Calcutta [12 Nov 2007 1215]

Quick hits from the city of my birth:

- Chhoto was married to Mathieu the day before yesterday

- The wedding festivities had to be compressed because of a city-wide bandh (after all, what is Calcutta without a little civil unrest?)

- The sangeet on 10 Nov 2007 was supposedly at lot of fun but I missed it because...I was sleeping (terrible, just terrible)

- On the wedding day itself the groom arrived on horseback in a large, festive, barati procession

- I had to carry the groom into the house and then I was one of four people carry the bride around the groom right before the mala bodol - my exercise for the year is done

- Both the bride and groom looked lovely

- At some point the groom played a love ballad on a baby grand piano to his newly-married wife...fellas, if you are not lucky enough to be a handsome, French, ex-male model, ex- tennis professional with an estate in the south of France capable of composing French ballads and then singing it for her on her wedding day in front of adoring crowds in the house where they happened to have filmed Parineeta...well, then, you may as well as give up but there is no way on this planet you will be able to compete

- And, oh yeah, my mother insisted on peforming the phool shojja ceremony, 25 minutes before the bandh took effect!