PLAYING CATCH-UP… (Feb. 9-12)

...or is it ketchup???
Beginning on Monday, February 8, I worked with Sanjiv to update the information regarding our second group of team members scheduled to arrive on February 28. There were rooming arrangements to be made for the time we would be working on the project, as well as final information to share with the team members as to what they might expect for weather conditions, possible gifts to bring to the children in the village among other things. However, since our group had basically monopolized Sanjiv’s time and that of the rest of his family, there were more important items on his agenda which needed to be addressed – the MARRIAGE OF HIS SON, GAURAV, taking place on March 28 and 29!

Since I consider myself as a part of their family and they feel likewise, it was a pleasure and an honor for me when Sanjiv and Jyotsna invited me to go with them as they shopped for the chairs and tenting to be used for both days of the ceremonies – different for each day! On Monday, we visited a company that offers an amazing selection of tenting materials, colors, chair covers, table dressing and lighting. It seemed that Sanjiv, Jyotsna, Olie, Pallavi and I spent about three hours at this one vendor, but in the end were able to agree upon colors to be used, whether or not the chair covers should also have bows tied around the backs, and if so, what fabric and color would be used for this. We decided upon the setting for the bar as well as the food table, and a few suggestions I made that were accepted and will be implemented. Once we concluded this exercise, we went to a South Indian restaurant for lunch – after all, it was only 4:15 in the afternoon. One of the difficult situations to be addressed is the fact that the wedding ceremonies and festivities will take place at the “farm”, rather that in Delhi, so everything needs to be hauled there – and this will take a minimum of two hours to bring from Delhi.

Following lunch, Pallavi and I decided it would be great fun to visit the local Baskin-Robbins and pick up a number of varieties of ice cream to have for dessert at dinner later that evening.

The next day, we went shopping for jewelry and lehengas – the traditional dress for the bride to wear on the marriage day. The embroidery work and the beadwork on some of these garments were truly amazing – all done by hand, rather than machine. Some of the skirts were so heavily beaded that I would guess the weight exceeded thirty pounds. Pallavi, as the sister of the groom, also wanted to find a lehenga for herself. After all, she had the right to wear one since she is the groom’s sister. This day, it was just Pallavi, Sanjiv and I who were looking for the jewelry and the lehengas. I think we must have visited about fifteen different shops – many of them designer shops, and really did not find anything to purchase for Tatiana – the bride. You see, Gaurav lives in San Francisco, as does Tatiana. Additionally, neither she nor her family has ever traveled to India. Since time is compressed and Gaurav and Tatiana will only be arriving one week prior to the wedding, everything needs to be found, bought and delivered between now and the time they arrive. Final fittings will occur in that one week. Talk about stress!!!

Somehow, Sanjiv seemed to have been stricken with food poisoning, and landed flat on his back, with chills and nausea, etc. This coupled with his already bad back left him somewhat helpless and confined to the house. In addition, following Indian tradition, Jyotsna was packing to travel to Assam, from where she originated, to personally deliver all of the wedding invitations to five of her sisters, as well as their families, and to do some shopping for the wedding. To describe the household as one of hustle and bustle would clearly be a gross understatement.

Not only were we involved with shopping and making arrangements for the marriage, but I was also trying to rekindle some former relationships with friends in India, as well as make necessary arrangements for me to travel to Nepal toward the end of the week. I was able to speak with Raj Bardeja, who had been one of my hosts when I was in India as the Group Study Exchange team leader in 2003. I also visited with Yogesh Sikand. She and her husband and their son had also hosted me that same year. It was wonderful to catch up on these past several years. Rishi, her son, was studying for his final examinations. It is hard to believe that much time had passed since I had stayed at their home.

Ravi Dayal, who was one of my first Rotarian friends in India called and invited me to have lunch with him at Habitat – a wonderful complex in Delhi, that included fine accommodations and a wonderful roof-top restaurant. Following lunch, Ravi and I went to the section of the city where he had been raised. He needed to purchase tires for his wife’s van. It was kind of neat to see that all of the tire places were located on the same street, more or less next door to each other. Comparison-shopping was certainly easy. Once Ravi decided upon the vendor and the type tire (spelled tyre, here) then he said we needed to walk several blocks to a section of the city where crockery and glassware are sold. Ravi, who is an architect, had been contracted to not only draw the plans for the rehabilitation project for a building that will house the offices of the Congress Party, but to oversee the implementation of those plans, including the purchase of furniture and other accessories, including china, glassware, flatware, etc. He and I visited a number of shops in the basement of what I would probably term a wholesale house for that type of product, and we decided upon a china pattern, a flatware pattern, an everyday china pattern and glassware. After purchasing all of the crockery and other goods, we then had everything packed to be taken back to where he was having the tyres changed. Once all of this stuff was packed, only a few minutes expired before the packed boxes were all upstairs at the curb awaiting two bicycle rickshaws to take us and our purchases to the place where the van was getting some “new shoes”. What a sight – Ravi and I riding in one rickshaw, with a half-dozen carton boxes strapped to the undercarriage of the rickshaw, and one of the shopkeepers on another one, along with about a dozen more carton boxes. And this was not all of the stuff, either. The shopkeeper had to return to the building for twelve boxes of glassware that had not made it in the first shipment! Once the tyres were changed on the van, we went to the Congress Party Headquarters to see the project and to deliver the goods. It was fun for me to see the extent of the project and to see what work had been completed, and what furniture purchased, as well as hauling our purchases to their final destination. Once done there, Ravi and I went to meet his daughter, Mahima, whom I had not seen for about five years. She is already in University and also studying for her final examinations. We met her near the exit for the underground railway system and then drove to Sanjiv’s house. It was time to enjoy some R&R, as well as to be brought up to date with Ravi and his family. He even worked with Sanjiv to choose the ultimate food selections for the marriage – choosing veg and non-veg, continental, Chinese and traditional dishes. Ravi actually was quite good at this exercise.

When we returned to Sanjiv’s house, Pallavi and one of here cousins were working on the plans for the marriage, including a skit that would parody Gaurav and his bride-to-be. Mahima has some practice in this, so she and Pallavi, as well as Olie and another cousin worked on the skit. When they left, Ravi and Mahima were totally involved in the wedding and all of its parts. After a few hours, Ravi and his daughter left for home and we set about eating dinner – this late night dinner stuff really has to go. I have tried to convince Sanjiv that having a full dinner at eleven at night is not healthy, but have not gotten very far. This is especially true since I was to be getting up very early the next morning to go to the airport to catch a flight to Bagdogra – located in Bengal, near the border with Nepal.