Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Mangalyam Tantunanena Mama Jeevana Hetuna

Isn’t this the wedding season? But then when wasn’t it good for wedding, at least when our friends get married!

When we get the news that one of our friend is getting married, we feel damn happy. This happiness is not just because he/she is married, it is also because we are going to meet some of our friends on this occasion after a long time. I too got the same feeling when I heard that my friend Sathiya was getting married on 22nd of Aug. To add more joy, another friend of mine Kalai had a good news that her marriage is on 21st Aug. Guess what?!?!? One was in Tirunelveli(approx 700 kms from chennai) and the other was in Perundurai(approx 350 kms from Tirunelveli). This blog is to share the events of my wonderful trip to you all readers.

My journey started on Thursday, 19th Aug in Nellai Express from Chennai Egmore. This was my first train journey to South Tamil Nadu and it was really a good one. The train reached Tirunelveli station at 8:40 AM and I took a bus to Thuraiyur(Near Gangaikondan). Had a very good breakfast as soon as I reached Kalai's home. Kalai and I started packing her things that were to be taken to the Marriage Hall. As evening drew, all the marriage formalities started to take place. Few of the Groom's relatives came to Kalai's house for that famous "Pen alaippu". It was around 6 in the evening when we reached the Marriage Hall in Kovilpatti. Since the Bride is naturally beautiful, the makeover didnt take a long time. Initially, there was a Prayer session and the Father gave the Engagement Saree to Kalai. Then there was a Mass along with the Engagement Ceremony. Kalai was really pretty in her Engagement Saree!!! :-) The Bride and the Groom exchanged the rings during the Engagement and there was a photo session with all the relatives and family friends. When everyone had left for the dinner, the photographer finally got some time with Hero and Heroine of the Day and took variety of fotos for the Marriage Album and CD.

The next day - THE BIG DAY for Kalai, was dressed in a Blue saree with a hair rolled up. There was a small prayer session and then the bride was given her Wedding Saree. The bride wore a Maroon saree with the veil and the groom wore a tuxedo. This is when the entire Friends party arrived. Poor girls, their ticket didn't get confirmed. So, they took a bus from Chennai to Madurai and then to Kovilpatti. The guys somehow managed to come by train and others by bus. We all took some snaps with the Bride. :) The Bride was then taken to the Church where the wedding was to take place. The Bride Procession took place in a nicely decorated car and after 15 mins of this slow procession we reached the Church.

One of the grandest part of any wedding ceremony is when the bridal party makes its entrance. The air is full of anticipation, and the groom anxiously awaits his first glimpse of his bride in her wedding dress. It was drizzling outside meaning that God was showering his blessings through them. As per the tradition, bride's father walks with her down the aisle. He lead Kalai along with the maid of Honor( Sam's sister) followed by us to the Front of the asile where Sam was waiting along with his best man(Kalai's brother). Once we reached the Front Aisle, Kalai took her place near Sam and we all took our seats on the second row. I got the mixed feeling of two movies - 27 dresses and VTV. Wow, that particular moment when Sam and Kalai said "I DO", I can feel the happiness all our friends shared. We were not allowed to take photos or video during the Mass and the marriage ceremony. Once the Mass was over, the photo session started once again. At around 12, the Newly wed left the Chapel and were headed to the Marriage hall for the Reception. The cake-cutting ceremony took place - the bride and groom jointly held a cake cutter and cut the first piece of the wedding cake. We took a memorable snap with Kalai and Sam and gave our gift to them. It was really pleasant to have Vidya's family during the Marriage. Since we had our train to Erode at 3 PM, we had to rush to the rooms that was booked for us and pack our things.

Only after reaching the station, we came to know that the train was late by 45 mins. We were 9 of us - Yoga, Vidya, Sheela, Bala(Meta), Seeni, K7, Vijayanand, Vignesh anna and me waiting for the train. The train arrived finally around 3:50. All of us were damn tired and as soon as we boarded the train, there was discussion whether we should sleep or sit and talk. Well, we decided on chatting. But as time passed on, few of us felt sleepy and started sleeping. The entire journey was really great. Spent half the time chatting, discussing office stuffs and the pranks we played in college. Seeni's family joined us from Madurai and we finally reached Erode at around 10:30. It was nearly 1 when we reached our rooms. Everyone was pretty tired and hit out beds straight away!

After sleeping for barely 2 hours, woke up around 3 AM and started to get ready. Wondering why so early, because the marrige was at 4:30 to 6:00. Managed to reach the Marriage hall at 5:00. All the rituals started at around 5:15 and most of us were hungry as well :D Sathiya wore a nice Bluish green saree and she looked damn pretty. The Groom wore the traditional pattu veshti and shirt with a turban. The newly weds were blessed by throwing uncooked rice to symbolize fertility when tying the knot took place. We initiated the process of gifting the couples. Took a cute pic with the newly weds and off we went to the dinning hall for the breakfast. As all of us were tired, we went to our rooms directly from the Marriage Hall. This was where I found out that our hotel was situated on the bypass to Kovai. Whenever I travel to Tirupur, I always wanted to get down there and take pics as the place was really green and it had so many nice spots. So, we took an hour rest in our and off we went to roam around the highway. Even though we were tired, we didn't want to miss the chance and started walking towards the flyover. Someone in our group thought it was dam. ;-) We climbed to the road and then pics on the flyover and it was really a memorable day!!!

We started back from the room at 12:30 PM to Erode and the guys had their train from Erode at 2PM to Bangalore and the girls train was from Salem at 4:40PM to Chennai. We waved waved goodbye to the guys in Erode bus stand and took a bus to Salem. My mom met us in Salem and went to the Railway station. The Bangalore train was late and we happened to meet the guys again in Salem. The Chennai train was late by 30 mins and my mom & me waved bye to Sheela, Vidya and Yoga and send them off to Chennai. I accompanied my mom to my home sweet home where I slept for barely 30 mins as my train from Salem to Chennai was at 9PM. So, that makes the completion of my trip! Wow, those 3 days were really memorable and the most enjoyed days after my college life. :-)

7 comments:

melbournemangai said...

Wow I wish I were there to attend 2 weddings back to back. Glad to see that you all had good fun!
Miss you guys..;-(

Ramya P.Sarathi said...

I guess you had a really good time

Sara's World said...

@melbournemangai - Miss you dear!

Sara's World said...

@ Ramya - Yes, rams.. Real good time! :)

GinGBoY said...

anaivarukkum en vazhthukkal...

sari aduthu list la nee thana.. seekiram ready aagu.. naanga podurom unnoda marriage blog :P

Sara's World said...

You have to wait Anand!!!

Unknown said...

even i felt that it gave me my col days back :(:( it was a wonderful and memorable trip indeed!!!!