Some twenty years ago I lived in a small town called ‘Mandi’. It is a quiet and lesser knows towns in the picturesque state of Himachal Pradesh. The city is near to the very famous Kullu - Manali stations and IIT has opened in the district. Other than the above two, there is simply nothing out of the ordinary.
I was here a great while back. The memories I have of this place are all of daily life - visit to the temple, visit to the market, celebrating festivals in the colony, pretending to be detectives in school, eating, celebrating local festivities, and the other memories that my parents have implanted in my mind from the stories heard and re-heard a countless times.
Yet Mandi remains to be one place I feel at home. It is one place that I am always eager to see. Every time that I am here, it feels like I had never left. I don’t know everyone here and I constantly get the facts incorrect. The feeling still doesn’t recede.
Today I am here to witness a wedding. Wedding of our then neighbours’ son. My parents love these people. Apparently they had been wonderful while we were here and I am supposed to have countless memories with them. They have also stayed in touch for the twenty years - sufficient time for anyone to forget the other.
The wedding is a simple affair. These people are rich but this is not the rich wedding that I am used to. This wedding was rich but in some other manner. It was rich in emotions, rich with happiness and rich with people who genuinely were there to spread happiness and bless the couple.
And this is what makes Mandi unique. Everyone here is genuinely happy about the wedding. The bride and the groom (or at least one) knows every person present to witness the matrimony. Instead of investing in decorations or the number of dishes for every function, the family has ensured that no guest remains unattended. They are spending as much time with everyone as possible. People are genuinely welcoming you as you meet and greet them.
There is music. The groom ensures that his to he better half doesn’t feel lost in the swarms of people from his end. He ensures to meet the family from her side. At his home, the groom is busy getting the room decorated for all the girls to get their selfies clicked. The food is simple and delicious than being large number of dishes with the task to find one to eat.
And don’t misunderstand me! Its not like the decorations were not there. Being a small town populated on both banks of Vyasa river, the decorations of the house or of the banquet hall were visible to anyone and everyone in the city. For anyone in the town, it was hard to miss that the wedding was happening. They house shone brighter than the brightest star in the sky. On the day of the wedding, everyone marched to the main market where the procession gathered and people danced. It was like the whole city was there. And don’t even ask about the fireworks! The fireworks were magnificent and continued for so long that everyone in the neighbouring towns must also gave seen them.
It was a wedding anyone would love to have!
Of course there were exceptions! You are to find them everywhere. The exceptions tried to make space for themselves removing the others aside. But unlike what I am used to, they didn’t try to ruin anyone else’s moment or anyhow create problem for the bride or the groom.
It was the first time when I saw the groom’s father stand outside his home for all the days of the function to welcome everyone. It was the first time I saw the groom’s father check all the arrangements done by the caterer since the bride’s family was not local and they had paid for the arrangement. It was the first time I saw the groom’s father go and hug his son and daughter in law when she climbed the stage. It was the first time when I saw the groom’s family scolding the hotel staff for not attending to the bride’s guests. It was the first time the family introduced their other samdhis with a pride not paralleled. It was the first time for a lot of things.
Moreover when I was leaving Mandi, we went to bid farewell to the family, I had tears and it felt like I was the one being bid farewell from my house than the bride.
It was not a wedding but an experience that is going to be treasured forever.
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