And it begins...

I've been expecting this ever since my cousin announced her engagement earlier this year. I am, after all, the next in line.

However, naive person that I am, I expected it to start with subtle hints. You know, my age being mentioned a few times, my plans being asked about, and so on and so forth.

What I did not expect was being taken aside by aunts and uncles and being told outright that "it is time". I could deal with the teasing from cousins, no sweat, and laugh off their offers to find me someone, but how on earth do you stand and continue to smile politely in front of the elder generation?

The highlight of last night, however, came when my aunt, someone I am very fond of, in her attempts to convince me that I should lose no time getting married, decided to tell me about someone she knows. Apparently, this lady put off getting married till a late age (probably late-20s - that's ancient, innit?), and some 3-year-old chit of a girl saw the bride and exclaimed, "But she doesn't look like a bride, she looks like a budhi!"

I would like to announce at this stage that there will be no children allowed at my wedding.

The other highlight of last night, of course, came from the fact that everyone who had seen me last month at another family gathering, exactly a week before this, exclaimed on how I've lost so much weight. Of course, they also commented on the stark contrast between the drained me who had come straight from a client site in a fairly ghati outfit last time, and the me who came all dressed up yesterday, but we shall not go there.

However, I would rather gain back those lost kilos than deal with completely non-subtle Bengalis again. Thank you.

Weekend rants

I know I've said this before, and I'll probably say it countless times in the future as well, but I hate shopping.

What with Pujo round the corner, as well as sundry occasions coming up in the extended family as well as friend circle, shopping has been something of a priority for the past few weeks. And with barely a week to go for Pujo, I am as usual scrambling to get things ready in time.

If I have to go shopping, however, I like it to be focused - I go knowing exactly what I need to buy, find it, and exit. Unfortunately, this doesn't always work, especially since my idea of a good buy is never in keeping with what is in "fashion". Tell me, are fashions made with complete and utter discomfort kept in mind?

Getting my hair cut is always a fairly traumatic experience. As readers of this blog will know, my hair is the one thing about myself that I am actually vain about. And every time I see those inches of hair falling to the ground, I swear, a little piece of me dies. However, sheer boredom with my current style finally demanded that I agree to shortening my hair by at least three inches, and so, the deed was done yesterday. I also decided to get it nicely set in curls for the family function last evening; alas, my hair is so freakin' gorgeously straight that the curls open up within an hour.

On another note, why does everyone in a hair salon have such weird hairstyles? With the spikes and the strange colours? Is it compulsory to take advantage of the services their workplace offer, or are they trying to advertise their services. Because I gotta tell you, if it's the latter, it's not working. In any salon I've ever been to.