(Unedited by EpoKalayanam & straight from the heart)
HOW WE MET
I was so adamant that i didnt want to get married to a doctor…my prilim filter was always a complete no to doctors…little did i know that i was going to end up with one for the rest of my life…with all due respect to the doctors out there,however, i just thought that doctors were always married to their profession and had no life outside medical books and hospitals…but not untill i met my ‘achacha’ , my husband…
he send me a friend request on fb,,i obviously ignored …he was a stranger to me…however we had a mutual friend…my second cousin and his school mate…he used this mutual friend to get through to me..gathered all info about me ,,,well as much as he could and then got my cousin to get me to accept his friend request…
then for ajay’s sake i accepted his friend request…ajay had explained his interest …
but after i accepted his friends request there was no messages or move from his end…he was online….but no poke or messages..so i presumed it was just a random hit..not a serious one…
after about a couple of hour he messaged…i had no interest in this doctor but somehow i awaited for his messages…i dont know what you call it…that night i dreamt of him…it was like my grandad’appachan’ came and told me that he is the one…this was my breakthrough…
next day he messaged…and we started talking…we just didnt know how to stop from then…our conversations were endless..i could talk to him about anything and everything with no inhibition…something deep within me longed to hear his voice ….to talk to him..i wanted to open up and unwind all my insecurities and wounds and he felt like the safest haven…he came like the protector..the man that would lift me up when i fall…take me and love me for the me….he loved the scars that i had in me more than my blushing cheeks…he enjoyed watching me smile than going to sleep….for the first time in my life i started to experience unconditional love…he had all of him to give with no expectations…a month passed by and i decided to tell my parents about him…
EVENTS THAT LED TO MARRIAGE FIXATION
Like i mentioned earlier, it was my grandads dream that confirmed that he was the one for me..we live in the UK …my parents live here and his parents live in kerala…the only way to meet his parents was to travel to india….my dad went to india for my grandads(my guardian angel who communicated that he was the one!!!)1 year death anniversary and a week after this function my dad met with his parents to discuss…..we both were very anxious about the outcome of the meeting because his parents had never met me or spoke to me in person…..he was very tensed about the decision..he was in the hospital rounds and in between visiting the hospital chapel to pray that the outcome turns out to be positive…he couldnt hold the anticapation in for long that he called me upto the hospital to have lunch together in the hospital mess..so i dressed up and got to the hospital where he works to have lunch together and ease off the tension….the minute we sat down for lunch, my phone buzzed…it was a text from pappa…eagerly i opened the text message…it read’ sherins wedding fixed ‘ sunday 30th july at st george orthodox church…i was reading out loud and we couldnt hold the excitment in…i hugged him in front of his work colleagues without a care in the world about what they felt…the joy ,i still cannot explain…
WEDDING SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
3 months before the wedding i travelled to kerala to do my wedding shopping..i was very pessimistic about what kerala had to offer to start with…not many good designers or labels in kerala…with my mother in law and aunty, i decided to hunt for a lehenga for the wedding eve and a lace fabric saree…in the mean time i was suggested “pranaah by poornima indrajith” by an acquaint and had fixed an appointment with her for the evening..throughout the day we browsed a hundred and one stores…nothing caught my eye a 100% and it felt like they were all delivering pre scripted sarees and lehengas..nothing personal..nothing intricate..i was very dissappointed… i was infact planning on coming back to the uk and then taking another week off from work to go to either mumbai or delhi to do my wedding shopping…i was backing my gut instincts that kerala wasnt the best place for wedding shopping…but only untill i met poornima…i arrived at her boutique and as soons as we started talking i gathered some kind of relief…it was like ,thank god , for the first time today i am talking to someone who has a grasp of knowledge about fabrics and how they flow ……phew!!!! she could customize it…took on borad my fuzzy inputs and gave her expertise inSIGHTS….and i was convinced that she would bring out exactly what i wanted…she HADa dazzillion number of suggestions and she could read my mind and taste very well…i left her boutique in peace…i knew that i could fly back to the uk in peace…i booked the wedding eve lehenga and wedding day white saree with poornima…it was such a relief…
WEDDING EVE
I hail from a traditional christian family in kottayam…(zone of traditional christian heritage)…
on the wedding eve , the brides mother sprinkles blessed curry leaves dipped in water…..feeds the bride blessed banana soaked in sweet syrup …..
I wanted a wedding eve that looked goldy red …fairy warm lights filling my house….my family dressed in red,orange and magenta…these colours complements gold fairy lights very well…i wanted it to look sun kissed..an evening that glowed along with bright colours that illuminated the place…
i was dressing in my room and i could head people outside…..
my cousins and nephews and nieces lined up outside my room with lit candles in their hands to lead me to the wedding eve stage…
they walked me up to the stage along with my family…pappa,mummy,brother sister,uncle and grand mom….
then there was a short prayer ,then mummy blessed me in the traditional way…then a lot of relatives gifted me gold rings and bangles etc….
the funniest part of the WEDDING EVE part was that, it rained that whole week in Kerala..we were all worried about a rain because the stage was an open stage in the sides and people would get wet …..
but again as if appachan was blessing us from above surpoundously…there was no rain that entire day..not even a drop of rain the entire day……
as the programme was reaching closure. after everyone left..there was a slight bliss of rain…soft raindrops felt and looked more like a blessing from heaven…fairy lights were still on …rain drops through the glowing golden lights hitting the bushes and grasses in our garden looked serene…the feeling was heavenly.. the soil in our garden was slightly wet and all us cousin rushed to the garden along with the singing troop to dance in the rain…my heels buried itself in the soil while i was dancing and i couldn’t move. lol .but i just kept dancing….it felt like the rain that came as a blessing like in the movie lagaan…i danced my heart out with my cousins…mummy and aunties were shouting…’your lehenga is going to get dirty and wet’..i didn’t care …just continued dancing my heart out…..ahhh!!!! what a blessed feeling….
END OF WEDDING EVE!!!!! sweating and tired but a heart full of loud laughter and excitement…THE sweet rain brought a good closure to the day…
WEDDING DAY
I couldn’t believe that I was going to get married .. it all seemed unreal .. felt really cool and relaxed .. no tension .. no stress .. but excitement for sure ..
but I saw tension in my fathers face .. I guess he started to feel a sense of him giving his daughter away from the morning itself … he was getting over protective and caring from the morning .. he wanted everything to be perfect and everything to go as planned .. I was still cool … I was the one calming pappa down .. my uncle on the other hand took charge of all the other responsibilities and managing everything …. the minute our car turned to the road that led to the church where the wedding was going to take place ,,, I felt deep tightness in my chest .. reality struck .. excitement and shock at the same time .. for the first time it actually felt like I was going to get married .. we arrived first ..me and my family …
I eagerly waited in the car for him to arrive .. my heart beat started rushing in the wait for him to arrive ..
About 10-15 mins later his car arrived ..
My heart started to beat even faster .. we both got lead out of the car by our parents and the minute i saw his face , the whole world came and stopped at that very point .. I was filled with joy and immense emotions.. but I couldn’t stop smiling ..
The funniest part on the wedding day was that I didn’t know exactly when the taali would be tied,,,,in between the ceremony.. the bishop calls us both individually forward and puts a blessed chain around our neck.. first he was called forward for blessing the chain with a cross and he was send back .. then I got called
Forward and once the chain was blessed put around me , …I was getting prepared to go back to my position .. the bishop knew I was going to go back .. he asked me to stay behind and not to go back .. that’s when I realised that it was time for my groom to tie the taali around my neck .. like I waited a whole lifetime for that very moment … I felt soo contempt and reassured ..I loved it when he tied the taali around me .. the bishop knew how I felt… he had a cheeky smile on his face .
Then he put the blessed pattu saree around my head that I changed into later …
Epo Kalyanam 