MARRIAGE DAY
That Night at Barbeque
Nation
It was time for my friend to get
married!
As the dust settles, the sun coming
down with the crescent of the moon slowly coming up over the horizon; it will
be the beginning of the ceremony of spoken promises. Before God and the
witnesses or before the fire, the bride and the groom will recite their vows to
each other.
They will smile, yet being so shy,
looking at each while passing over the rings to each other. The ring forms a
circle around the finger, the circle which has no beginning or end, the symbol
of infinity; it is endless and eternal, just how love should be!
This is going to be one of the most
important day for my friend, but yet here I am, being miles away, awaiting a
taxi to come pick me up, in order to take me to my desired location. Come to
think about it, I really had scarce time with me today and the dinner at
Barbeque Nation seems to be a mere consolation. The day has much higher
significance or value than it got today.
“Where to Sir?” asked the driver while I just boarded the Taxi.
“To the Finolex intersection please” I replied as I made myself
comfortable.
The taxi started to move towards
the location as I started to look outside, leaning over the door, my face
facing the glass.
All the thoughts started to flow in
now.
Travelling beside the windows can
serve a gateway to another world altogether. A world of deep thinking,
contemplation and self-reflection!
***
Have you ever been high? Ever tried
Alcohol? Have you ever been in love?
Let me tell you why I am asking you
this. You see, alcohol unlike other food does not undergo normal digestion. It
reaches the stomach and then is directly absorbed into the bloodstream. Once in
the bloodstream, it is carried throughout the body and travels to the brain.
At first there is some observable
intoxication, secondly your limb movements start to nimble, deteriorate and
then it leads to clear and absolute intoxication. It is at this point that your
body starts to give away, creating a total trance state, a feeling of being in a
complete dissolution from reality and then at this moment there is no going
back. What happens after that? You fall asleep, or vomit (if you can’t take it
anymore).
Isn’t that how love gets to you?
As an analogy, love, unlike any
other emotion, acts differently on us. You may never know what hit you but its
has already cast its effect on you. Slowly you are starting to behave apart
from your normal senses. You talk funny, you feel different, your limbs start to
move on its own, you start to lose control. When it reaches your heart, you
tend to stop thinking rationally with a feeling of warmness inside. And yes,
when it reaches your brain, you become a completely different human being
altogether.
But what happens when the love you
held dear, the one you kept it real close is no more there for you?
“We are at the destination sir”
The driver interrupted my train of
thoughts once we reached the intersection. Looking around into the reality
again, I exhaled a breath of sigh and left the Taxi.
The restaurant was at about a
distance of three blocks towards the back of the intersection, and so, I
decided to take a walk up to the restaurant.
While walking, I started to hover
over my thoughts again.
It kept me thinking that the
breakdown and elimination of alcohol cannot be sped up by drinking water or
sleeping, and neither coffee, nor a shower will sober you up faster. As long as
your rate of consumption is greater than your rate of elimination, your alcohol
level will continue to rise.
So consecutively, how to have less
of it?
How do I reduce the consumption?
How to be sure of how much I would need?
***
“Welcome Sir” the receptionist at Barbeque Nation greeted me with a
smile.
They have grown to know me off
late. Apart from my frequent visits to their outlets, they have also been a
host to one of my pre-book launch events.
He continued “Would you prefer your usual place sir?”
I replied feeling glad “Sure, why not!”
I have always liked Barbeque
Nation. In fact, I have had admired it a lot. And why not?
Once you get a place to sit here,
you start to get imbibed into the magical experience. The moment the waiter
approaches your table, you find yourself in food heaven.
A standard question follows: Veg or Non-Veg?
Quite an innocent question. But being
a regular customer, knowing beforehand, what the wonderous gastronomic journey
ahead beholds; it is quite difficult to control yourself in not having them
all.
Those juicy, succulent tender
pieces of perfectly cooked chicken, immaculately moist fish, the deliciously
spiced prawns have been my favourites among the starters. The best part is that
you have an option to season and grill them yourself as well, as per your
taste. Just perfect!
“Sir, would you like to try out our special Mutton Sheekh Kebab today?”
“Yes please!” The grander the better!
You can’t really deny a melt-in-your-mouth
Kebab. If you did, then you are at a loss mate!
The veg section has various options
but I only reduce the scope to dragon potatoes and pineapples whose taste
increases tenfold, if you season and grill them along.
They used to serve chilled beer
before, however they have stopped serving them in their outlets following
changes in government regulations. A bit amiss, but not much to complain about
since you are already having a blast. Your plate is practically never empty as
the waiters ensure that you are being attended to every time. Good food with
great service, mark of a good restaurant!
And these were only the starters.
There is a wide spread buffet waiting for you as well!
I usually try to avoid it though. A
curry here and there, a bit of salad and I am done.
I was almost full with the meal and
wanted to concentrate on the dessert, but tried to take some rest in between,
before such spiritual experience.
Flipping open my phone, I hopped through social media posts and came across pictures
taken during my friends’ marriage.
Oh! Is it done already? That was
fast!
But no; it was I, who lost track of
time. It’s half past nine already. Not much to worry about though, since my
flight is delayed already.
Wearing a two-piece garment, made
of silk, garlands of flowers draped around his neck with a special headwear on
his head; my friend was best fit to the occasion. Standing beside him was the
bride. Dressed in a beautiful and traditional silk saree in bright hues paired
with gorgeous looking jewellery; she was perhaps the most celebrated icon of
the night.
Most aptly as it should have been?
I don’t know.
Both were simply inseparable, by
love and also by the fact that both their attires were connected together by a
knot of cloth which extended from the shoulder of the groom to that of the
bride. It might have been two different cloths knotted together as well? Maybe!
My mom tells me to invest some time
in getting to know our customs, as I would require it sometime in the future.
Well I don’t see that foreseeable future anytime soon!
I chuckled while locking the phone
screen, placing it back on the table.
Mobile phones, they are just the
distraction now as I need to re-inculcate myself into the aroma of the food
that awaits me. Passing through the counter of soups, curries of meat and
veggies, a biryani - chicken perhaps, salads; I ended up at the end, with the
section that I cared the most after the sumptuous meal - the desert!
I surveyed the section with utmost
diligence - Cakes, Brownies, Mousses, Ice Creams and Indian desserts like
Phirni and Gulab Jamuns. Well, glad that I had the rest!
It does feel like I would like to
stuff myself even more!
How do they provide all of these things
in such an affordable price? Beats me, but they do have a business plan on it
for sure, as seem to be very profitable in their job.
Everyone has a plan, a course of
action.
What is mine?
A point to ponder over dessert
perhaps!
***
The story continues!
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