Indian marriages are always a complicate affair. It involves a lot of processes and like its population, a whole lot of people. It is also about meeting new people and a chance to see your kin and kith in one place. So, I was naturally thrilled when a close friend invited for her marriage in Madanapalle, Andhra. A buzzing mind of mine soon had to think of a grueling journey ahead. 7 hours of drive by coach is the only form of transport. Since US of A took over our work timings, we (me and a friend) had to start in the morning from Chennai. As opposed to an already planned direct bus, we took a detour via Thirupati largely owing to the comfort of A/C coach to the temple town. The real problem started in Thirupati from where, there’s only a so called EXPRESS bus to Madanapalle. 4 hours of bone wrecking journey led us to our destination which quite literarily was situated in the middle of nowhere. The only highpoint of our visit is the marriage and the way we were treated by my friend’s family. Royal is the one appropriate word. This is a feature of Indian marriages. Every guest is treated with so much care, the naturally the newly weds receives a heartfelt wishes. In spite of the entire festive atmosphere, we were still having nightmares about the return journey. The town’s incompetence for basic amenities didn’t help our cause either. Old habits like card games surfaced to fight of the boredom of not getting sleep. After the marriage, we were again off on a demanding 7 hour trip back to Chennai to be in time for another day (rather night) at office. Simply put, that was one of the pain stalking journey that I’ve had for a long time. All my bones were off the hook as I landed in Chennai. Still our wishes for the couple remain intact. That’s the price I was willing to pay for such a sweet friend.
