The Importance of Being Ernest!!!

I was waiting for this time to arrive since i was in Class VIII. I wanted to accept myself just as i was. So what if i sucked in Maths and fell asleep in Science classes? So what if I loved Shahrukh and Salman more than Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt? So what if we had a scooter and not a car? So what if i was sharing a room with my brother and had no exclusive tv to myself? So what if my family had lived in a rented accommodation for a decade? I wish i was cool about it back then... like i am now.

Finally with movies like Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots and now the much anticipated - My Name Is Khan... and with our editorials and our society opening up... its suddenly cool to be an under achiever. Its alright if you suck at studies and are not a ranker... Its alright if you have a psychotic disorder... Its alright if you are from middle class... Its alright to not have got a scholarship and made it to some foreign university... its alright to not have stayed abroad just because you spent lakhs to study there... Its alright to not have become an engineer or a doctor... Its alright if you dont have too many friends and are a loner...

I am glad i have finally made it to this level. I am so cool to just be what i am. Less pretensions. Even lesser turmoil. Afterall i dont have to fake it. (job interviews will always remain an exception). I guess its the time for the underachievers - for those who never stood first in class, for those who never went to convent schools, for those who never had pocket money to brag about, for those who failed in exams.

Its so cool to be yourself these days than try and be like someone else.

I am cool with my limited salary. I am happy about the state board school i went to. I am ok with my inefficiency when it comes to calculating. I am totally fine when i have to keep quiet when someone is talking science. I am comfortable when someone tells me that i am fat and have noticeable dark circles. I can smile when someone calls me lazy. I can actually say no when i dont want to meet people or go to temples or discuss mother-in-laws. I like myself just the way i am.

Also, to all those who read my blog... kudos to you!!! Because you can chose to read the most-read blogs and discuss that with your peers... but you still read my blog. Its time to reveal your weaker side... and Its cool too.

Will be waiting to read from you...

An ideal wife is any woman who has an ideal husband.

Yup. Am married. :) To none other than Mr. Amul Jani. Thank you all for who made it to the wedding. I will always cherish your presence. Special thanks to Anu, Anuja, Raksha, Janki and Smita. You girls kept up with my nonsense for a long time and excused it all just because i was the bride. Also to Devam. You have been an incredible host and an inspiring one. Also you surpassed all my expectations of being a helpful hand. You kept my spirits alive and smile intact. Thanks to Mom and Dad for keeping up with my stubborn demands. Be it minimizing the guest list or letting go off a ritual. Thanks for allowing my wedding to be my way. Be it choosing a simple blue invitation card or not calling relatives who didnt mean anything to me or not going overboard with gifts, decoration or food and allowing it to be a simple wedding. I would also like to express my utter happiness for one who flew down all the way to attend the wedding. And for all those who couldnt attend my wedding... let me tell you... you missed "the event" of the last decade. :) 

While i took no time to fall in love with amul back in 1998, i took over a decade to marry him. When the wedding date was finally announced, most of my friends and cousins heaved a sigh of relief. "Finally" was what i heard before "Congratulations".

To be true to all of you, i was scared of getting married. I didnt want to leave my house even for Amul. I didnt want to move into another house. I wanted to live with my parents forever. But somewhere down the line, i told myself, "Dont protest. You will get use to the change."

So though i wasnt jubilant when the date was announced, i quietly started telling myself to get prepared. I had no logical reason to refuse marriage. I loved my baby. He was a nice guy. We had been together for 11 years. Afterall, it was the next step. How long could i have avoided it? I wasnt scared of living in another house with another set of family. I was scared of leaving my own comfort zone. I have been terribly homesick before. I have cried buckets when i had to move to London briefly to pursue my Masters. I have been a terrible guest when i was dropped over at my relatives' when i was a kid. I would cry and cry till Mom or Dad came to fetch me. Knowing myself, i was a little apprehensive about how would i feel when i moved - if i may add, permanently - to Amul's place.

But to my discovery and to my relief, i am not homesick. I do miss home terribly. Everytime i need little things like cello tape or a rubber band... it immediately reminds me of that drawer or that stationery box back at my place. Everyday when i finish work, i feel like going back home. And every night... when the clock strikes 11... i think of mom. Before marriage, if i wasnt home at night... my mom would inevitably call at the strike of 11 to remind me that my time was up. I miss my old life terribly. But i love my new life.

I still wake up late. I enjoy my long sleep. And its funny to wake up with Amul. Every morning when i wake up and i see this guy all cuddled up in his favourite quilt... i cant help but smile. He refuses to give up his single quilt. :) After 11 years of being with him, i have now realised that he loves his quilt more than me.

I still enjoy reading my papers first thing in the morning with a hot cuppa coffee. And to my great happiness, aunty makes coffee just like my mom. Its fun to see Amul running around the house before he leaves for work while i am sitting on the sofa, reading my paper, sipping my coffee and in no hurry to go anywhere.

So while i thought marriage would bring sweeping changes to my life, i only have god to thank for blessing me with Amul, Uncle and Aunty. I cant be thankful enough to the almighty. My mom and dad are hardly a kilometer away. Amul is a cute husband. And uncle and aunty are gems.

And as i begin my new life... i only hope i build a strong nest i never feel like leaving behind.