Process
It was her father’s favourite time of the week - Sunday mornings. He would open the paper, skim through the news and skip straight to the matrimonial columns. He’d sit in the front verandah, sifting through every single advertisement, circling suitable ones for future reference. Once he’d read all the ads, he would retreat to his room to write letters to the earmarked advertisers. He would place a carbon sheet under a paper, draw a tiny ‘2’ on top – a salutation to Lord Ganesha and begin writing. All his letters began the same way - ‘Dear Sir, With reference to your advertisement in the Hindu dated…’
Once finished, he would remove his copy and place it in a file marked ‘Marriage correspondence’. He would then dab turmeric stains on all four corners of the original, fold it in two, attach his daughter’s horoscope and place both sheets of paper on the altar where his mother’s photo would be hanging. Later, he would take the envelopes to the city main post office – the only one open on a Sunday, weigh them, check all the details once more, say a prayer invoking Lord Rama before pushing it down the postal chute. And the interminable wait would begin.
Let the first comment be mine. Nothing about this but you are prominent on ChennaiCentral today :-)
ReplyDeleteI like the way you have explained this sunday ritual. I liked the flow. The other stories seem too hasty.
ReplyDeleteBTW, your son looks very cute :-)
ReplyDeletehey thennavan I think I beat ya or did we post at the same time?
ReplyDeleteThis would have to be the longest QT by you! :) Very "visual" description.
ReplyDeleteNon-related - it is amazing how ubiquitous "The Hindu" is in Tamil households.
Yup, a much more leisurely tale, this :)
ReplyDeleteIs that story for 1990's?
ReplyDeleteA little out of touch with this and not sure if it is still the same
- Morpheus
Its still the same. Only difference is that the Internet and email has also been included in the search.
ReplyDeleteI can relate this to many of my uncles. Good one. As Shyam said, a very nice leisurely read :-)
ReplyDeleteNo idea about this ritual.They may have tried this out fro my mum and mama.As usual Ammani shines .
ReplyDeleteVery accurate description, with the pullayar suzhi and applying manjal on the four corners!!! Lovely tale.:)
ReplyDeleteA truly good one! A typical middle-class father ..
ReplyDeleteonly a father (in that situation) can understand what he is going through. indeed sometimes interminably long waits!!!
ReplyDeleteSo evocative! I could actually see this in my mind's eye. Beautifully told di!
ReplyDeleteHi Ammani,
ReplyDeleteI have seen many father of guys doing these rounds as well. So there are demanding females as well as males in today's world. That is fine proposition.
Ammani,
ReplyDeleteThis was the case for my aunt.
But nowadays its Tamilmatrimony.com; shaadi.com; kalyanamalai.net and so on and its not the fathers but the prospective brides and grooms
i like it. the relaxed movements of the father, the prayers, the veranda..i can't find any of these now.
ReplyDeleteVery nice one Ammani.
ReplyDeleteIts very true..
AF
A slice of life.
ReplyDeleteShrinkwrapped. And frozen.
For a future recollection.
you hav painted the scene in words.. accurate description!!
ReplyDelete* QT template * activated.
ReplyDeleteVersion QT1 sequenced! :)
cheers!
Hmm...Nice :)...thought your last line would be something like:
ReplyDelete"He did the very same thing for six months before his daughter came back holding hands with her American fiance'".
a picture, a post-card!! a precise description.....my thatha flashed in my eyes as this was his routine!!...been arnd here a liitle bit.....liked it!! loved the cookery blog too......cya!!
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ReplyDeleteThis, when my folks are "hunting" for me !!!! Maan , do I feel helpless @ times!
ReplyDelete"And the wait began. The wait for a separation, that he couldnt stand."
ReplyDeleteAmmani - Im Keerthi, here thru Thennavan. Very interesting blog yours.
A tale told as it is...
ReplyDeleteVery simply captured. Nice. All that rigmarole taking various forms at different stages...
Very articulate..I can definitely relate this to what my father went through for my sis! And as Bala said, by far the longest of ur posts! Simple yet capturing the essence perfectly as always...
ReplyDeleteRandom Access
The search has just begun !!!
And RS, u do always dream about stories, dont u? ;)
ReplyDeleteRandom Access
The search has just begun !!!
You are right.But the time is changing now.Girls are no more scapegoats in the nuptial market.Boys are !!!
ReplyDeleteAmmani,
ReplyDeleteyour story sounds so real with the "tiny 2".Perhaps now it is the turn of the groom's father to go for such a hunt , as I read in a recent french edition of National Geographic that the female/male ratio in India is going down
Very insightful and so true. As already suggested, one small addition to this post. Having www.tamilmatrimony.com as your homepage and checking it every morning to see that one profile that would make your day and maybe your life, not to mention your daughter's.
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