A New Inning!

Whoa! It’s ironical to think that in spite of 2017 being one of the busiest years for me both personally and professionally, it seemed to be the longest ever. In the short few months I was away from the blogosphere since my last article, I had to plan a visit home for Durga Pooja and more importantly, for going shopping on account of my marriage. Returning to my workplace shortly thereafter, I was nominated for a 10-day in-house training followed by an official half month tour to Chennai, all this right before my huge wedding plans for December.

The bachelor party organized by my office colleagues a few days before I left was a roar! Other than the nuptials, the very prospect of being able to get away from all those daily chores, that too for a complete month seemed enticing... The last time I was away from work for this long was probably on one of my school summer vacations! LOL... Nonetheless, the long awaited moment, that would mark the beginning of a new inning in my life, had finally arrived...

Travelling to Delhi, then Lucknow, finally arriving at Gorakhpur, my family received the best welcome possible, being showered with roses, and every moment from then on was a memoir for the ages. Every day before the final wedding night was marked by some rite or the other including Ai Buro Bhaat, Nani Mukh, Holud Bor, Holud May Pokho & Mehendi. Yeah! The first time I heard all those names, I was wide-eyed too... Hehe... But the one ritual I was completely unaware of was that on D-day the groom actually had to be carried all the way from the car to the podium without letting his feet touch the ground! Hmmmmm... What can I say other than that it was completely hilarious for me and an eon’s workout for those unfortunate shoulders who had so eagerly volunteered to carry me! Hahaha...

With all the bells, whistles & smoke, the wedlock was surreal to say the least! Swearing our final vows in clear view of the full moon, my fiancée & I were finally united... All within the span of an hour or two! With our next day early morning visit to the Gorakhnath Temple, as is customary, it was already time to pack our bags, and before we knew it, we were headed back to Pune for our reception. Another week or so of parties and rituals, topped off by a fabulous evening at Radisson Blu, and hats off to the extraordinary amount of effort put in by both our families for bringing this entire event to a successful conclusion.

Next up was our honeymoon! And while there are those who prefer to simply spend a couple of nights at a posh hotel, and others who would rather pick an international destination with a fancy name as today's trending social media hashtags demand, over the experience it might actually offer, we just wanted to get away from the routine rumpus... And as it turns out, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, pretty much isolated from the rest of the world, was an ideal fit. Spending some time at Port Blair, the Cellular Jail, Kalapani Museum, Chidiya Tapu and Corbyn Cove’s Beach were all good but the even more remote Havelock and Neil Islands were simply magical! Untouched by commercialization, the Radhanagar Beach at Havelock, touted as Asia’s best beach was an immense expanse of serene ocean as far as the eye could see with a backdrop of sand and coconut trees. Its rocky brother, The Kalapatthar Beach wasn’t far behind. The Natural Beach at Neil was special as during low tide, it showcased an exposed coral reef with octopi, starfish, crabs and whatnot crawling on the moist rocks! Spending the dusk hours at the Sunset Point only added charm to an already otherworldly experience... Travelling from island to island in a luxurious ferry completed the topping on our already spicy vacation! Just wished my wifey's fear for skin tanning hadn't kept us from scuba diving... LOL! Girls...

One hell of a month!! Wasn’t it...? Phewww...