'Jhuum' Lens Musings

Dot was here (in India, with me) for a whole 10 days! - my best (and only) excuse for not blogging for close to two months!!! :) The highlight of this holiday was dot being called JHUUM-LENS by a little Haji Ali urchin - hence the name of the blog. We had a lovely lovely time and I hope to be able to put up the pictures in a photoblog with a commentary sometime soon, pending the full-fledged "leak". If someone somehow related to the "uninitiated" side of the family finds us online, it could cause a scandal dot tells me - and I believe him... we could do without any dramas before the wedding. I suppose I could put up a day-to-day written account - we'll see.

Let's first bring you up to speed on the preparations for ze big day! Lots of work got done in these two months and I see everything taking shape (everything except me that is :)) - I daresay, it's all going good. The stuff that's been done so far:
-Photographer - Dot met him and spent three whole hours discussing what he wanted - we're probably getting a couple of rolls of black and white film and some other "high-end" stuff like that. Our jhuum-lens asked all his questions and got all his answers (we hope) - I'm more than glad he's getting what he wants - everybody's happy!
- EmCee - We also met the master of ceremonies and he took dot through the whole jig and explained what goes on at a mac wedding reception. Dot didn't die too much (thankfully) and methinks we'll be okay with a few changes in programme here and there.
- The Thanksgiving mass - We visited the Mount Mary's Basilica and I was thrilled dot loved it. Reuben's going to organise the liturgy and we'll work over e-mail to keep dot in the loop.
- My outfit for the Mumbai reception - I got the fabric (for my bridesmaid also) and it's with the seamstress now - I should be called in for a trial sometime this week.
- The cards - The invitations for the Mumbai reception are in printing as I write this - the main card has the Mumbai details and there is an insert with the Kochi details - I hope to have them ready in a week or so.
- The cake - I've ordered the wedding cake - it's two-tiered and is going to be ivory coloured with a deep orange/rust-coloured drape - the colour of my bridesmaid's outfit - so it's all like an ensemble (how cool are we!) I got only two tiers because both dot and me are small people and we dont' want to have to stand on our toes to be seen from behind the cake :) We're (hopefully) having date and walnut cake slices to serve with the toasting wine (I'll explain the tradition in a later blog) - thing is I love date and walnut cake but the mumster thinks we should have rich fruit cake which "everybody has" becuase that's the done thing - so I'm really not sure which of the two it's going to be - any suggestions? FYI - rich fruit cake is like a slightly lighter version of Christmas pudding. That reminds me, I need to arrange to have the cake picked up on the day. Also, Plaza has little wine glasses so I only need to make arrangements for the porto vinho.
-The decorator - I have booked the service and need to go over and get a fix on the exact colours and flowers I want.

If there's anything I've missed on the "done" list I'll update you when I remember.

The to-do list:
-Suits for the Brothers Karamazov
-Wedding Rings (we have an idea brewing - keep watching this space)
-Music for the reception
-Cars to ferry us around
-A place for the newlyweds to stay (by themselves, preferably)
-Hotel bookings for the in-laws (it's a funny word, I know)
-"Thank You" gifts for those who come to the wedding

Strangely, it's scary when there's little on the to-do list. Again, I will update it as I think of all the other things there are to do.

Goshers! My fingers hurt from all this typing - thank God for all the conditioning from using IM in our long-distance (mostly) relationship. Come to think of it (and now nodot and everybody else who reads this is going to freak - probably even dot), dot and me have spent all of about eight weeks together, in the flesh (no smirking please :)) though we've known each other for more than two years! Imagine if there was no Internet! Methinks we should give away internet connection packs as return gifts at our wedding!! :))

I'll leave you with that shocker for now. Ciao till later.