Most people who went the arranged marriage way have funny/awkward/scary stories from their "Meet the Bride/Groom" experiences...And today a chance meeting with friends reminded me of such a moment of mine...
I had arrived in Cochin city to meet the girl whose photo I had seen online. I went to my friends room and met my college mates whom I was seeing after a long time. I had already sent feelers to my friends asking if they were interested to accompany me on that day..But I had not expected all of them to turn up...and that's what happened : 12 guys turned up ! Better sense prevailed and I along with just 3 of my friends started to the girls house while the rest of the friends were told to go to some hangout and wait for us.
The fact that my close friends were with me made me feel very relaxed and the hour or so spent with the girl and her family was a pleasant experience . The girls lively attitude and calm yet quick witted interaction with me and with my friends bowled me over. Each of my friends interacted with a family member and this gave us some free time to talk to each other and get to know one another at least a little bit in that small interval of time.
Time flew by fast and we were out of her house and going away in the car. We called up the other guys and were surprised to find that they were waiting in a Toddy (local palm wine) shop just 2 kms from the girls house. The dozen of us spent around 5 hours in that toddy shop which was in a superb location near the water. Everyone commented that I was either really brave or stupid to have (a) Agreed to take friends along to meet the girl and parents , (b) Spent the rest of the day at a famous Toddy shop barely 2 kms from the girls place. What would the girls parent think if they came to know that the prospective groom went straight to the toddy shop and spent the rest of the day there. Would they still believe the 'teetotaler' tag given by the groom to himself in his online profile ?
Lady luck was with me and no one from the girls side came to know where I spent the rest of the day. Talking with my friends that day @ Toddy shop confirmed that my selection was correct.They all had enjoyed talking to the girl and her family and were all happy for me. So that day when the party ended and we were leaving the place, I was clear on my decision and gave the green signal from my side. The icing was hearing that she and her family too had given the green signal.
Today a chance meeting with my friends (a few of them had been with me on that day also) at the same Toddy Shop, reminded me of that day when I met my best friend and life partner - my wife...
(click to see the enlarged version)
I had arrived in Cochin city to meet the girl whose photo I had seen online. I went to my friends room and met my college mates whom I was seeing after a long time. I had already sent feelers to my friends asking if they were interested to accompany me on that day..But I had not expected all of them to turn up...and that's what happened : 12 guys turned up ! Better sense prevailed and I along with just 3 of my friends started to the girls house while the rest of the friends were told to go to some hangout and wait for us.
The fact that my close friends were with me made me feel very relaxed and the hour or so spent with the girl and her family was a pleasant experience . The girls lively attitude and calm yet quick witted interaction with me and with my friends bowled me over. Each of my friends interacted with a family member and this gave us some free time to talk to each other and get to know one another at least a little bit in that small interval of time.
Time flew by fast and we were out of her house and going away in the car. We called up the other guys and were surprised to find that they were waiting in a Toddy (local palm wine) shop just 2 kms from the girls house. The dozen of us spent around 5 hours in that toddy shop which was in a superb location near the water. Everyone commented that I was either really brave or stupid to have (a) Agreed to take friends along to meet the girl and parents , (b) Spent the rest of the day at a famous Toddy shop barely 2 kms from the girls place. What would the girls parent think if they came to know that the prospective groom went straight to the toddy shop and spent the rest of the day there. Would they still believe the 'teetotaler' tag given by the groom to himself in his online profile ?
Lady luck was with me and no one from the girls side came to know where I spent the rest of the day. Talking with my friends that day @ Toddy shop confirmed that my selection was correct.They all had enjoyed talking to the girl and her family and were all happy for me. So that day when the party ended and we were leaving the place, I was clear on my decision and gave the green signal from my side. The icing was hearing that she and her family too had given the green signal.
Today a chance meeting with my friends (a few of them had been with me on that day also) at the same Toddy Shop, reminded me of that day when I met my best friend and life partner - my wife...
1 comment:
Great experience indeed :)
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