A lockdown wedding

COVID 19. A term all too familiar to everyone, from young to old. Of course we knew it'd have impacts, but no one knew it would be so far ranging, especially for us.
It resulted in a 'Corona wedding' of my elder sister, the first wedding in our family, which was expected to be a huge event.
So, my elder sister, (hereby referred to as Didi), was to marry in October, her MD finished and after having found 'the one' for her.
But, alas, some exams shifted and the next exam was to be in November, hence the before-thought date of October seemed impossible and we had to shift it to before. Now, if you've even been remotely involved in a marriage before, you'd know there are some auspicious dates when you can get married. And that date for us turned out to be the 26th of July.

Now, Didi is a practising doctor in GMCH-32 (the same hospital where I'm in my final year UG), and her moral obligation to the society at this time coupled with her wedding were at odds with each other. Yet we managed, with she shopping when she got a rare off and us trying to keep up when she couldn't scrape out time.

24th July, 2020.
A wedding isn't a small thing, and the preparations involved are immense. We'd booked our banquet hall before Covid struck, and with only 50 (later 30) people who could attend, it seemed farcical to hold it there.
Shopping had to be done in segments, with full masks, sanitisers, police at checkpoints and what-not. The hallowed 'shaadi-shopping' in Delhi could not be done and had to be settled in other places.
Sweets are a big part of any wedding, and now with people apprehensive, even they had to replaced, with chocolates and other treats.
I didn't know shopping before this, now I come to think of it. It's just enormous, and considering the many days we spent just to shop, it seems justified now.

We got a function booked (Sangeet and mehandi ceremony) at the venue booked for marriage, so that friends and relatives could at least enjoy in the festivities.
The next day, Punjab announces a maximum 30 people gathering. Being close to 20 only family ourselves, the idea had to be dropped yet again.

The Groom is in Coimbatore now. Pursuing a Fellowship in Radiology, getting holidays in this time of turmoil is tough enough.
But it's all worked out now, with him already here, and preparing for the wedding.

So now, even though he's clear legally, with a Covid negative test and all other precautions in place, and with the gathering now strictly limited to both families, we decided to shift the venue to Ambala (his hometown) cause there were some issues with inter-state travelling (the rules are all a huge mess, trust me).

The venue is now booked, the decorations final, neighbours informed, lights and home decoration in place, the only thing left is dance, fun and enjoyment, being close to Didi and making this wedding as grand as ever.

Tomorrow my Uncle, Aunt and brother would be arriving from Himachal, who have been given a 48 hour non-quarantine window. So they would only be able to participate in the last 2 days, while in ordinary circumstances, we would have had a month of enjoyment. But they actively played a part with the daily video calls and support in all aspects thanks to technology.

Let's see how the last two days pan out, the engagement followed by the Mehandi and Sangeet ending with the marriage itself.

Corona may have diluted the grandeur, but it just goes to show how such big events can be done without fuss, and with all the requisite ceremonies. The only thing lacking is the presence of friends and relatives, who would have to give their blessings over video call. Didi rues the fact that she couldn't invite her friends to add spice to the event, but everyone is understanding enough and have made their peace with the fact that another party might be in the offing in the near future.

Parties will come and go, but the people that matter, the stars of the day, the Bride and the Groom must be happy, which they are, and this is a wedding everyone will remember for long. One might forget a big fat Indian wedding, but a Corona Wedding? No, never.


25th July, 2020: The engagement. 

A great day, full of joy, not yet embracing the feeling of wedding, considering it as a party. 

All arrangements in place, the beautiful rings exchanged, and pleasantries and chit chat among the families, knowing each other better.

Rings being exchanged, a fun event

Evening, 25th July: 

The Mehandi and Sangeet ceremony:

After failing to get a venue booked due to the day to day varying rulings, we decided to hold the event at home itself. 

Home seemed pretty and with just family, the event took up a new charm, with songs being sung, everyone dancing, and a cheery air of happiness all around. 

Neighbours came to wish Didi, it was a boisterous affair, with Mom's friend, our Monika Ma'am, and Mami making the event as lively as possible. 

The 'Haldi' was fun too, taking turns to drowning Didi in Haldi and facing the repercussions of getting Haldi on ourselves too. 

All the ladies got their Mehandis done and were sitting daintily, laughing, smiling and dancing from their seats while the Mehandis dried. 

                       Getting her Mehandi done 

It was a great day, with us four siblings staying up late, talking, and then all of sudden everyone was asleep, too tired to do anything. 

A light moment at the Mehandi ceremony

 Mamu and Mami making Didi wear the 'Chuda'

The four siblings, been through countless adventures

  26th July, 2020. The D Day- The wedding. 

Everybody woke up really early, with the elders being up by 4:30 and us by 5. 

Soon the ladies were at the parlour, and the remaining people just bustling on with last minute prep. 

Soon everyone had gone, with me and Bhai remaining behind to pick Didi up from the parlour and take her to her wedding. 

We picked Didi up, and sped away, talking throughout the way, a little leg pulling about her make-up (of course, courtesy of every brother) and soon we reached, shepherding her to her room at the hall, where she was to have a small photo shoot. 

                          On our way (Yo Corona)

The wedding all in all, was a smooth affair, beginning with the Ribbon cutting, greeting everyone, then settling for breakfast. After that the rituals started, with the groom being called first, later joined by the bride. With all the events going smoothly. I could pen down all the incidents, but I can save the reader's time by merely illustrating the day. 

Me and Bhai with the groom, after the baraat arrived. 
(P.s. The banter between him and Didi is easy going and fun) 

The 'Varmala' ceremony

A photograph at the wedding

Before the wedding commenced 

Trying to hide tears at the vidaai but failing miserably 

Shout-out to Pandit Ji, for humourously explaining the wedding incantations, with elders reminiscing their weddings and making it a humorous event. 

P.s. Successful Juta Churai (It's a humorous story for another time)

Post wedding thoughts- 31st July, 2020. 

Inspite of the Covid time, all the preparations were done with enthusiasm, and all the events went just perfect, with only family involved. Little did I know how heart wrenching it would be at the end. Shedding tears unashamedly, I saw Didi go, on her journey to a new beginning.

The initial days were sad, seemed like Didi would be there just barging into the room.
Of course it seemed childish, but it was this way. I was sad and home was a quieter place.

After a couple days, bonding with both of them at the 'phera', seeing her happiness, I'm happy, and I'm confident that the both of them will soon be a force to reckon with.
I wish them the best of luck and I know it will be all too soon when we're all sitting together, laughing and reminiscing about this wonderful lockdown wedding.

P.S. Small weddings make happy weddings!

YouTube Vs TikTok: Unnecessary

First of all, WHY? 

1. TikTok is a growing Chinese brand, and although content-wise, it can never match up to the sheer quality of YouTube, but the subscriber and the viewer-ship base is close.
So, when YouTubers saw TikTokers earning a good amount of money by just lip-syncing and not having much content (like creativity-wise), they were appalled and a slew of roasts were made up and put up all over YouTube. Some were in provocation of videos made in TikTok while others were not. 

2. With the lockdown in India and more and more people just glued to their phone screens, everyone took to the fight, rooting for their side.
(Kudos to productivity) 

3.The climax reached with CarryMinati's video: YouTube Vs TikTok, The End.
In this, he roasts a particular TikToker, Amir Siddiqui, line by line, who was defending TikTok and subtly demeaning YouTube and boasting about his brand engagements. 

CarryMinati's viral video: YouTube Vs TikTok

Outcome: 

• The video was widely hailed by the YouTube community with fellow YouTubers sharing it, from Amit Bhadana, Ashish Chanchlani, Elvish Yadav and so on. 

• CarryMinati's subscriber base doubled and garnered him the most views ever- a whopping 70 million. 

• Instagram was flooded with memes and Twitter was burgeoning with tweets in support of both sides (some claim Twitter won the battle between YouTube and TikTok xD) 

• Carry's channel received the most dreaded THIRD STRIKE today, on complaint of the YouTube channel 'Baap of Bakchod'. Three strikes mean your channel will be terminated in a week, unless the compainant chooses to take back the strike. This is disheartening, because his content is great and has garnered a lot of following.

CarryMinati in his emotional video: 'Stop Making Assumptions' post the third strike

Who is right?

No one is. This is a fruitless discussion, just feeding on egos of individuals who like a particular thing. It did not give Amir Siddiqui the right to demean YouTube and he even provocated Carry saying he'd love a roast video as it'll increase his viewership. Carry wasn't right too in roasting an individual, knowing that his channel has a broad viewership and can be detrimental and spread hate for the person.
Either way, this DOES NOT matter. What matters is a healthy roasting session between the two, which would give rise to a stem of creativity in the Indian scenario. Taking it sportingly, and laughing at their own roasts should be the key, and yes, the personal attacks could be reduced. This would motivate people to bring up more content, and more entertainment, and India rising in the global ranks of YouTube, because currently Indian viewership forms the bulwark of views on Indian channels, as complained by foreign YouTubers.

Take home lesson:

Neither is bad, it's a personal preference, like I prefer YouTube but it doesn't mean I would demean the other party. Even if I do, it would be in the form of light-hearted roasting, and not as a personal attack, and would take it sportingly if they roast YouTube, and try to come up with a better comeback :)) 

Best outcome: 

Strike taken back, but video deleted, Carry gives an explanation as to his correct meaning and everyone starts to get back on with their lives. 

Break the monotony during the COVID Lockdown!

As the present day goes, all of us have been confined to the walls of our homes, as a precautionary measure against the Corona Virus. We are fulfilling our duty, practicing social distancing to help protect others, but this can turn out to be monotonous. We are looking forward to a little more than a couple of weeks of counting the wall tiles now. How to spend our days in isolation? There's nothing new in what I did, but well, reading and seeing this would be like a feel-good factor for everyone, plus, this would be better than fake WhatsApp messages about treatments discovered :P

1. Spend time with family: Can't stress on this enough. You know you've wanted this for long, and now when it is here, spend as much time with them as you can. They're not as bad as you think :)))

                

2. Read: We've given ample reasons for not reading enough novels and books- college, work, school and impending deadlines. You've got no excuse now, so get into comfy pyjamas and go read that book which you've skimmed through for long. (You may even re-read old novels :D )

     
Skim through the books, (E-books or hard bound) and find the one you'd enjoy


                

A cozy corner I've made for myself, curl up with a good book here. 

3. Workout (atleast try): All of us thought that we'd be working out at home and show a transformed being by the end of this lockdown. The reality- reaching out for a midnight snack while watching a Netflix series. So we all really need to work on that.

4. Cooking: When Swiggy and Zomato took a break, you thought life turned tasteless. But then a thought arose, you can cook yourself too! Utilise this time to learn new and healthy recipes, and cook yourself to fitness! (Everyone is entitled to some (maybe more) cheat meals!)

                       
                             

          

Some energy bars we made at home 

5. Play games with fam: Bring down that box of Jenga from the dusty shelf that has been raring to be used for long, grab that pack of cards that you didn't know you had and spend a leisurely evening, reminiscing about the time you had as Summer Vacations as kids :)

                    

Also, apps like Pysch and Taboo are great for playing at home.


                             


6. Appreciate nature: No, this does not mean being a wanderlust and going out for a trek, it means lying in the afternoon and watching the sky. You may have heard the birds chirp in the morning, they seem to be happy with this situation, the air seems cleaner and the silence for them is bliss. Lie down on the roof and see the stars at night, or watch this ever changing pattern of weather from rain at one moment to sunshine at the next. (What are the heavens upto?)

                 

Yesterday and today: The weather sure is playing games 

Look at this beautiful image. With the AQI getting better, you can appreciate the celestial bodies clearly 

7. Organise your workspace: Granted you may not have an immediate deadline, but the least you can do is organise your work, so that when this ends, it would be easier to start afresh :D

                 

Might seem tough initially, but would be worth the effort

8. Go green: Water your plants, plant some andmore and tend to them. It can be your garden, your flower pots or your table plant. Every plant needs care. This will give you a better perspective and a fresher look at life.

    

9. Music and shows: Yes, of course, you're watching Netflix, Amazon Prime or catching up on movies. Of course you're playing PUBG, and you're definitely using social media with never ending tags and checking on bingos. I know most of your sleep cycles have been reversed and you guys want to sleep but can't. Stay away from it a bit and you'll see that you'll be able to go through your day better.
Remember excess of anything is too bad, use this time to detox from all this rather than getting into it.

  

So, make the most of your day, call up old buddies and text them as to how they're doing, remember, we tend to forget in our routine about how important it can be to ask for the welfare of those that matter.

 Take care, and don't go out for non-essential things even if the curfew has been lifted in some places.

Respect those who are working for you even in this tumultuous time, by not going out.