She should have been a Goan….

This weekend saw us attending a wedding of an old friend of mine. As usual the thought of going out with Jelly brought a lot of panic into my ever over stressed brains. I kind of always try to foresee all that is going to happen (negative or positive……….well to be frank more negatives for sure) on any said occasion. So as usual when I remembered that we were supposed to go for the said function, my mind started racing at possible outcomes. What if Jelly is not in a mood to go out? And if ever she is in a mood, will she be fine in the midst of a huge gathering. And if yes will she keep running around the place and make me look like a nerd, all dressed up, swearing and running behind a toddler. If all this goes on well, will the little terror allow me to enjoy the good Manglorean food………. And so on.

Well to get to the details, this friend of mine is a Manglorean Christian (for the sake of this blog let's call him R). We got to know each other some 13-14 years back. We got to know each other through my another friend (P - who again is again a Manglorean). We soon got along well, the 4 of us, the 4th addition being a cute little guy K. We were a gang of notorious foursome. Always up to pranks, never attentive in the class, all thanks to our great friend R.

So back to the details of the evening - we were out to attend the reception dressed in our best, well not in our best…. I have stopped dreaming of being neatly dressed and remain the same way all through the function from the day Jelly was born. I have as a matter of fact nearly stopped wearing “Sarees” when going out with Jelly. I truly adore this Indian attire and love wearing them, but if I dare to wear it when taking her along with us, then even before reaching the venue I would look like I have just finished my job as a part time maid and rushed to attend the function. Ok I’m exaggerating a bit, but she makes it a point to crumple my clothes beyond recognition.

Something seems to be seriously wrong with me today; I’m just going away from the main topic - So when we reached the venue we realised that the reception had just begun after the wedding which was held earlier in the evening in the church. The lively Goan music literally dragged us into the hall. Jelly was quite excited to see the flower decoration at the entrance of the reception hall - not because she likes flowers, but because she likes to tear apart flowers and leaves to tiny shreds.

But hey for a change she was not too keen on pulling those beautiful flowers part. She was more keen on peeping into the hall. I was getting a little excited seeing my daughter behaving in a very good way. I just said a silent prayer in my mind, just hoping that she would allow me to have a good time ahead. And for once my prayers were answered. The moment we entered the hall, we got to see the bride and the bride groom along with family and close friends already playing the wedding games which is a ritual with the Manglorean Christians. They start it with the bride and the bride groom standing face to face holding hands and trying to block the way of relatives or friends ( again a couple) who want to move ahead of them. Once they give way for them, the said couple stand next to the first couple in the same fashion. This continues till the whole crowd of relatives and friends form a huge human chain. At the end of this the bride and the groom have to make their way and reach the stage. Well no function of theirs is complete without the usual loud and peppy Goan music. All along a live band was playing some awesome foot tapping music.

Now the little music lover that Jelly is, she could not restrain herself from it. We made her sit on a counter at the entrance of the hall. The little one started giving a broad smile and was trying to shake her tiny butt while sitting there. She was totally enjoying herself - She clapped her hands in merry, laughed loudly and now wanted to stand on top of the counter. We quickly pulled her off the counter and went into the hall and got seated. Once we were seated she slipped of my lap and went on the floor and then there was no stopping her. Far away from the dancing crowd she clapped her hands and danced away to glory. She would look around at the guests and if she got to see that someone was observing her dance, the performer that she is she would shake her butt a little more. The evening was a truly beautiful one.

About an hour of dancing did not tire this little devil. While leaving from there I said to SM “Looks like she was to be born as a Goan or a Manglorean……by mistake she landed up in our family” That’s when SM added - “Looks like she will find herself a Goan or a Manglorean boyfriend once she grows up..” I was just starting to laugh at it when he added “I will fix her up if she does anything like that………” I told him that its double standards, “You got married to the girl of your choice then why not your daughter?” I did not hear what his reply was because I went deep into my thoughts. She is only 16 months old and we are already thinking about something that will happen 20 and odd years later. Are all parents this way ???????