much-awaited-break

[much-awaited-break]

The Expedition to Silpa's Wedding

This is a brief account of the trip cum expedition that I had with my friends and College mates to Rourkela (Odisha) to attend a close friend’s wedding.

This account traces back to one fine evening in November 2018, when I got a message from my roommate and friend from College times, Silpa (Mohanty), saying that soon she is getting married in Rourkela (on 23.01.2019).

I pinched myself twice and as soon as I realised that it was actually true, I coordinated with my friends and batchmates, Ankita (Guru), Meghna (Maji), Harapriya (Nanda), Harsh and Kingshuk, about the Wedding itinerary.

I was happy that I would get to meet my friends after a long time and also get to visit the beautiful and peaceful township of Rourkela, away from the noisy and traffic-stricken cities.

Meanwhile, I kept touch at times with the then bride-to-be, Silpa, to know the status of the wedding preparations, her future plans and about the then groom-to-be, Anup (Patnaik).

Soon after, the hunt for a wedding gift had begun.

Eventually, the day had arrived when we, the Bride Tribe, had set out to attend Silpa’s wedding.

This is where our adventure had begun:

1. I reached quite early (on 22.01.2019) to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad and found out that our Flight from Hyderabad- Bhubaneswar on 22.01.2019 got delayed by 3 hours and beyond. Harsh, Kingshuk, and I had waited at the Airport for hours before we could actually board the Flight.

2. Upon reaching Bhubaneswar, we visited our College (KSOL), after much anticipation about time constraints. We met most of our Professors, interacted with few juniors and rekindled both good and bad memories of College days.

3. After an hour passed by, we rushed to Bhubaneswar Railway Station to catch a train to Rourkela. We also ordered Pizzas from Domino’s Pizza to our berth for our dinner.

4. Next morning (on 23.01.2019), an Uncle had come to pick us up at Rourkela Railway Station and dropped us at Ispat Bhavan Hill View Guest House.

5. But as the manager of the Guest House was not present that time, given that we had reached the place quite early in the morning (4-6 AM), so, Uncle drove us to a tea stall in the biting cold weather.

6. Meanwhile, Ankita had travelled to Rourkela Bus Station from Cuttack and reached the same Guest House. Shortly, we joined her at the Guest House, adjacent to which there was a Deer Park and a beautiful view of the hills.

7. Soon after we got out rooms, we rested, unpacked and dressed up for the Wedding and left for Silpa’s house.

8. At Silpa’s house, we met her parents and relatives, had delicious breakfast of upma, dal, puri and cauliflower-mixed vegetable curry.

9. A little later, we drove around the Rourkela Steel Township including the NIT-R Campus (Harsh patiently drove us around in Uncle’s car and Kingshuk navigated the route).

10. We also wanted to visit Hanuman Vatika (which housed one of Asia’s tallest statues of Hanuman- around 75 Feet tall) but unfortunately we couldn’t make it because of some route issues.

11. So, we somehow returned to the Guest House, rested, dressed up and left for Indo-German Club (Venue of Wedding).

12. Upon reaching the Venue, we found Silpa (in a stunningly beautiful avtar) in the middle of a photo shoot.

13. We grabbed the opportunity and underwent a brief photo shoot with Silpa, and hanged around with her a bit.

14. Then the Baraat was welcomed and some rituals were conducted by Silpa’s father and Anup at the entrance of the Venue.

15. Later, while the Bride and the Groom were performing some puja separately, we finished our lunch which included puri, roti, dal, paneer curry, mixed vegetable curry, papad, salad, gulab jamun, juices, fire and ice mocktail, etc (considering only vegetarian items, here).

16. A little later few of us visited Hanuman Vatika, few schools such as St. Paul’s, Carmel (Silpa’s schooling was done here) and St. Joseph’s (Ankit’s schooling was done here for few years) and passed by other landmark places of the Township.

17. In about an hour’s time, we (Ankita and myself) returned to the Marriage Venue and witnessed certain Odiya rituals including Kanyadaan, offerings in Havan Kund by Bride and Groom, Sindoor ceremony, etc.

18. A little later, we returned to the Guest House, rested, dressed up and left for the Reception Function at Indo-German Club.

19. We reached a little early, so could only wish Silpa, a hearty congratulations, and clicked pictures with her, Uncle and Aunty.

20. We had a short dinner and a little later, Ankita left to catch a bus from Rourkela to Cuttack. We accompanied her to the Bus Stop. The bus had halted for about half an hour owing to some altercation between few passengers.

21. Eventually the bus had started and the remaining of us returned to the Venue, danced, took selfies and pictures, had dinner and left for the Guest House.

The next morning (24.01.2019), we returned to our respective destinations separately.

By the end of this Expedition, I realized that:

It is not the quantity, but the quality of time and memories that we create in our lifetime is what is cherished forever.

Also, that it is better to give a try to an opportunity rather than regret later, unless the circumstances are at odds.

Thanks to one and all who made this Trip memorable.