Story with a moral

Here is a valuable lesson I learnt today:

When you are invited to some ceremony/function/party/reception by someone who does not follow your own tradition and culture, learn about their practices and customs before you attend it.

I belong to the Tamil community, in particular, what is referred to (sometimes condescendingly) as "Brahmin" or more recently, "TamBram".  In our community, any function/ceremony/party/event takes place during the day, and usually, even reception dinners start by 7.30 PM and are essentially done by nine.   So, like the "koopa manduk" (கிணற்றுத் தவளை - well frog who believes that his tiny well is the world), I am oblivious to the fact that different cultures have different practices.

We were invited to a Bengali party today, which, the invitation said begins at 7.30 PM and so, there we were, promptly at 7.30, dressed to kill, drooling at thoughts of rosogollas which were reportedly procured straight from Calcutta for the event.  So we sat and waited for an hour or so, the intial animated gupshup with friends slowly dwindling into occasional whimpers as energy levels plummetted for want of carbohydrates, protiens and the works.Then there was some flurry of activity, and the heart lifted at the possibility of dinner, for the stomach, usually satiated by 7 P.M. was now at its gnawing worst. 

But the flurry was Rabindra Sangeeth, which, but for the rebelling body, would have watered the parched soul (Rabindra Sangeeth has elegance that transends language). The glucose starved brain, coupled with a hungry child (this was three hours past her usual dinner time) made dosai-molagapodi at home seem more appealing than the sangeeth  (and mind you, just yesterday, the kid was complaining the she is sick of eating dosai).

And to cut the cliched long story short, we came back home, tail between our legs, ate dosai, and to console ourselves, opened a tin of Haldiram Rosogolla and toasted the couple who were celebrating their silver wedding anniversary today, from afar.

Comments

[Account Deleted]

Tsk, tsk! Rabindra Sangeet and hunger sure are a stomach-churning combo!

[Account Deleted]

ROFL!I imagined myself in that situation..

[Biswadeep Nag]

Sorry, mea culpa. Bengali here.

[Lakshmi]

Biswadeep, Why "mea culpa"? The mistake was mine, to not have done the homework on cultural differences before I went. I am sorry to have not enjoyed the sangeeth.