When Chrys and I were to leave on our vacation, my MIL sent a message asking me to bring a saree to wear. There was some Parsi thread ceremony (Navjote) that we had to attend. Of course we were not to attend the ceremony itself but a reception that was to be held in the evening. These ceremonies are as grand as weddings with tons of money spent on decoration and food. Since I have now grown out of all my wedding time saree-blouses I decided to wing it with some salwar kameez. But MIL was not satisfied with my mediocre taste and wanted me to wear something "fancy" and hence took me shopping. I dragged Chrys along. We shortlisted and rejected loads of stuff before we narrowed upon something that was acceptable to all.
So finally the day arrived and we were all decked up. Several days in advance it was decided that we must head directly to the dining area and finish off the eating bit before we even wish the family.
On the way we received a call from one of our relatives who warned us that the dinner was about to start. We asked him to hold 4 seats for us. On reaching the venue Chrys led us directly to the dining area. People - decked up in finery - were already seated on plastic chairs lined up in front of long tables. Banana leaves had been spread out in front of every chair. We quickly grabbed the chairs that were saved for us. Then began the choreographed serving. First came the lagan nu achar which is basically sweetened carrot pickle. This was accompanied by some sabu dana wafers. I looked towards Chrys for guidance and ate as he did... dipping the wafers in the achar.
The chappatis came quickly and you could hear old women calling out to the bearers asking for rotlis that are not burnt. The rotli was to be eaten with sali ma margi (leg piece aap manne). Then came Chrys's favorite patra ni machchi. You are supposed to ask for the tail piece... I didn't but I got it anyway. Since Chrys didn't get the tail piece the first time he had a second helping and specifically asked for it.
While we were still polishing off the fish, the pulao and dal were served. Immediately they served the ice-cream too. The moment the ice-creams were placed on the table there was a large influx of new people into the dining area. They walked in purposefully and stationed themselves behind the chairs of people who were still eating. I was a little confused. Chrys explained that the arrival of the ice-cream signalled the end of the dinner which meant that the next batch could book their seats. A girl standing behind me was shouting to her friend, "We need 8 seats... count till that white uncle" (White uncle being an old man in a white shirt still working his way thru the pulao). I got a little unnerved and got up carrying my ice-cream with me. My seat was immediately grabbed by the person standing behind me.
Later we wished the family (hardly took 10 seconds) gave them presents, chatted with some relatives and left for home. This morning I am struggling with an upset stomach... lagan nu bhonu also comes with a lagan nu motion.
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