Poetry In Motion

Hello Armeen!

So the 28th of December 2015 marks the 5th anniversary of your parents Sangeet – an Indian version of the pre wedding party filled with song and dance. It is on this day, 5 years ago, when your mother walked through the doors of the Joss banquet hall looking as stunning as ever! That day, I kid you not, she could have given any mega star a run for her money! (We have pictures to prove it too ;)) I remember reaching the venue at about 5 pm for the mehendi ceremony (a tradition where the women apply henna on their hands as a means of expressing their joy for the couple) and bein walked in about 1 hour later. When she walked in, there was a collective sigh that echoed through the room – all of us (about 300 friends and family) had our mouths open in awe! She was wearing the prettiest pink and gold lehenga and had her hair tied in a neat high ponytail. Something you would never expect out of a bride (you always expect them to let their hair loose and work up fancy hairstyles). On second thoughts however, we should have expected Sameera Changi to do something out of the box, since that’s how she always lived her life – she liked to tread the path less followed.

At most Indian weddings, it is the sangeet function that is the stand out event and it was no different at your parents’ wedding. However, your mother’s sangeet did see its fair share of drama – as is so typical of your mothers whole life ;) I remember a couple of weeks before the main event, bein had an extended party session with her buddies. She knew all too well that her days of singlehood were over and she was about to begin a whole new life in a whole new land. And so she decided to make the most of the time she had left in the place that she loved the most and with the people who were her entire life, and rightly so. She walked home a long way into the night and, obviously, the parents were furious. The sangeet function was called off the next day as a “punishment” of sorts to her and the big fat Indian wedding that was planned was to be reduced to a close affair with none of the hoopla normally associated with events like these. Bein and I both went to bed that night shattered. Your nana, however, has always had this HUGE soft spot for you mother, they shared a different kind of relationship really. I guess he felt guilty about screaming at her the other night, so he walked into the room the following morning and told us he was upgrading the Sangeet venue. And that bein could have it EXACTLY how she wanted it. No questions asked. Bein was ecstatic but at the same time promised not to go overboard ;) (she had her ways of pleasing her father ;))And that is how the sangeet eventually turned out to be one of the most talked about, fun and entertaining functions of the SamAbi wedding!

One of the stand out moments at the Sangeet was the impromptu solo performance by your mum and dad. Being the Bollywood buff that she was, Bein loved her sappy, cheesy, romantic music from the sappy, cheesy romantic drama that is Bollywood (a trait that has passed on to me too , so we blame our genes for it ;))Bein's favourite romantic song was "Soniyo" from the movie Raaz 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyU0mASEoZE). I remember her telling me one day when we were driving around Cleveland and the song played on in the car, she said to me it depicts everything that she feels for Abi. The song will forever epitomize your parent's relationship and will go down as their eternal "love song".

When Sameera had to be the center of attention at any event, then God bless you if you had to mess things up that you were in charge of. I remember the days leading up to the event, she would frantically go out shopping for jewellery and knick knacks one night prior to the main day and then complain about how "last minute" everything was! She was by far the most chilled out bride I know, she saved all the anxiety for the last day itself ;) When I spoke to Nigar maasi the day before the Sangeet anniversary, the first thing she said to me was, "today was the day Sam and I looked all over Mumbai to find the perfect bangles to go with her lehenga!" Her attention to detail was what kept all of us on our toes throughout.

As is evident from the pictures above, Bein had the time of her life at her Sangeet and she made sure everyone else did too. For not one minute was anyone allowed to sit down, the dance floor was meant to be danced on! She had strictly let all of her friends know that it was fine if they did not attend the wedding reception but they had to be there for the Sangeet! She truly loved her song and dance and spread her joy to everyone around her.

Through this post Armeen, and the next few that will follow, we hope you can get a fair idea of what your parents’ wedding was like and feel like you were actually a part of it. When you were all of 3 years old, you had discussed your own wedding with your mom, one where you wanted to wear a white dress and have cheese sandwich, pasta, blueberries and marshmallows on the menu. The groom of course, was to be none other than your dad, Abizar ;)) Your mother would talk to you about it in detail and the joy and amusement in her eyes would be unparalleled when she’d listen to you go on and on. It comes as no surprise to us that Sameera’s daughter should be planning her own wedding already because it is only Sameera that can look so much ahead into the future. You prove to us time and again, in the littlest and most innocent things you do, that you are but a reflection of Sameera, that you infact, ARE Sameera. We really hope you continue to celebrate all her awesomeness and sing and dance to the tunes of this life that she has blessed you with.

Stay healthy and happy always my doll :)

Love,

Maasi