Identity
crisis
It was not my
mistake that I entered into a wrong reception hall. If there were so many halls
in the same street and if the name of the groom rhymed with the name of my
friend though the syllables are different and if the reception girls standing
there welcomed us with warm smile and cool flowers then there was no other option except to accept that invitation and got into that hall.
Verification of
the name of the groom there seemed to be a great disrespect for the happy
people wandering there. Hence I went to the last row and occupied a seat there.
Oh. I forgot to bring my spectacles. Even, with spectacles , my eye sight is very
poor. Without the spectacles, I was not able to verify the face of the groom
.It was a distant possibility from that distance. Hence I lost interest in that process.
There were other
distractions for me there. The aroma
coming from the dining hall situated adjacent
to the reception hall attracted many people like me and lured by that
smell, many legs moved in that direction . I also followed those legs in that
parade and reached the dining hall. What a delicious sight. I had a sumptuous
feast savoring variety of vegetables, variety rice, chocolate, ice cream etc.
etc and returned back to stand in the queue to present the bouquet and gift to
the couple.
When I went near
the stage, I could see the face of the groom. Oh my God. He is not my friend.
My mental efforts to remove the thick makeup materials from that person’s face
to reveal the true identity of the face also turned futile and it was not my
friend’s face. Meanwhile I was pushed to go and stand in front of the couple.
A pleasant
surprise happened at that time. Bride’s father introduced me to the couple “he
is my distant cousin’s grandfather’s brother’s grandson’. What? Me! I was
little bit relieved. I handed over the bouquet and gift packet to the couple
and left the stage majestically with broad smile and without having any guilty
feeling for having consumed that sumptuous dinner.
--------------------------------------------------------Nagendra
Bharathi
