I was at one of my best friend's wedding at Allahabad - a medium size city in northern India - it was a fabulous affair and the whole thing went from 6:30pm till 6am! Luckily we were staying at the same hotel where the wedding took place so slept thorough most of it!! (Had no sleep in 3days...for some other unattached reasons).

My friend as usual was very excited and happy and looked very decent in a maroon sherwani and headgear (helmet). The wedding procession was small - mostly close friends and family.

Due to some other 'personal' reasons I was able to reach on the very day of the wedding missed an opportunity to spend some quality with him for the last time - things change after one's married, seen many tigers being turned into goats!

According to  my friend his wife is a religious lady who has asked him to go vegetarian atleast on Mondays and Saturdays - believe me he was still happy - there was a time when this man could eat a regular KFC bucket all by himself - presume this is what 'woman power' is all about!

The weather got a bit warm around 20deg C - the wedding procession - Barat - took approx 1.5hrs to cover a very small distance - loud spearks blaring and absolute sober people dancing like mad while my friend sat in a nice air conditioned Hyundai - which as per custom was covered with an assortment of flowers. Im a backbencher at weddings - like to stay hidden in places where people cant see me and drag me to dance on the streets - and if someone still spots me being happy in my own crazy way, I suddenly develop ankle sprain - believe you me its the best possible and time tested excuse for not dancing on the streets!

The thing I hate most is when so called 'friends' dont show up even when they are just a few hours' drive/flight away - you cant be busy enough on a Sunday to miss your friends wedding which hopefully will happen only once in his lifetime!

Relationships in our part of the world are like cakes - you mix up 2 people and pour the batter into a mould and only time tells how good the case is and interestingly here one gets to eat his own cake and know how good bad he/she baked it!

Chees to a long and blissful married life for one of my best-est friend & his lovely wife!