In the middle of this pandemic, there have been a few weddings (that I know of). A new recruit to our office in Hyderabad (who I trained for 3 weeks) just got married yesterday. There were less than 50 people (split equally amongst his and her family and with Covid-19, weddings are restricted to 50 people per event), it was not done in a temple but in a hall (so that the gods don’t catch Corona) and it was a pretty dignified and quiet affair.
Weddings can happen this way too. I don’t like crowds and would prefer something like this – a quiet non-crowded way. You also don’t need a ton of gold and a poojari and a bunch of religious rituals that are nonsense at best. You need to have a 300 plus crowd and saying hello and namaste to people who you have barely met before and probably a ton of folks who you haven’t met either.
If you are for large weddings, more power to you. To each his own.
Kentucky fried chicken is another reminder of the days gone by. We used to order the buckets for family dinners during the weekends in Kuwait and we still do as a family now. That with Coke or Pepsi and French fries. Dad, mom, sister and me with my mom’s brother, his wife and daughter (my cousin). We’d get buns and coleslaw among with them as well. Although it’s either KFC or an Indian owned alternative like Chick King or Chicken Chicago in India. Why we just had some Chick King on Saturday night, 2 piece each with a bun, some fries and while my mom drank some 7up, dad had a brandy while I had some Old Monk rum with Coke. Hmm rum & Coke.
If it wasn’t KFC then it was shawarmas. Hmmm delicious shawarma from the middle east that hasn’t been recreated in India yet. Or if they are, it’s only in a couple of places. But in Kuwait (and other places) they serve the best kind. Excellent and exquisite cuts of meat (either beef or chicken) with Tahini sauce, chopped vegetables wrapped inside of a soft pita bread. My aunt, who has always been a vegetarian would pitas and falafel. Pepsi or Coke to drink. I do not remember any chain restaurant that we would buy them from but we always seemed to get some really good stuff. It was the best of times when we had these family meals together.