Frenchman & I: Mom, Dad: We would like to get married.


Mom: *Sniff* *sniff* Lovely, lovely!


Frenchman & I: Mom, dad, we would like have a simple wedding.


Mom: Yes, your wedding will be small and simple. We will only invite immediate family and close friends. There’s your two sisters and brother-in-law and  your fifty cousins, your dozens of uncles and aunties, all your classmates from college, your colleagues, all your other friends, our neighbors…


Me: What? What happened to small and simple?

I’ve always wanted a simple wedding. In fact, if I had my way, my wedding reception would be on a beautiful shore with my closest friends, my twin and her boyfriend, my older sister, her husband and their kid, the Frenchman’s friends, his parents and mine. But I didn’t want my Mom to hate me.

And hence the last days of my sanity ended and our crazy wedding planning began. We had to be creative in making our wedding meaningful and elegant.

We chose a place that my father had no problem booking with a good discount. It’s a small ground. And we decided to have an outdoor wedding with a minister present to solemnize the occasion.

Getting my wedding dress made at the same place my best friend, Runa, got hers done.

The bridesmaids went ahead and got their dresses stitched in the colour I chose.

I got my wedding cards custom-made according to the wedding theme. The Frenchman designed the content. And my dad and bro-in-law got them printed out.

My sisters got all the souvenirs (thank you cards) made.

My folks and the Frenchman took care of the wedding rings.

Sound systems are going to be provided by a good friend from my local church.

Three of my friends are going to sing at the wedding for free.

We’re going to have three friends who will photograph the entire event and so they were free too.

A friend’s mom from church will arrange the flowers and the décor needed for the wedding.

We’re going to hire a nice white car and decorate it according to the theme of the wedding.

So for a whole month, we deliberated, booked, designed, invited, mailed, budgeted, paid, you know the lot. We also had to do the socials that came with every wedding like the bachelorette where I received kinky products and lingerie from my well-meaning friends, apparently to teach me…umm… how to be kinky?

If all that wasn’t stressful enough, we also have to prepare and process all our documents: marriage certificates, visas, clearances (that was the bloodiest), etc.

On top of everything, I continued working in the office… until today. Eeeeesh!!

4 days before the wedding and I’m packing up my stuff to move out after March 5th (while Mom sniffles at the corner). Here, the Frenchman and I begin our journey of a lifetime for our life together.

So here’s to me and my Frenchman! (Clink!)

To the people who read this page, don’t think that I’ve disappeared… I’m still here… lurking on your blogs… laughing out loud, nodding, shaking my head, tut-tutting, being proud of all of you and egging you guys on.

And now, I’ve got a handful of days for the big ceremony that’s approaching. Will be back to blogging a little after the weddings (I hope…) for next time… the Miss Married Chronicles.

The past month was filled with unforgettable music. As I was pouring over all of the great songs I began agonizing (often vocally to my husband) about how I was possibly going to choose which songs I like that would make the wedding list. So below I present to you the one such fruit of this labor.

This track titled 'Coming Home' by Diddy sits at number one on my list because every time I hear it, it contributes something new, yet cohesive, to the listening experience. The following track is an Arion Dubstep remix and it’s one of my new favourites.

To my husband.

I've been hearing friends telling me that they’re going to get hitched. My best friend, Runa being one of them. It's been a very cool experience watching these people in relationships and now finally seeing them getting married. Seeing the setbacks are humbling because it's never that easy making up your mind to settle down; but seeing them downright happy is a great feeling.

It's exciting but at the same time, a little sad. Everyone's growing up, including me. It's weird. You dream about it as a kid, living it up with some Prince Charming for the rest of your life. It's harder than it looks, and when you reach that point you think, "Wait, what? When did I become a grown-up?" It's a wake up call: you're not an adolescent anymore. You have the C-word. Compromise.

I'll always be a kid at heart though. Heck, I still laugh at "huffle puff" and will always do "That's what she said." But getting married... you can't help being more serious and a little less fun. Except I tell myself, ‘you just live it up. Embrace it and keep on laughing’.


(Click to view close up)

I think cinnamon rolls are a hidden treasure. They're my favorite. What's yours?


Off the fourth album by Lifehouse, Who We Are – ‘Come Back Down’ is quite simply a brilliant single. Other than that very serious statement (one which I have contemplated over for the past) I cannot figure out what else precisely confines the mood of this song. I’m struggling with how best to summarize a track that is beautiful, affecting, and dazzling throughout quite literally every single note. It’s a single so good, so undeniable; it forces me to go back to my old ways of literally forcing everyone I know to listen to it from start to finish. It’s a single that is so well created that I’ve listened to it now about twenty times.

For reference the following statements say nothing about the actual sound of the band, the type of music they produce, but it’s the easiest way for me to explain how. It’s well crafted and worth listening to, the song is infused with magnificent lyrics and it’s so epic and so moving you’re required to start it over again and again and again.

Why do people HAVE to get married???

One of my best friends in school got engaged yesterday and when a friend gets engaged, there's only one proper reaction: TERROR. Engagement is often the doorway to matrimony; the foremost reason of monogamy. And as someone who really despises marriage I would choose to prevent it or stay far away from it.
The fact that my twin and I are eligible young women in the ripe age of 25 means that at family gatherings we get a lot of advice from people we would try and avoid on the street if we saw them. They begin by asking about my job and then eventually bring up available men. Family friends’ sons, their son, sons of their friends, or ‘this-person-they-know’.
They ask us for our tastes in men: Appearance? Behavior? Aged or (yeah, I don’t get a choice in the other department). I say, “Money”, but they know me well enough to know I’m teasing. A joke to bury my response, for to disclose myself in this way is to reveal a weakness. So they tiptoe around the matter and ask me if I like anyone, imagining that if I tell them about a person I’m attracted to, they’ll be able to make out what person I’m searching for. It’s knotty, I think to myself, and reply with a sharp “No”. They ask me if anyone likes me. “No”. That’s even more knotted up.
Last week, my groom finder (yes, I have one. All thanks to my lovely folks) asked me how old I was. “25″, I told him, “Still, only 25”. “Well”, he says, “we’ll find someone for you now and by the time you’re 27 you’ll be all settled down. It’s time for you to get married. So don’t put this off”. He says a couple of Naga boys; he knows of, are looking to settle down with someone here. My older sister walks in and announces, “There won’t be another Naga in this family. One is enough.” Phew! Thank god for her big mouth. That ended the conversation for now.

My parents and their friends who regularly visit our home tell me that they want to make sure I don’t get involved with the wrong type of men. Someone who will take our money once we’re married, or force me to stay with him once he traps me with children. I want to tell them, that I hate the thought of having kids of my own, but I shut up because that could stir another riot. They go on to tell me that I need my parents full approval if I want to get married to someone and if I have someone in mind I should bring him to meet them, to make sure they’re okay with it.

I wonder; is love this easy for other people? Something others can control, when I can’t control it myself?

I get very nervous and fearful when I’m at the office nowadays. This is because I don’t like to admit to myself that something’s wounding me, but when I’m there, it’s a very real reminder that I have problems with my work.

I’m at odds on more than a few concerns but let’s not get into it. Moving on to the MUZICK!!!

Hailing from the streets of Georgia ‘The Dead Confederate’ has been making gorgeous rock/ psychedelic music for the last 3 years. Props go to my beautiful ears for singling out this band and today I’ll be playing you guys a track called ‘Rat’, that got them sup-ah famous this summer. With the huge exposure this track acquired, I’m sure they won’t have a problem earning fans. Their sound is brooding and melancholic, not in an overly bleak way but more so thoughtful and reflective. It’s definitely not music you’ll want to blast out in the car, but for those quiet moments in-between (best experienced on headphones). So, yea, I’m really digging it. You can count me as one of those who have utterly fallen for this band.

Ryan Star and My Thoughts on Marriage...Again

My dad’s sisters and brothers came home the other day and while my Khasi side of the family is pretty cool, the pure tamilians aren’t. They’re always asking me why I don’t have a boyfriend that I can settle down with soon. I always shock them by telling them I’m involved with someone casually and we try to keep it fun and effortless. That always leaves them convinced that my soul’s been sold to the west and its wild ways. Why I don’t have a boyfriend? Hmmm… right now, I can say that my life’s reasonably busy and I know from experience that having a serious boyfriend is something you have to be ready for and something that one cannot get into nonchalantly. It takes some effort to do it right and make sure everyone’s happy (that doesn’t just include you and him but your parents, siblings and most importantly, your friends). I’m getting used to the idea that I don’t need someone in my life at all times. Being single is becoming more my natural state but as I get older that is changing (in a week and a half I hit the big two five). I imagine I will get married at some point in time when I loosen up on the fact that marriage is a trap that a lot of people get caught in. Did I just sound preachy?

I’m off to Ash’s place tomorrow. Its girl’s night tomorrow. It’ll feel just like the old days when I was stuck at her place to finish advertising projects and we’d crack up on men, fashion and food. I’m bringing Xanax and she’ll probably get Valium. Endless tea sessions. Music and my humor should get the party started. Yay!

The brief moment of excitement by that exclamation point has now passed.

How many of you guys watched the show ‘Rockstar Supernova’ that came out in 2006-2007? There were 15 contestants that were battling it out to become the vocalist of the supergroup ‘Supernova’ that had musicians- Tommy Lee of Motley Crue, Jason Newsted of Metallica, Gilby Clarke from GNR. And I’m getting to the point now. There were two guys I was rooting for- one was bald Icelandic heartthrob Magni Asgeirsson and the other was hottie hot stuff Ryan Star.
He wasn’t only hot but he had a voice that was raw, the one that can hypnotize you until the set is finished. Ryan Star is a treasured hero in my collection. Eliminated in the 9th week of the show, moving on, seemed a daunting challenge but he has built a remarkable fan base with his music that strips everything down to the essentials. Go ahead listen to it.

Thank you for meandering through this meandering meander. I will return to rationality at some point soon.

Good night.

Ryan Star with ‘Back of your car’

Things you cant get out of

I’ve become aware of the fact that I’ve been using my mobile too much lately. And by the time I realize it’s too late for me to be conscious, my sleep has disappeared and I lie awake wishing I hadn’t thrown away my sleeping pills. I wish I could turn off my mobile but I fear the result of an anxiety attack. I remember very clearly, the day I left my mobile at home. I was expecting a call from the crooner. That day didn’t go so well. I was grumpy, restless, I cussed all day and I had hallucinations. I’d hear my phone ringing faintly when it really wasn’t. I’d feel the need to check my bag for the phone to check my messages or missed calls and then realize I didn’t carry it with me. That’s when I accepted the reality that I had a problem. I’m not even sure if it’s completely physical or if it’s also a psychological issue. It’s sort of bizarre to understand how one can get so attached to a little device. This has of course got me thinking about other things in my life that I might be obsessed with- like some other gadget or food or alcohol or men. I think I might just try to go without any of the above for a couple of days, or at least choose one and see if my opinion or anything like that changes.

My sister has told my older sister and me that she wants to get married to her boyfriend next year. When my older sister told me that in 2003, I screamed for joy and wished her luck but you see it’s a different case with my twin. My folks are pretty cool with our lifestyle but if there’s one thing they’re particular about, it’s the religion part of it. We’ve been brought up in a devout Baptist (protestant) home and my dad is an important man at our home church so my twin’s plans of marrying her boyfriend who happens to be Hindu by religion, well, isn’t going to get him screaming for joy. Last night I was hunting for a photo album that had a picture of my sister and me when we were kids. I found it in my drawer with no trouble at all.
And now, the music- I’ve been listening to this brilliant artist all day at work- Sia is an Aussie singer.

The album 'Some People Have Real Problems', is stunning work. One of the outstanding tracks is the three minute up-tempo ‘Buttons’ that I’ve uploaded below, which is alluring in its own right. So now do yourselves a favor and enjoy the track.

This blog was created after a conversation with a friend made me realize that it would be great to write about two things I love the most- music and me. Hmmm…I worry sometimes if I have my priorities right.

Most of my friends are married and many of them are very happy but I hate it when they think you aren't happy because you aren't married. Of course because I'll be happy if I get a joint checking account with my husband, develop into an utterly needy wife and then hate myself for getting into something I didn’t want to and live just a totally miserable life. And it's not like you can actually tell him once you're fed up of him, "I'll see you sometime." intending never to see him again as long as you live.



Okay, I came across this blog and I don't know how I've lived without it all these years. Everyone has got to go here immediately to read one of the funniest blogs I've read online. I have only one thing to say today, which overshadows all other happenings of the day: I remembered an old song- 'Crying in the rain'. Aside from one sloppy ballad-like offering I can definitely assert that the music is quite good. Personally (and this is just my humble opinion), I dig this version of the song. The vocals are so emotional, and on the whole, the song reminds me of being alone on my terrace... only to have it rain. Oh, wait it is… I labored searching for this track. It was tough, but I do it out of love for the music.

You want the music. So here you go: