Category Archives: Back in US
Boston!
This week witnessed the terrible bombing at a sporting event – the revered Boston Marathon of all things! We witnessed it over and over and over on TV.
America once again felt the rare carnage, one that unfortunately some countries in other parts of the world take as their normal.
Americans reacted with shock and grief as innocent people lost lives and limbs. It was a major tragedy, anyway you looked at it.
But here’s something that I and so many people saw clearly in this tragedy.
After the first bomb exploded, what would you expect the reaction of the rest of the people who were around there would be? To run for cover, of course. That would be the normal reaction.
Here’s what I saw instead.
Rather than everyone running for cover at the sight and sound of that horrific explosion, some people there started running towards the explosions, both after the first and second bomb went off.
They ran towards it to help the wounded and the dying. To me, that was an amazing, heroic act of selflessness and – so moving to see.
May the resilience and the compassion of the people of this great city help it heal!
See this video, Heroes Emerge at Boston Marathon Explosion Site.
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“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
Indian Wedding Season Is Here Again
This is turning into a year of wedding celebrations in my friend and family circle (completely unrelated to Bollywood pictures used here).
What a big deal we make of them!
Are there any wedding celebration showcases bigger, grander or badder than the ones that Indians are prone to put on? (And why is that, by the way??)
All you have to do is to check out some of the contemporary bridal attire promoted today to get the idea of how far they have come. This is simply a representative area since I am talking about the whole gamut of products and services surrounding the special event. We have effectively created a shaadi industrial complex around Indian weddings – not just in India but here in the US and anywhere else that has settlers from India.
Back to the future?
It’s only early, early spring, but ‘the season’ has started, alright. I expect to attend and participate in a plethora of weddings during the year. And it will take all kinds –
- Elegant and sophisticated
- Simple (these days, the exception that proves the rule)
- Grand
- Ornate
- Over the top (for those of you interested, Have Trunk Will Travel, Inc* will rent you elephants for the baraat)
- Mixed Race/Mixed Religion/Mixed Region
- Arranged Marriages
- And not.
* This is actually a neat enterprise that is committed to elephant care and welfare. So when you rent an elephant for your wedding, you are actually doing a service to this endangered species. If there’s no wedding in your future, check it out anyway!
This year, for a change, I am looking forward to wedding season. Hmmmmmm, I wonder why? I’m actually quite excited.
The closer my relationship to the bride or the groom, the more fun I expect to have. Especially in connecting and re-connecting with friends and family. I’ve already got two under my belt this year.
Depending on which region of India dominates the planning of a wedding (or whether it’s the bridal couple or their parents that rule) , it can turn out to be any of the following (not all are mutually exclusive) –
- One big party – fun all the way
- Quiet and Solemn
- Noisy and Chaotic
- Ritualistic and Ceremonial
- Meaningful
- Unforgettable
I’d guess that if wedding planners had one wish then, across the board they would aim for that one universal experience for the bridal couple, their entourage and wedding guests, i.e. making it unforgettable (for all the right reasons!).
The corollary to this, of course, is that no one wants their wedding celebration to invoke that punishing, forgettable feel of ‘bland’. But just look at the vibrant colors in the picture below, as an example. Indian weddings, in general, are just this colorful and vibrant. Combine this with some spicy Indian cuisine, and luckily for my Indian friends, bland is simply not an option.
In any case, best wishes and good luck to all who are making 2013 their special year!
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The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 