BETA

Hello there readers! It has been a while hasn’t it? I hope my absence was not felt too profoundly by all of you. So, since my last article I have
finished my final exams at university and am looking forward to graduating next month. In other news, I have recently returned from Australia where I attended my eldest cousins wedding (it was the first wedding amongst cousins in our family hence my excitement!). It was a dream wedding where he married his sweetheart of 6 years. I can honestly say the wedding was blissful andlooking back on photos it was like a wedding from a high end bollywood film.

For me personally what made the wedding so enjoyable was meeting with my cousins, there are ten of us in total and it has been over ten years since I last saw some of them. My grandma was beaming with pride and during the wedding period seemed to have been miraculously cured of her illnesses and ailments. You could see in her eyes the sheer joy at seeing all her grandchildren, her daughters and their families gathered in the joyous occasion of her eldest grandsons wedding. It is a moment in time that can never be replaced nor recreated and I am sure it will be one of the happiest memories she will have in her lifetime.

During the reception all the usual shenanigans that can be expected occurred with a personalised twist. There were choreographed dancers, singing, speeches the works! All the guests ate heartily and danced the night away and every second was captured on film as though we were all paparazzi at a red carpet event. While the night was still relatively young, the cousins gathered and looked on at the reception which by that time was in full swing and thoughts turned to our respective (future) wedding plans. With each one of us making plans (ok maybe just the girls) and wondering if our weddings would be as magical and as enjoyable as the one we were attending.  So two days of jam packed wedding festivities, a lot of dodgy dancing and a couple of saris later it was all over.

After spending such a short but happy time with all of my family together in the same place I have come to realise how truly important family is. There is an unspoken connection that is inherent in any family and although you may not have seen one another for the best part of ten years the love care and mutual understanding for each other is ever present and eternal. In this modern age we live in life is hectic and errands are plentiful, technology helps us all feel closer than before and unites us in ways that previously were impossible. Therefore a phone call, email, web chat keeps us all together and united as a happy family unit. However, we mistakenly think of these technological encounters as being a satisfactory means of communication and often do not think twice if we have not seen family members in person. This is especially present in our generation where friendships and other such loyalties hinder or take away from time spent with our families. What we do not realise is that over the years friends come and go and though there will always be the loyal few who remain your lifelong friends it is shared kinship that is ensured to remain loyal and lifelong. Family is important, they are the ones who will stand by you should you fall on hard times, they are the ones that will sacrifice everything for you and they are the ones who will accept your worries as their worries. Family are the ones who will give you advice which is genuine, heartfelt and always in your best interest (though you may not always like it or even agree with it). Our community is united because our families are united and we must never take this for granted. There are countless numbers of people in the world who would wish to have a family unit and countless of us out there who do not appreciate the family we have.

Remember: Koddumbam oru kovil (a family is a temple).

Oh and another thing…the wedding bouquet was caught by my youngest cousin brother who then bestowed the bouquet to me…my grandma is now convinced that I’m next in line to head down the aisle…watch this space!