*Pics for representational purpose only.
A journey..to Rajasthan !
Call me on a trip..and i'm always available.U see m a travel freak..This time i got an opportunity to trip rajasthan.I was attending my friends wedding..actualy friends brothers wedding!!Tried to ink down my experience..Start of Journey-
Generally travelling by train alone, that too for long journeys,make me feel sick. However, if u'v bunch of mates along..then the fun remains unmatched.Neverthless to say,train journey is the most cheapest and convenient. We rushed in as it arrived..as usual till you find your reserved seats and place your luggage over the hooks,under chairs,above berths thats reserved for you; u never breath a sigh of relief.We were no exception.
My destination was 'Rani'. By name every guy will think of a gurl and now would be much eager to read...rit!! :) but sorry to disappoint you guys..Rani is a station in Rajasthan where we would be unbaording ourselves.It takes almost 15 hours to reach Rani from Mumbai.It was month of February..and was quite awesome with regards to climate...not much sun and slight cold..wow!
Next day morning 5:30am,Jagdeesh(jaggs) woke me up..m not an insomniac,i sleep hard.Rubbed my eyes and had a cupa tea.Quite relieving. Next thing i did was to analayize..calculate..formulate and conclude...HOW MUCH TIME WOULD IT TAKE TO ENTER LOO..!!. 'Coz as i saw thr were 3-4 people in a queue outside. Few holding their asses..which was a clear implication tat i cudn't stand a chance to go in first..even when i would have offered thousand bugs. Maann!! i just felt like pulling chain to stop train..jump outside and search for a bush...hehe :). But ideas dont always work.No other option but to hold on..i tried to make some sympathy and pity earning faces to them..but all my efforts were in vain! Finally it was my number..before rushing i assured that thrs no gurl looking by my side..hehe..cum'n guys u understan rit!! and i rushed...
Now another trouble was to get grip..train was constantly trembling. I feared of falling on my face.Yuukksss!!! Somehow managed and winded up as soon as possible.Ahh!atlast i was out of a dungeon..i felt as if i'v won a battle.
Two men, standing out, looked to each other when i came out with a smile on my face.Least did they knew about my battle!
We were about to reach Rani in a while.Till thn we fueled our tummys.Had some tea,some idlis,some samosas..some sandwhiches..all of some made a huge 'Sum'..both in quantity and price.
Finally we reached 'Raoni',thats how people here pronounce it.Bolero with its chauffer awaited to pick us up.Being a special guest in terms of being non rajasthani or rather non marwadi,still coming to rajasthan to attend a marvadi wedding,i was given front seat.Royal Welcome!!
And we started.Whether was cool,calm n misty at 7:30am. We were heading towards juggys abode situated in village named 'Channod'. On our way, all i could remember noticing are yellow-green lushy fields,clear skies and pollution free environment. What enthralled me more was sight of peacocks on both the sides of Kuccha turned Pucca roads. That was awesome!!
Roads were heavily fogged but the drive was fun. Driver 'Khemji' as people adressed him was more funnier.Not a single moment passed in boredom when we were in his company.He kept talking in mumbai accent..which neither he or us could properly understand.But his accent surely made our ribs tickle.When we reached home,it was almost 1100hrs and whether still cool. I enjoyed this climate.We freshened up,had some breakfast kinda thing and slept..only thing i remember for that day was i slept n slept.
Day 2 started with full throttle.Morning i got up and searched for the most basic thing that all social animals do...do i needa specify!!!! :) Loo was outside the house adjacent to it. Never mind,it was much better than 'wadas'(place where people go in groups to relax their stomaches)..see, even it has got a definition. I heard juggy telling me to get a bucket filled with water as i was approaching towards loo.
Ohh! man! I imagined myself drapped in a piece of towel, a lotta(bucket) in one hand and other kept free to knock door outa frustration..dont ask me What kinda frustration??-you will understand this wen ur in hurry and some one is taking too long.
Juggy tapped my shoulders bringing me outa my weird imaginations and pointed towards something which looked like water tank but was situated underground.Yes,it was indeed one. As i observed,every house had a seperate water reserviour in form of underground storage tank just outside ther house.It resembled to a mini well..16-18 feet deep.I filled up the bucket..
Well it was jus like i imagined- only difference was.. I was in jeans, had lotta in one hand and a stick in other..Now dont let ur wild imagination run...stick was meant to be for my safety,incase i cum across lizards n cockroaches. Another battle!! Ohh Gawd!.
Afternoon.. everyone was ready and fresh and Hungry too.Kailash bhai(to be bridegroom n juggys bro) summoned us for lunch. He arranged for a plate big enough to serve 4 people.I kept wondering!
'it seemed as if we three are married to each other and this was our first night.And as per the tradition we shud take a sip from the glass and let our partner have it too.We shud feed each other and then lift ghungat..'
NO!! NO!! Stop! and i controlled imagining further.I realised,my thoughts could reach any heights. :)
He instantly poured the entire liquid on rotis.It was Ghee.And i concluded,Pista aunty was Ghee Godesses.He emptied the glass and our haf the plate was filled with ghee. He then poured Dal over it..put some shev on it and put some chopped onions and chatni.Then churned the entire mixture and told us to follow.It was quite a fun! I took my 1st bite and it tasted really good.The mixture was quite tasty.Neverthless to say,I enjoyed the meal. Then what...i slept like a lethargic snake!!Next day was 'THE DAY'..day when Kailash bhai was to lose his bachelor hood,his peace in life,his freedom.. it was 'The Marriage Day'..not tat i am anti-marriage or so..but idea of getting married is not well conceived by me yet.And the things and remarks i made was listening to married peoples,usually men, views post marriages.Everyone was busy making themselves look good..needless to mention,mostly girls; and men were busy handling responsibilities. I was semi traditionally dressed,jeans-shirt and rajasthani pagdi on my head.
Marvadis have a tradition where the bridegroom has to sit on horse and has to take a round of entire village.Other family members will follow.It was a procession carried out to make entire village know about his marriage.They call it ''BANDOLI''.We all danced to the music played and traditional songs sung by people there.Even family ladies performed traditional steps.After bandoli, it was 'BARAT PRASTAN' time.This simply means tat bridegroom has to go to brides family and initiate marriage.After reaching at brides place there were many other rasams that took place.I tried to take note of every rasam being performed. There were rasmas like TORAN...VARMALA..HAST-MILAP ..MANGAL PARINAY etc.(end of thinking capacity..hehe).Well every rasam has its own meaning and importance but i am a novice to explain everything.And Ofcourse!!how can i miss describing lunch!! It was yummy and deliciousss.I surely had a try of pure rajashthani meal for first time.
After the happy wedding thing we took our bhabi to her sasural(in laws).There was lot of tear shedding and emotions overflowing.Seeing them cry i had a small smile on my face.Ironical rit!! Ya..it was 'coz i cud make out that 'jo bhi ladki walon ko rona hai wo bas aaj ke din hi rona hai,fir to ladkaay ki bari hai puri jindagi bhar'. Dont blame me for this statement it was married men whom i had heard saying this!
We then reached to our place and rasam for GRUH PRAVESH were done.Finally a new member to Kailash bhais family was added.All were very happy considering wedding proceedings to have fallen in place and also for newly married couple.
I wanted to stay back for few days more to explore Rajasthan and get drowned in its scenic beauty. But priorities claimed something different.I had my reservations done the next day of wedding.Yes, i indeed enjoyed to be a part of entire ceremony and also was spellbound by the love,warmth and affection bestowed on me by entirely different coloured people.But thats the crux, different colours make a Rainbow and so did we. I actually experienced the ''Atithi Devo Bhava''(Guests are like God).I wanted to thank Pista Aunty, Jagdeesh, Kailash Bhai and Swapna for making me feel special in their own ways.And what could be better way than a write up dedicated to them.So is this article....-Luv
Its SR
