Of Rainy Mondays and Saree Sales

I took yesterday off from this blog for no reason in particular. Today, I feel like blogging and I'm sure it has to do with the fact that I have pending work from SMT (like dot being motivated to clean his house when he has has a paper to write)....but, who cares what the motivation is...here are Monday's chronicles.

Yesterday began with the great dilemma that we suburb-dwellers face when we have to go to town (mumbaiyya for anyplace after Mumbai Central on the Western Railway line) - bus or train. We had to go to a place called New Marine Lines, which is very close to Churchgate (for the sake of dot's orientation). They have a string of very high-profile saree shops which are having their monsoon clearance sales. So Mum and me started going through one shop at a time.

What hadn't counted on was that save for a couple of shops, all the others had just begun the sales yesterday. So every shop was an adventure in getting to the counter selling your type of saree braving hordes of loud, impolite, sweaty G women (yes, I'm racist) - it was so not funny to be poked in the back when you were in the way, to be told "aa drayse che, saadi nathi" when you didn't ask, and to be left holding the door open while a flock of them chattily made their way into the shop when you first opened the door for yourself to get out! Ugh!

Anyways, that said, looking for the saree was fun. This is a very very rough image (the best representation I could find online) of the saree I have in mind - though i'm looking for one in ivory/gold with very delicate and spaced-out "work" (the beads, embroidery, crystals, zardosi, etc.). We saw lots of pretty ones with not-so-pretty prices. Yet, I want to be sure I have seen them all before I buy the one I like best; so this adventure is going to be continued the coming Saturday, with the godmother and her daughter in tow, in the Dadar saree district - wish us all luck again.

Oh and before the saree shops, I did make a wee trip to Alliance Francaise de Bombay to check about the French courses - there doesn't seem to be a short one to fit my schedule, but I was asked to check next month for their new time-tables. Fingers crossed.

After getting back home I called Glenn Dodd's office. Glenn's a very very very handsome-looking man (and he has two daughters my age!) and a friend of mum's from her Kodak days. He's a professional photographer/videographer and I am trying to get him to do our wedding pictures. Unfortunately, he's already got two other committments for the same day and can send an apprentice to ours if we would like. I told him I wasn't so sure because I live with the who's-who of photography and it would remain a cherished breakfast/lunch/tea/dinner conversation topic if I didn't try hard enough to find the "best" photographer (if such an entity exists). So there. Nevertheless, I'm meeting him this evening at six to see what my options are.

I also checked out and compared fares for flights and trains and think the latter might be a more reasonable bet. Three-tier AC - Kanyakumari Express - takes about 14 hours from VT (I know it is Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, but so what) to Kochi (or Ernakulam Town) - have to check with everybody else if that's okay. Anyways, reservations can only be done three months in advance; so we're good.

For today, I'm going to work (boohoo!) and going to try to go back to the gym (sigh). More on everything else later.

Kahaani Mein Twist

Famous last words they say... (and oh my god! I have learnt to edit HTML to insert a link! what am I?!!!)

I had been trying to get through to the folksters after we zeroed in on Plaza, to check if all was well and we could go ahead with the advance payment. They weren't home and wouldn't answer the mobile. At about 8 pm last evening then, the mumster called and guess what?! we had a new high-drama situation on our hands! They have a special friend they would really like to be there for the Kochi ceremony, thinks a Thursday is not the best idea for a wedding day (it was to be on Thursday, December 29) and suggested Monday, December 26 instead, it being a feast of Mother Mary and a more propitious (gosh! this is fun!) day to bless a wedding. This left the folksters making frantic calls to the reception venue there, asking if our alternative date was available. A few more phonecalls back and forth later, it was confirmed that the place was indeed available. So the folksters called to check if it was okay with us to bring the wedding date forward to the 26th - I checked with my folks and they agreed (with much less ado compared to yesterday) and everything was all good (again). I let the mumster know it was cool so she could go ahead with the other arrangements.

But wait, all's not ending well just yet....one more little kahaani mein twist. Now, put your math cap on. If the Kochi wedding is brought forward by three or so days, it means the folksters have fly in that much earlier and in turn go back that much earlier. So eventually, even January 6 might be too late to push the Mumbai reception to. The redeeming grace here is that we still haven't paid Plaza the advance and when I go to do that this morning, I am going to check for earlier dates and everything else, in terms of the package they're putting together for us, will stay the same. The folksters are cool with whatever we can manage best and so we are eventually all good.

Another day, another dollar...more like another date...ah well...I know one person who's so excited by the date, it's more than hilarious! :)) and thinking about it, like we discussed, December 26 any year does have a lot going for it:
- it's just after Christmas so you cannot forget it even if you tried
- it's just after Christmas so you don't have to worry about cooking
- it's just after Christmas so you might get away with only one present
- it's just after Christmas and is usually a paid holiday the world over

With all this going for our wedding date, I'm worried about stealing JC's show! (he does have a sense of humour, so don't you fret now :))

So here's to December 26, 2006.....and I'm sorry about how long this post has been...and I even woke up early to write it undisturbed...sigh..the things I do for you....

No Grapes and I'm Still Smiling

As it turns out, January 9, 2006 is not as good as we would have liked...so no Joseph's.

So my mission for today was to check Avion's Lawns and talk to the talkshop Banquets Manager, Jehangir :) ...they have available all the dates in our preferred window.....so fingers and toes crossed again (I don't remember uncrossing them from the last time, but all the same).

A whole night of live anxiety and a morning full of online aggravation later (no, he doesn't fret about the details at all!), mommie and moi went to Avion in the afternoon....and oh my god can Jehangir talk?!!....upshot (can you call a not-so-good summary an upshot?) being, the place is pokey and basically a converted car park...looks okayish with the fairy lights, etc. but I can't take the car park picture out of my head...oh and the food is served in a basement in the superduper "I configuration", if you please ... This apparently was Jeh's brainchild and one that still hasn't left home! And yes, he's "conceptualizing" some "grape light clusters" for the "beautiful" trees (read some wayward shrubbery) around the place...sigh...I was almost sad and told him I'd pay him the advance tomorrow after I checked the dates were good with the family.

On the way back home from there, Mum had an idea and said we could go check Plaza Banquets again, which is so much closer to home and lovely on the inside....we went in and something fell into place in my head...the mac manager was more relaxed...took us through the place explained everything...and it now seems pretty good...we also managed to work out a good deal on the pricing and the stuff he could throw for it and it's all looking great again! yay! :) He's got 6th of January, Friday, available...so we recheck with home base and we're ready to go....i'm feeling much better than last night (no, and it's not thanks to you)

I will miss Jeh and his grapes but what the heck...Plaza it shall be.

More updates on a to-do list for tomorrow later....and merci for the comments...like I've said before...this is what we live for!

Oh and Aju, you'll find out the story behind the blog title someday...all in good time.

Where and When?

My visit to the Lee residence to source hotel contacts didn't work out because Mrs Lee was held up at work. Yesterday was disappointing because of the daggy-looking Rang Sharda banquet hall and the Willingdon Gymkhana thingies that are supposed to be function halls (yeah right!) and it's more than sprawling grounds. Also checked Plaza Banquets close to home. The sidey mac manager (Sebastian Something) was preoccupied and nonmotivated (didn't I already say mac?) - again, pretty on the inside but whatever on the outside (not as bad as Willingdon though - reference below). Called Sorab in the morning about Joseph's and guess what?!...it's booked from December 15 through to January 8th! What's with December and getting married anyways? One more day down and no venue and so no date yet. Mum doesn't like Joseph's - I wish I could see why she wants Willingdon - though it's nice inside, it's next to a busy railway line, it's approach road is a sewer-like subway and is fronted by a slum (but then again, which place in Mumbai isn't?). The dadster is too caught up with worrying about our housing society issues to care - the mumster cares too much for her own good. Would you please remind me why I didn't consider eloping?

The POA for tomorrow:
- Try to call Jude/Bosco about the Renaissance
- See if I can fix a Lee meeting again
- Check with folksters-in-law to see if Monday, January 9, 2006, sounds good (fingers and toes and everything crossable crossed!)

Building Blogs (yes that's Malayalam for "blocks")

I'm trying (and trying hard) to turn blog-savvy and this is a (technically) virgin attempt (all of the other times, I've given up halfway through signing up in Blogger). This time 'round, I have something to write about - our wedding! So here's to our special day and to my blogability....cheers!