Time: May 1-3, 2018 (engagement) & Feb 20-22, 2019 (wedding)
Place: Udupi
Company: Parents (engagement) & alone (wedding)
Occasion: Cousin's engagement ceremony & wedding
Highlights:
Engagement:
Cousin's engagement ceremony at Udupi necessitated a second Udupi trip this year within a short interval. A simple itinerary: Bangalore to Mangalore in train (couldn't get seats till Udupi) on 1st night, took bus to Udupi on 2nd morn. Arrived at the ceremony just in time at about 11ish. Participated in the ceremony, then lunch. Quick and easy visit to Lord Krishna at the temple, back to the room for a siesta. I then headed back to Bangalore via Udupi-Mangalore (General quota train) and Mangalore-Bangalore (Sleeper RAC turned CNF) while parents stayed over for an additional day.
Wife and daughter missing since they had to go to Hubli on same day to attend wife's cousin's thread ceremony. So we practically separated at the Bangalore railway station (my train was first to depart on 1st) and we joined back at the Yeswantpur railway station (again my train was first to arrive on 3rd). Hence, in effect, we all left home together and we came back home together!
Important event - I was away from my wife and daughter for more than one night after almost 3 years (last time was in May 2015 India trip)! Result? Another teary-eyed father-missing moment for daughter! :-)
Wedding:
Since my going to the wedding was on tenterhooks till the last minute, had not booked mode of transport. So on Feb 20th, went to Majestic and heard the conductor shouting 'Mangalore, Udupi', etc. and boarded the bus. I do this so rarely! I guess last time I went traveling without reservation was in Jan 2007! Once again (like engagement) I went alone without wife and daughter - because of school.
The bus journey overnight was not so comfortable as expected. I had not taken an overnight bus journey since such a long time that I do not even remember the last time! Not just the uncomfortable sitting position but bladder issue too - with no convenient and clean rest stops, the night becomes very hard to pass! Finally reached at 5 am, quickly went to the hotel where parents were spending overnight, refreshed and ran to the mantap hall. Apparently another cousin's son of mine was undergoing upanayanam nearby, so went there first. That done, rushed to another mantap where the wedding was underway. Wedding formalities were super traditional and hundredrs of slokas were chanted like vedic chanting by lots of achars - including the groom (my cousin) who is super proficient in slokas. Breakfast, lunch, dinner all happened in due course and in typical Udupi manner - 100s of items served in little quantities!
The heat and the humidity goes unsaid. We were all sweating big time! After the wedding, helped little in offloading and loading stuffs like gifts, etc. Then took a short siesta before another of my cousin wanted us to all to go to the beach! So, we all went to the Malpe beach in the auto. Spent some nice time with cousins - after a really long time.
We came back and once again my cousin pushed us all to go for Rath Yatra - or chariot pulling. Now I had no intention of doing all of this but thanks to her, it was an exhilarating experience! That chariot is REALLY HEAVY! Hundreds of us pulled and pulled and pulled and it barely moved! Finally it started rolling while our sweat started pouring out as if we were having bath! Finally succeeded in pulling the chariot two sides of the square Temple car street.
That done, went back to the room for a quick shower. And then took the bus back to Bangalore. This bus (which was AC sleeper) was arranged by my uncle for all us Bangalore folks. So it was a private bus. Good thing was company and hmm thing was the time. No one respected the time of departure. As a result, we left almost at 10 am and I knew by the time I reached home it would be late. As expected, reached outskirts of the city only at 7 am. By the time I reached home, it was almost 9 am. Nevertheless, it was a wedding that I would not have missed - and one more trip that would be cherished all my life especially because of the Rath Yatra and the Malpe beach...
Place: Udupi
Company: Parents (engagement) & alone (wedding)
Occasion: Cousin's engagement ceremony & wedding
Highlights:
Engagement:
Cousin's engagement ceremony at Udupi necessitated a second Udupi trip this year within a short interval. A simple itinerary: Bangalore to Mangalore in train (couldn't get seats till Udupi) on 1st night, took bus to Udupi on 2nd morn. Arrived at the ceremony just in time at about 11ish. Participated in the ceremony, then lunch. Quick and easy visit to Lord Krishna at the temple, back to the room for a siesta. I then headed back to Bangalore via Udupi-Mangalore (General quota train) and Mangalore-Bangalore (Sleeper RAC turned CNF) while parents stayed over for an additional day.
Wife and daughter missing since they had to go to Hubli on same day to attend wife's cousin's thread ceremony. So we practically separated at the Bangalore railway station (my train was first to depart on 1st) and we joined back at the Yeswantpur railway station (again my train was first to arrive on 3rd). Hence, in effect, we all left home together and we came back home together!
Important event - I was away from my wife and daughter for more than one night after almost 3 years (last time was in May 2015 India trip)! Result? Another teary-eyed father-missing moment for daughter! :-)
Wedding:
Since my going to the wedding was on tenterhooks till the last minute, had not booked mode of transport. So on Feb 20th, went to Majestic and heard the conductor shouting 'Mangalore, Udupi', etc. and boarded the bus. I do this so rarely! I guess last time I went traveling without reservation was in Jan 2007! Once again (like engagement) I went alone without wife and daughter - because of school.
The bus journey overnight was not so comfortable as expected. I had not taken an overnight bus journey since such a long time that I do not even remember the last time! Not just the uncomfortable sitting position but bladder issue too - with no convenient and clean rest stops, the night becomes very hard to pass! Finally reached at 5 am, quickly went to the hotel where parents were spending overnight, refreshed and ran to the mantap hall. Apparently another cousin's son of mine was undergoing upanayanam nearby, so went there first. That done, rushed to another mantap where the wedding was underway. Wedding formalities were super traditional and hundredrs of slokas were chanted like vedic chanting by lots of achars - including the groom (my cousin) who is super proficient in slokas. Breakfast, lunch, dinner all happened in due course and in typical Udupi manner - 100s of items served in little quantities!
We came back and once again my cousin pushed us all to go for Rath Yatra - or chariot pulling. Now I had no intention of doing all of this but thanks to her, it was an exhilarating experience! That chariot is REALLY HEAVY! Hundreds of us pulled and pulled and pulled and it barely moved! Finally it started rolling while our sweat started pouring out as if we were having bath! Finally succeeded in pulling the chariot two sides of the square Temple car street.
That done, went back to the room for a quick shower. And then took the bus back to Bangalore. This bus (which was AC sleeper) was arranged by my uncle for all us Bangalore folks. So it was a private bus. Good thing was company and hmm thing was the time. No one respected the time of departure. As a result, we left almost at 10 am and I knew by the time I reached home it would be late. As expected, reached outskirts of the city only at 7 am. By the time I reached home, it was almost 9 am. Nevertheless, it was a wedding that I would not have missed - and one more trip that would be cherished all my life especially because of the Rath Yatra and the Malpe beach...
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