Chacko's Marriage - a personal blog!!

Hmmm...I am having a starting trouble I guess.. Now where do I really start? To put it in a line, Jacob got married!!

Thinking back, it really has been a bumpy ride for the both of them. But I guess, this makes up for everything.

I still remember that neural networks class into which Chacko came in late, but with a huge grin on his face. He sat in the row behind mine and just couldn't calm himself down. I quietly turned and gave him a look. He smiled in return, and I understood. Just about half an hour back, Hari had wagered that he won't propose her, but then, he had, and she'd said yes!!The culmination of this fairytale romance happened this monday when Jacob and Betcy were united in holy matrimony.

There are some things that I need to admit. It was a very gratifying but empty feeling that I had while I watched them getting married. Maybe, somewhere deep within was quite a lot of pressure to see this happening, to somehow bring this to a happy ending because, well, they really deserved it.

We'd all (all is an exaggeration of sorts. Hari, Shailesh, Azher an I) arrived in Pala the day before. I had a whole bag of chips with me for the journey from Ernakulam to Pala. And by the end of an hour I'd almost finished it and was under terrific pressure now, to find a loo. And yes, this reminded me of our first IV, when Anoop had to rush into the bushes, Antony running behind him with a bucket, and Chacko and I trying to divert the attention of the rest of the people in the bus to the other side. Fortunately I held fort till we reached Pala, and it'd suffice to say that I'll never forget hotel Maharani, which stood conveniently at a junction. Shailesh had already checked in, after changing 5 buses and a tiring journey of ten hours. Azher would arrive later. We
reached at 7 sunday evening, and as is the issue with the "day-before-the-wedding", attention shifted to where we'd get booze. After waiting for about an hour, the threesome (that's us) decided to explore Pala city on foot.

Just when we'd started, Chacko called and told us that he'd send someone to pick us up. When we reached his place, Chacko was perched (??) on a chair right in the front and there was a makeshift stage of sorts where family members were involved in various cultural activities. Almost all of the sang, some
children danced, and all blessed Chacko and his bride to be. He was supposed to sit through the whole thing and he appeared a bit anxious and restless. Dinner (buffet) was served soon after that and we got Chacko for ourselves for a bit of time. Azher arrived and hey, we could actually see his teeth AND his face in the dark. The fellow really has brightened up.This was the last chance to pull Chacko's leg as a bachelor, and suffice to say we made the maximum use of it.
By the end of it, Chacko's face was red as a beet and we all had huge grins on our faces.

Back to the hotel (Chacko said he had to sleep early, and there was plenty of sniggering for that too), with a stopover at the bar
to buy beer (Now i had a picture of that, which has mysteriously disappeared since).I'd admit that we didn't have half the fun that we had the last time we checked into this place (that was for
chacko's sister's engagement - yup, he had booked us in the same hotel),but there was quite a lot of catching up to do. We reminisced all the good times, and some of azher's struggles and Shailesh's sister's marriage (Remember taht fiasco? when half of us did not turn up for the wedding because of a hangover? and how we got into the lift, and the lift had not moved, so we burst into the wrong room thinking that we were on the next floor, to find a really pissed off guy on the other side of the door? and how we broke so many glasses? and shailesh's face when he came to settle the bill? hahahahaha)...

The wedding unlike those early morning Hindu weddings, was almost at noon, at 11:15. So there was plenty of time to laze in the bed, to stare at the ceiling, to read the newspaper over a cup of tea, to watch some TV. Jason had arrived by then and by 11, we were ready to go for our best friend's wedding. We crammed into an auto (yep, 5 of us) and reached the church by 11:10. For those who detected a faint familiarity, it IS the same church where Chacko's sister's betrothal was held. We'd arrived before the groom,
after the bride. The bride and the groom are supposed to get out of the vehicles together, so Betcy was still in the car. "The car" is a wine red Alto that Simon uncle (Chacko's father in law, for the uninitiated) had presented chacko. Yeah, I know...for a guy who was always claimed taht he'd marry only the girl his father
pointed to and romanced someone and made his father point out her, it is a worthy trophy.. (besides the marriage, right!). Betcy saw us and with some difficulty, suppressed the instinct to wave out and shout. She just contained all the excitement in a sweet smile.Chacko came in a brand new Ford Fiesta shortly afterwards. Smiles all around...The Groom and the Bride slowly climbing to the church. Chacko in a dark brown(very dark, it almost looked black)
suit and a maroon tie, and Betcy in a white saree and veil. Cool.We all went into the church. Then there was the choir (really good) and sermon by the priest. The sermon was on marriage, and how after marriage both the husband and wife are one body and soul.There was a line when the priest explained how marriage is holy becaus e how people from so different places and backgrounds are being united now. I fellt like shouting out how Chacko had found Betcy. Well, then Chacko tied the knot around Betcy's neck (Minnu Ketti) and then they exchanged rings and he covered her with a saree that the groom is supposed to give the bride. Then they ate the bread and wine, symbolising Jesus' flesh and blood and they became Man and Wife!!Lunch was in the parish hall near the church, and because of this bird flu scare was mostly mutton and stuff.Chacko and Betcy lighted a lamp, cut a cake (and gave it to each other) and then drank from a coconut. Now that was funny. I'd always thought that they were supposed to drink wine. But then knowing Chacko, his dad might have suggested tender coconut. You never know what this guy might do if he gets drunk.We had lunch and ice cream, and then it was time to leave. Betcy had changed into an orange saree (the one
given by chacko). We took a couple of pictures and Collins dropped us back in the hotel. Jason, Shailesh and Hari left soon after. Azher and I had our buses at 4 and 4:30, to Bangalore. We left for the Bus stand. Collins was in my bus.

Well.. That was it...Lot of fond memories on that, and a very apt ending...