The arranged marriage.

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan
24
One thing I love about Punjabis... They know how to enjoy life. They're never hoity-toity about being made the butt of jokes and appreciate a good laugh, even if it is at their own expense ... In that matter, they remind me a lot of us Mallus, I guess.
The following is a true story that happened a few months ago and was narrated to us by Raj himself.

The main characters in this incident :
a) Two Punjab da puttur docs Prem and Raj (names altered ). Identical twins too, incidentally, though that's not relevant.
b) One Punjab di kudi - Simran ( her real name - it just adds to the charm of the story, having a girl whose name is synonymous with Kajol's from DDLJ. Remember the movie ? The sweet girl dancing in the rain, the girl who begged her father for one last chance to see the world before marriage, who is horrified of what she may have done while drunk, who is scared to express her feelings till it is almost too late... )

Anyway, the paths of these three would cross primarily via a marriage proposal.. Simran's parents wanted her to meet one of the twins, Raj. Now since the guy couldn't leave Pune to go see her in Chandigarh, she decided not to wait and flew down to meet the guy.

That evening, as she landed, the twins were there to pick her up. In the vehicle, she asked if they could stop for dinner as she was famished.
"Sure", said Raj "I know a lovely place in town."
Along the way, they got around to asking each other the basic details... small talk really. Raj told he didn't drink or smoke ( unlike his brother ), that he was doing his post graduation presently and that his brother Prem had just recently got married. Simran had a younger sister, was doing well in college and loved sports.

Anyway, they ended up at one of Pune's most famous pubs/ lounges - Thousand Oaks. Prem went on to order a beer along with some snacks while Simran, after studying the menu, chose a pitcher of mocktail for herself and Raj.
As they continued chatting, Raj found himself having a great time. He was soon laughing animatedly and cracking p.j's as only he can. He must have wondered himself how he could be so free with a girl he'd just met and wondered if this was love at first sight.
Wellllll...the fact of the matter was, it wasn't actually love. It was more a mix of white rum, vodka, gin, beer and breezers.
You see, Simran had ordered the restaurant's most famous drink - the Barman's pitcher. This was a mix of all the above mentioned which had a much sweeter taste than most alcohols and gave a relatively mild high... unless you're drinking for the first time in your life.
His brother, Prem, had known all along what the drink was and had happily sat back sipping his beer while watching Raj get drunk. It was only when Raj started feeling 'woozy' after 2 glasses that Raj and Simran had a good laugh and revealed to him the reason behind his light-headedness.

Of course, all this led to the most hilarious grand finale - Prem refused to drive while drunk and Raj couldn't drive because he was seeing two of everything ( which is ironic, considering he's a twin and usually, we're the ones seeing two of him. ) That left Simran, newly arrived in Pune, taking the wheel of the Tavera and driving the guys home as they sat in the backseat singing, with their heads out the vehicle at midnight, what I and my ex-co Pg call the Punjabi national anthem - Jee Karda Bhai Jee Karda.

Sadly, Simran and Raj were not meant to be, in this case. The next morning, when the boys had sobered up,  she revealed to them that she already had a guy back home and had just come down at her parents insistence, so as not to appear rude... oh, and also to enjoy Pune for a few days. The three of them had a gala time that weekend, going for movies, shopping and hanging out and parted on great terms.

Times have certainly changed since the days when an arranged meeting between a boy and a girl would include the girl all decked up and serving tea while fielding questions about her college degree and how well she could  stitch and cook, while being scrutinized by the guy's side and goaded on by her mother to sing for them. As for our protagonists, well...
Simran is getting married next year to her guy. Her parents were very supportive, once she admitted she was in love with a guy.
Prem and Raj are still searching for the girl who will sing "Singh is King" to Raj. He hasn't drank alcohol since that day.

Raj and Simran still keep in touch over Facebook.


Author's note : I personally wish they had got married. I couldn't have counted the years fast enough till their kids were grown up so that I could drive all the way to Punjab and sit in the yellow poppy fields where Kajol ran into Shah Rukh's arms , while telling those kids the tale of how Mommy got Daddy drunk on their first date and had to drive him home. 

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24Comments

Let me know what you think.

  1. I love the way you have narrated this story.

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  2. "Her parents were very supportive, once she admitted she was in love with a guy."


    Hmm...

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  3. wow.... arrange marriage meeting ho tho aaisi... :)

    lovely :)

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  4. kg, thanks.. That means a job well done :)

    pranab, hmmmm ?

    Sweta, sach !! Arranged ho to aise !! Jee karda bhai jee karda .. Dammit !! Now that song is stuck in my head !!

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  5. Amazing Story and wonderful narration........M loving it more than DDLJ.

    http://indianinabox.blogspot.com/

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  6. sigh!!!

    with a title like that i half expected that u were getting married... lo my dreams of running over to kannur and hogging all food and meeting parents!! :(

    punjabi stories are always with a happy ending. thats why they name themselves happy singh :D

    u get married now, i want vacation :|

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  7. lipsy, thanks.. Thats the best compliment so far :) a comparison with ddlj.. Raj ( of this story ) would b so proud !!

    Ratzzz.. If only life were so simple.. Theres still a long wait before u take that vacation :p
    now that u mention it, mayb it IS all in the name.. That settles it !! My kids are gonna be named Stupendously Joyous ( nickname : stu jo ) and Filthy Rich ( fil ri )...

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  8. Good one! I really wonder how urs gonna be like!! :-D

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  9. Well written! More like what happens in real life than in reel life.

    Funny!

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  10. Rohan, something like the SAW movies , I imagine...

    Nilu.. thanks.

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  11. That was quite a story..and am glad the 'arranged marriage' ritual is gettign a new meaning..that seems like good fun :)

    I know a couple ( who are engaged now), where the boy was in one country and the girl was in another. They decided to fly down half way each and meet up at , none other than the Eiffel tower, Paris!

    Now, that was an excellent location for love at first sight, no?

    Sigh! :)

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  12. Its an interesting, yet sad story:(
    Well, if everyone else is happy why are we wishing that they were together? We're watching too many B'wood movies. I really thought that it would end up like Namastey London. :( Thats too much to ask.

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  13. aishu, wow !! seriously.. thats awesome. now thats a kodak moment !!

    anita, sad ? naaa, all involved are having the time of their lives...

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  14. You and I have the same thoughts when it comes to thoughts on entertaining our friends kids.. I would've also wished for the 2 of them to end up together just to serve that story with extra garnishing ;-)

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  15. Interesting narrative!

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  16. Meety, I know, right ? Still, it was fun to hear this story in his own words from him so sheepishly the next morning :)

    Aparna, thanks... interesting like good interesting or ho-hum interesting.

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  17. Amazing Story and wonderful narration

    http://www,giztechnewz.blogspot.com

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  18. Wow...ain’t that a cute twist!
    I wish more Bollywood producers thought like you...
    N I especially appreciate the author’s note at the end...adds that last bite waala teekha tadka:-)

    You made me picture Simran, Raj n Prem...n even the yellow poppy fields...
    :-)

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  19. Suruchi, hehe.. thanks.. would have been awesome if they'd gotten married though, dont u think ?
    such a lovely change from the usual arranged weddings

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  20. i wish i could be this girl...

    so bold to enjoy a day with strangers...seems like she wants to enjoy life to the fullest like there is no tomorrow

    and she gets to marry her lover...wish my parents were that understanding...

    she reminds me of'geet' from jab we met...she is of the same having masti types

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  21. You know what.. you're 100% right. I really had Geet in mind while thinking of how different her lifestyle was from ours.. didn't include it cause I went with the DDLJ simile ( How could I resist ? They had the same name :D )

    But seriously, I doubt if we get to hear many such tales from down South, stereotyping aside... something I regret.

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  22. Lol! I knew you were going to twist the whole thing in between! Hats off! Enjoyed the read buddy!
    You should think of creating the RRF industry! (Pun intended!)

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    Replies
    1. Sigh.. with stuff like this happening in my real life, I wouldnt need to look far for inspiration, thats for sure :D

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