visit to the parlor :)
5. Thought for food! Food was suberb - no second thoughts about that! The Vada-pav at Sholapur, Kachchi dhabelis on/off FC road, supper at Sam's place, poha for breakfast, lunch with channa masala, mastani to top it off, the dinner for the engagement, sabudana khichdi and the great Maharashrian buffet at the wedding. Along with the numerous cups of masala chais and coffees that we downed.
4. The pamperers' new clothes. Santy'd planned exactly what to wear. Jay'd planned to buy new clothes. My thoughts hung in the balance. Murali's were subject to change. HK's atm denied him his transaction. And Sam being Sam was very particular that we all dress up well. So off we went in search of something nice to wear. Jay led the parade, we marched behind. The salesman had a field day pulling out kurta after kurta and making a sale with almost every second one! He even got his picture taken by Santy!
3. The engagement. Seeing Suresh for the first time. Seeing Sam for the first time, in bridal attire. The festivities. The relatives and friends. The exchange of rings. The engagement.
2. I was fortunate to have read and known about the history of India, but that Sunday morning, I considered myself blessed when none other than Emperor Akbar manifested before my very eyes in the room of a modest flat in urban Pune. Like all super heroes having alter egos, like Superman was Clark Kent, like Spidey was Peter Parker, like Batman was Bruce Wayne, Shahenshah-e-hind Jahaanpanah Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar was HK in regular life! And like all alter egos, he too wore spectacles! :))
1. Of course, the wedding! This was the reason we'd all been there for. The customs and the traditions. A happy day for our dear friend Sam. A wedding from amongst the dance team after a long time. And we were all happy to be a part of her happiness.
That afternoon, after we took leave of Sam's family, we set forth to meet Didi who lived on the other side of the city. The chocolate toast eluded us that evening, but I'm sure there shall be a next time. The colossal video coach that ferried us back, almost subjected us to Tere Naam, but soon showed mercy. Ek Ajnabee laid out the mattress, propped up the pillows and spread the blanket. Chocolate sang the perfect lullaby.
Into another morning…another world.
To sum it up in just one word in pure HK style 'Sam's wedding was a happy memorable event in our lives'
And to sign off in true Rashmi style… 'Thanks Kolli!'