KARTHI KALYANA VAIBHOGAMAY

I tell myself sometimes I give superwoman a complex!!!

Between subtitling Yuddham sei and Engeyum kaadhal and checking

God’s own child’s subtitles for the prints being sent all over the world, attending Karthi’s wedding in Coimbatore…rushing back to finish Bhoomi thaayi a Kannada film starring my dear ‘polladhavan’ friend Kishore(!)…sandwiched within this marathon effort trying to be a good amma, great wife and an awesome daughter!!! Phew! It’s a mad mad mad world…but not complaining

I love every single minute of it!

What I wanted to share with you was:

Karthi’s knots 3 for legal rights…lasting relationship…acceptance by society…

(urimai, uravu, ooru)!!! Mr Mani Ratnam, your influence on cinemaholics like me

is as deep as the Mariana trench of the Pacific ocean!

This account may even be late news but thought I would share it the “rekhs way”!

I woke up many times at night because I was petrified I would over-sleep!

Then was the daunting task of draping myself in a sari and to my consternation found I forgot to pack safety pins! What a small minute device which is most effective for its fastening ability!! It is a daunting task to drape a sari and look cool calm and collected in it…imagine without ‘the pins’ adding their anchoring touch! Pulambifying (lamenting) over my ‘ghajini memory’, Hari and I reached the wedding hall in time ( 5:45 A.M)to find ourselves stopped at the entrance as it never occurred to us to bring the wedding invitation. The uniformed cop took one look at me and said “ ladies … ladies…let them go” which annoyed my husband intensely as only he and I were the occupants of the car (besides the driver, who was a guy)!

We were stunned to see the hall jam packed with at least 5000 people (math is not my pet subject!) and we were totally lost. Thank god we knew Karthi’s friends from college. We connected with his college mate Zia who shepherded us to Babu who had come all the way from Australia for this special occasion. Babu is a fun loving chap, his wife Vidya has the most expressive eyes (Oh! Let me add, as mesmerizing as Ranjani’s!) their 2 little boys, his mother…were seated in the very last row watching the entire event with pride. Hari chose to sit with them while I decided to move forward to find a place close to the dais.

It was so good to see Karthi’s friend from U.K Bakkrudin after a real long gap, busy ushering in guests and taking care of them.

I don’t know why people throw the akshadhai (turmeric rice used to bless) on all the heads in front of them! The whole purpose is lost…I always believe it should be used in the right way, by blessing the couple at close range, ensuring it falls on the heads it is intended for!

I went up to the stage to do so, was greeted ever so warmly by ‘Lakshmi ma’ and Tara ma (Satyan’s amma). Immediately Tara-ma hugged me and said “I heard you played my role in reel life in Nanban…Satyan told me he was surprised to see you in Dehradun”! I smiled and said “it was half a noodle appearance ma, one minute! For all you know I may not even be there in the final cut!”

Dhananjayan (UTV) came up the steps along with director K.S.Ravikumar

followed by an actor whom I admire and I think is the most graceful dancer in our film fraternity till date, Prabhu Ganesan, his wife, sister-in-law and Nizhalgal Ravi.

Dhananjayan greeted me with an excited “rekhs! Way to go! I am happy you subtitled God’s own child” (Deiva thirumagaL, so named to make it even more endearing!) I was happy he was aware of my squirrel part in GOC…as we were talking K.S.R turned towards us, and I shook hands introducing myself “I am the rekhs who paduthufied (bugged) you to subtitle your film” and he smiled. I always wonder why in this industry alone no one thinks of introducing fellow colleagues, technicians, cast, crew…though not necessarily in a wedding hall!

Prabhu asked about Hari, Smriti, Svasti and Sraiyanti (his son Vikram and Smriti were classmates in school, but I must add, he has a memory that will give an elephant a gigantic complex!) and congratulated me on my subtitling spree. He is such a wonderful friend, always polite, refined, genuine, practical and let me tell you, people like him can be counted in one single hand! Nizhalgal Ravi was a silent smiling spectator. In that rush to meet and greet the couple I forgot to tell him I’ve been an admirer of him from rayil sneham time! I am hoping he gets to know this through ‘talkie with rekhs’! Actor Nandaa and director Kannan joined us and snaps were clicked and congratulations filled the air.

Sivakumar anna was busy orchestrating the guests to take their pictures, bless the couple and make a bee line to the dining hall to eat. Brinda was looking absolutely gorgeous in an orange silk saree, so was Jo, while Suriya and Brinda’s husband looked handsome in the traditional spotless white and white attire.

I wanted to wish the couple but found Hari not by my side! Nandaa and Zia went hunting for him, while I was happily chatting with all the cousins … Hari ‘lost and found’ joined me. We clicked a snap. I extended my hand to the couple, saying

“all the best” intending it for Ranjani, while Karthi took my hand in his saying “thanks akka”…I said “it was actually meant for your equal half” he chuckled his ever so endearing chuckle and said “yeah I realized”… Even in that gumbal (crowd) and tension this is one guy who can be such a cool cat! (ooops I mean cheetah!;) )

It is astounding how the crowd (some gate-crashers?) went berserk taking snaps of every celebrity who walked down the podium…do these celebs have special horns that I can’t see? Despite the early morning hour, the huuuuuge crowd, kudos to the family for arranging the most organized event…no pushing…

pummeling…stamping…lamenting…losing one’s best slippers!

Stepped into the dining hall to almost bump into Radhika who looked radiant in her silken splendor, we smiled, I said “ For once we are meeting in a wedding hall, instead of Inox or a restaurant “…’cos that’s what we always do.

Guess what! After we had filled ourselves to our heart and stomach’s content on the sumptuous break-f(e)ast my husband Hari repeated the same dialog to her, totally unaware I had said the same. She and I exchanged smiles!

What impressed me was how Sivakumar anna had remembered every non-celebrity friend of his, besides the actors he had worked with and his extended family, invited them for this auspicious event in his family so thoughtfully and meticulously.

Most impressive was the fact, instead of the traditional veththalai paaku ( betel leaf, coconut and sweetlime in a bag) each guest walked out with a smile holding a dvd – Sivakumar anna’s ‘Kamban en kaadhalan’ and carrying a plant that will one day grow into a shade providing tree, testimony to Karthi and Ranjani unite as husband and wife…on July 3rd 2011.

May this young couple always have love, luck, laughter to last them a lifetime …and more!

svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ |

svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ ||