the eventful january

I must say, January has been quite eventful. The New Year spirit is still sinking in when Lohri comes knocking at your door (the 13^th of January). It brings with it the playfulness of popcorn, the sweetness of jaggery, the nuttiness of peanuts and the warmth of til (sesame).

I was still feeling guilty about gorging insanely on all the Lohri sweets, when we had to attend a Sai Sandhya hosted by a close relative to mark the beginning of the wedding of their son (the 17^th of January). Once the evening came to an end we started preparing ourselves for the crazy season of north Indian peak-winter weddings awaiting us.

Now we are in that phase of life where only a friend or two are married and the remaining of them make the most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. While most of them are enjoying their “single and ready to get HITCHED” days, two of my husband’s friends got the taste of the famous yet infamous shaadi ka ladoo (marriage) this January :p. 

We celebrated wedding no. 1 on the 19^th and the 20^th. Both weddings were dated really close. So close that when we got to breathe for two days in between, we just wanted to duck in under the quilt and relax. Wedding no. 2 was scheduled for the 23^rd and the 25^th. 

bride and groom waiting for the pheras;wedding no. 1

the boys at the sagan and cocktail (wedding no. 2)

 The 24^th brought no respite as it was a very close friend’s birthday and I just did not wish to miss that. He took us to a restaurant named KIYAN in this recently opened hotel called the DUSIT DEVARANA located near the Rajokri area of Delhi. It is one of the best properties I have ever seen. The interiors of the hotel were very different and unusual giving the whole place a very mysterious feel. A lady led us to the restaurant. I swear I felt like the kid in the movie “Charlie and the chocolate factory”. We enjoyed a laughter filled, candleS lit dinner :p with an amazing setting in the background. Since, we had gone there at night the darkness didn’t allow us to take a tour of the place but I would definitely love to visit the place again during the day or maybe in the evening when there is more light for a cup of cappuccino (Dear Husband..get the hint? :p).

Coming back to the weddings both had some similarities. After all they were the Delhi winter weddings and that too North Indian. And we North Indians are shamelessly loud, insane and love to have a gala time. Booze and butter chicken are a must at our wedding events without any fail and this fact was taken well into consideration at both the weddings. Women (including me) were seen fully decked up, freezing in the chilly night with glorious smiles on their faces (the girls have no other option, those nice saris and hot blouses aren’t bought to be covered by a shawl. That is another thing that my dear husband could not help himself from wrapping one around me because he shivered just looking at me…huh!). Honey Singh’s YO YO ruled the dance floor at all the events. His “blue eyes and sunny sunny-pani pani” is still ringing in my ears. It is funny that as much as I hate the song “tamanche pe disco”, towards the end of both these weddings I found myself singing the stupid song. 

The popular dilli ki sardi (Delhi winter) brings into the existence the best of combinations. There is moong dal halwa (sweet made of lentils) being enjoyed by aunties showing all their jalwa (glamour). Then there is steaming hot sweet milk in the hands of women wearing hot deep blouses with saris in silk. And these combinations were found in abundance at both the weddings. The men generally take a backseat after going mad dancing with the band during the baraat and that was quite evident at these weddings. 

good time;wedding no. 2

Luckily the wedding no. 2 was on a Saturday and after seeing off the bride and groom at 2 A.M. all we were dreaming of was a lazy Sunday. It was the 26^th – republic day. Even though there was a small ceremony arranged in our locality which was supposed to be followed by my favourite thing in the world – chaat, I did not have the energy bob my head out or move even a finger and hence chose to stay at home. I woke up at 11 A.M. It was a bright and balmy Sunday afternoon. My husband and I took this opportunity to sit and soak ourselves in the sun. We were meandering around the house in our pyjamas and finally bathed around 7 in the evening since we had a few guests coming over.

soaking the sun in our balcony; lazy sunday

Gladly it was a casual dinner and hence it went well effortlessly. We finally slept and called it a night and an eventful January thanking god that there were no more events to attend in the remaining five days of the first month of the New Year. 

A quick glance at the eventful January calendar

mon	tue	wed	thu	fri	sat	sun
		1 : the 31st night hangover	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13: Lohri	14	15	16	17: Sai Sandhya	18	19: Sagan and Cocktail (wedding no. 1)
20: Wedding ceremony (wedding no. 1)	21	22	23: Sagan and Cocktail (wedding no. 2)	24: Friend’s birthday	25: Wedding ceremony (wedding no. 2)	26: Republic day
27	28	29	30	31

P.S.: I wish both couples a happy married life. Marriage is a wonderful feeling, enjoy it. Treat each other as equal and DO NOT take the other person for granted. Your beautiful journey has just begun. Bon Voyage!