Larka, Larki Aur Smartee

dear shehlah
this was lovely...i loved every minute of reading it...i have always maintained my wedding will be me, my man, our parents and one buddy each..now im sorely tempted to have one big, fat, vulgar wedding
write more, lots more
cheers

p.s: amma beti crying scene and transition from larka to mylarka was stupendous...

Extremely funny article. Liked the way author narrates the story :-)

very cute

Wonderful! A great sense of humor running throughout and some great lines; a made up face that a tear could not escape from, final conversation with God, primal with rings-hope to read more soon!
Liked the Smarties running joke...

Shehlah:

welcome back!....read one third...will finish it later today...liked the little i read...more later

...t

Very entertaining article.

Congratulations on your marraige. Seems like you are quite happy with your husband. This is the highest number of rasms I have ever heard of. Is this Hyderabad, Sind or Hyderabad India, or rasms of Hyderabad, India in Hyderabad Sind?

``naked men and an equally rude Urdu idiom``

What is the Urdu idiom?

Smoothly flowing narration garnished with wonderful sense of humour. A
little editing could have helped though. By the way, the word ``paaon maiz``, is it a corruption of the word ``pai-maaish`` meaning to measure. And saving all that gold was hilarious.

Shehla,

This was excellent. Really enjoyed reading it. Do write more.

Aamir

Okay, this marriage was ``arranged`` without the guy and girl even talking to each other??? I went back and read the initial part again.

The author only met the boy once, that too with the whole family sitting there? What kind of conversation would take place with the whole family sitting there?? We have arranged marriages too, but that means the boy and girl are introduced to each other and they go out on their own a few times and see for themselves the level of compatibility.

Some pls explain...

LOL....this is way too funny...ya know i was anticipating all these rasms for my sister at her wedding...didnt happen cuz i found out later on tht her susral was from lucknow...still she practically got away with murder in lucknavi tradition...refused to ger her nose pierced and her in-laws were totally cool about it! :p

keep writing....

rgds,
samina

STUKA!!!!!

I am in Delhi (ok, in Palam Vihar, Haryana....) till Dec 21, except for about ten days at the beginning of Dec when I`m in Bombay/Pune. Gimme call on 636 9395. Use the Haryana area code (look it up in book :-)). Talk soon!

Hello all and thank you for your generous praise!

Re cheese: Oh you MUST embrace a big fat lavish vulgar wedding. Keep our/your culture alive ... pls!

Re t: Would love to read a critique from you!

Re Romair: All these rasms are from Hyderabad Deccan (India). And the idiom is ``Is hammam mein sab nangay hain``. This pakki karachiite finds it very entertaining to read ``yahan garam hammam hai`` signs outside not-so-swank babers` shops and hence the conjured up images.... *eeks....*

Re: Banjara: Thanks for that info on Paoon Maiz, had no idea as to its roots.

Btw, am not married! (but the rasms are for real) :)

...shehlah....sounds exhuasting but i loved it...this`s exactly the kind of wedding i want...big and vulgar:)...

Very sweet.

Any attempt to keep the wedding traditions, rasms and rituals alive is appreciable, but lets not forget the massive financial burden it puts on the families (probably more true for larkiwallays in our culture) before, during and after the wedding. The familiar trappings of a traditional wedding have caused untold heartaches and wastage, especially for poor nations such as ours. Other than that, I agree that these small and insignificant rituals bring much joy to a people for whom entertainment is an endangered species.

Shehlah-

Oh my Gosh! This was better than a piece of cake during my Roza! I love that you focused on all of the rituals, so liveley and important to keeping your rich and astonishing culture alive! It`s so important in the world today to remember our roots and traditions.

Your details were so vivid, we felt as if we were a part of this wedding.

Wonderful writing technique and amazing humor all added to the mazing attempt at letting us be apart of your BIG FAT HYDERABADI WEDDING!

Bravo!