To begin with, I am kind of lucky that MRP discovered me. Having lived with her for an year, and having lived away from her for about the same time, I kind of know that I am going to like living with her and growing old with her and doing fun things with her for a long time. When a girl doesn’t consider having even a single ‘worried’ discussion with you when you decide to leave your job and become a freelance photographer, you know that’s the kind of girl you ever need to hang around with. Call her wife, call her friend, call her life-partner, call her by whatever relationship tag – the name does not matter really. With her around, life feels more complete than without her, this is for sure.
The feeling of finally getting married after around two years of courtship is a beautiful feeling I must say. Viase, if I think about it, I have kind of felt married to MRP since already a long time now. Of course I do feel like having random sex with random ladies once in a while but guess that’s a normal thing anyway. Because such feelings start and end at sex. Because, I never feel like trying to get to know any more girl anymore (in a boy-girl emotional sense). Because I never think of how life is going to be like, if I lived without MRP – a feeling like that simply never occurs! It’s weird, but even when not with her, she exists out there, available, reachable, there for me and mine – all the time. Just like my family. And my best friends. Just that unlike family and friends, I like sleeping without clothes with her.
Like many of you who question the institution of marriage, I am not an ardent believer myself. So why get married? The way I see it, it feels great to involve so many more people – family, friends – many who had been out of touch for a while – in this celebration of one’s decision to start a family with someone. I had initially thought I was not going to get too excited about this wedding you know. A wedding is just a wedding after all – just an ‘event’? But I guess I was wrong. I mean yes, it is just an event all right – but it is a very special intimate event where so many people are making an effort (and spending money) to be with you. It’s a humbling feeling. I am so much thankful to everyone who is coming over to Ahmedabad from all parts of India (and few from outside India). Now that the big day is just few days away, I am feeling super kicked up. This, even when I have been attending on an average one wedding every week, for the last few months. 🙂 Apni shaadi to apni hoti hai. 🙂
On work-front, Shaadigrapher is evolving beautifully. Subbu is now an official Shaadigrapher because there is simply too much work to handle unless Neelabh chucks his job like I chucked mine. But for some reason, he is okay with the life that he is living – 5 days a week office work and photography once in a while, restricted mostly to weekends (or by exhausting his fixed annual leaves once in a while). Shall be meeting him in the evening (have a morning flight from Delhi to Hyd in few hours). There’s a shoot in Hyderabad in the night that both of us are covering. A joint shoot after a long time. And the dude getting married is a hostel wing-mate from IIT. So I hope to run into few insti junta which will be a bonus. 🙂
As I leave this post here, it may be a good idea to pick up from where the last post ended.
September:
- Reached Mumbai from home and shot a Punjabi ring ceremony (the guy who hired me loved the work so much that has booked me for the May 2013 wedding already)
- Saw Barfi with Subbu and MRP in Mumbai and was touched by the intensity of Barfi and Jhilmil’s love – wonder when will I feel something so intense for MRP
- Two maddening days of wedding shoot in Punjab (a place called Hoshiarpur) – made some great friends there
- Neelabh flew to US for work
- Travelled to Shimla from Hoshiarpur and stayed in a cheap hotel for like 8 nights – did nothing but walked on the same roads again again, ran a few times and concluded my stay with Shimla Ultra Half Marathon. Walked most of it. MRP didn’t speak to me for most of the time during this trip because she had gone for a pregnancy test and I didn’t call her on time to ask her what the result was.
- As I was in Shimla, Subbu booked a movers and packers to shift my stuff from Mumbai to Delhi – he had found a new job at a new coaching insti.
- I returned to Delhi from Shimla – all my stuff was in transit. Subbu, I and Subbu’s friend from BITS – Chempro found for us a new flat in Delhi. As we moved in, the stuff from Mumbai arrived and we spent few days setting up this new place.
- Flew to Srinagar and spent four days in and around – with first three days shooting my first Kashmiri wedding. Was extremely disappointed later at not being able to share pics from that wedding because we forgot to send to the client our standard contract that made it clear that we had the right to upload few pics to showcase our work – spent two nights in a houseboat.
- Returned to Delhi. Neelabh was back to India and he had brought for me a Glidecam. He couriered it to Delhi and Subbu and I spent good time trying to learn to use it.
- Spent a lot of money in buying a lot of video-shooting equipments
- Subbu and I flew to Ahmedabad to make Shaadigrapher’s first official wedding film
- Because Subbu was in Ahmedabad, made him do some pre-wedding shoots for MRP and I – MRP hated the pink Sari that she wore for the shoot – I hated the way I looked when I saw the picture – we still loved the pictures (using one of those in our informal wedding invite)
- Flew from Ahmedabad to Bhopal for a three day shoot and from there directly to Nagpur for two additional days – made good friends in Nagpur – and the flew to Mumbai
- In Mumbai, stayed with Tiwari and Tota for few days and wrapped up my first Christian wedding shoot in between (Tota and Tiwari hadn’t been talking much for a while and my heart broke to see them like that – but guess these ups and downs happen in all good relationships; the beauty of a great relationship is that over the long run, the ups matter more and keep us happy while the downs can go fuck themselves – I mean if Tota and I can finally get back to being our old normal selves in spite of me almost having screwed up his life and faith once upon a time, I am sure real relationships thrive – they are like bloody cactus – difficult to die even when there is not much of a water or sun (Total later told me that the two of them are getting to talk more often now – thank God! – wish to see them shake a leg or two when they come for my wedding)
- Went back to Ahmedabad to attend a Pooja that was organized by MRP’s parent in a cute little temple to take care of some issues that a pandit had pointed out while matching mine and MRP’s kundli! I am so surprised that these pandit’s even today can justify getting paid to recite shlokas and can come up with so many reasons to do so! I am sure sitting inside a temple and pouring water mixed with milk over a stone-penis (shiv-linga) and repeating sanskrit lines after a pandit, can take care of unforeseen issues between a would be married couple. The only thing that I remember from this three hour sitting were those two or three mice who kept showing up from different corners. They looked cute in the beginning but annoying (and frightening) after a point. Just like blonde girls I guess.
- Flew to Delhi with MRP. Mom had already arrived in Delhi from home, to help us do some more shopping – so the three of us did some shopping. And had some coffee.
- Because once again, Subbu, I and MRP were together – we made Subbu shoot some more pre-wedding pics. This time both MRP and I liked the way we dressed and looked. 🙂
- MRP returned to Ahmedabad and after few days I flew to Amritsar for a 2 day, yet another Punjabi wedding shoot (yes, I know I have been shooting and shooting and shooting all the time :P) – took out time to visit the Golden Temple in early hours, being there feels just like going to Baba Mandir in Deoghar; just that there is no lake inside the campus in Deoghar. But you know, similar air it sure had.
- Spent Diwali with Mummy, Subbu, Mausa-mausi and cousins – ruined it by watching Jab Tak Hai Jaan
A belated happy diwali dear friends – hope you didn’t pollute the environment and yet had great fun. Live life king size. Mummy, good news, I won a prize. The see the you.
And fuck, in less than two weeks, I shall be a married man!
One reply on “And in less than two weeks, I shall be a married man!”
Amrit bhaiyaa,
All the best for a cracker of a new innings in LIFE 🙂
Cheers,
Mahesh