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My Wedding Anniversary

Courtesy: The Hindu


My wife and I are celebrating our 17th Wedding Anniversary today with sambar.  Sambar is a good dish when Chicken Manchurian is outlawed by the institution in which we are working.  We are law-abiders. 

I liked Rahul Gandhi’s speech at the Congress Chintan shibir or whatever it is called.  Poor fellow, I thought.  He has a vision.  He wants to take the power from the wicked old people who have amassed enough and hand it over to the youth who are struggling to make both ends meet. 

I wanted to thank my wife for tolerating me for 17 years.  She would have enjoyed a chicken dish.  I donned the senile turban of worn out traditions and said, “My love, thank you for bearing with me for 17 years.   Please bear with our institution for a few more years.  I’ll feed you karimeen (a fish that is likely to become extinct) to your heart’s content …”

Rahul Gandhi came in between.  With his tears.  His past.  I felt sad.  So much feeling, so many emotions.  How do you deal with life with all that burden of the past?

“Forget the past,” said Maggie (that’s my wife).  “Why not look at the future?”

Give the power to the powerless, said Rahul Gandhi.  And he had travelled much in India before he said that. 
I’m waiting for that promised power.

“Aren’t you the dictator here?” asks my wife.

“Ok, let’s have a sambar dinner, dear.  Who dictated chicken out?”

Mrs Sonia Gandhi cried on the shoulders of Rahul Gandhi. 

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  1. Easwar ArumugamJanuary 22, 2013 at 10:01 PM

    Wonderful read. All said and done, I, too, was greatly moved by the emotion displayed by Rahul. He has good intentions. But will he be able to have his own course? That's million dollar question.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 22, 2013 at 10:07 PM

      Rahul has a good heart. I'm sure of that. I know nothing more than that.

      Except this: a good heart is bad in politics and religion.

      Delete
  2. MakJanuary 22, 2013 at 10:48 PM

    happy anniversary sir

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJanuary 23, 2013 at 12:10 AM

    Oops...am late here...happy anniversary!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 23, 2013 at 2:54 PM

      No, Priti, you're not late. The blog is about things other than the Anniversary.

      Delete
  4. provoqdJanuary 23, 2013 at 2:23 AM

    Hi Sir,

    Firstly, a very Happy Anniversary to both of you, may you see lots of anniversaries in the future as well (I know you'll say that you don't want to see any more but you'll have to see more anniversaries)

    As far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, he's got star power and a very caring mother who wants him to get a direct entry into the history books to keep the flame of the Gandhi family burning bright. I agree, he's a good person with good intentions but then again the promises which he makes are based on the poor foundation of Indian Bureaucracy. Let's see where he takes this country.

    P.S. Do check out & vote for my entry for Get Published.

    Regards

    Jay
    My Blog | My Entry to Indiblogger Get Published

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 23, 2013 at 2:56 PM

      Yes, Jay, Rahul has good intentions. Our system is such that he won't be able to deliver much!

      Delete
  5. BGTJanuary 23, 2013 at 9:34 AM

    Happy Anniversary :) God Bless!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AmitAagJanuary 23, 2013 at 11:52 AM

    Ha ha ha:)
    A very happy anniversary, Matheikal and Maggie ma'am!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 23, 2013 at 2:59 PM

      Thank you, Amit, and thanks for sharing my sense of humour.

      Delete
  7. DebopamJanuary 23, 2013 at 12:24 PM

    Many many happy returns of the day..........

    http://debnature.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete
  8. BhavanaJanuary 23, 2013 at 1:01 PM

    hahahaha! What a neat post--love the juxtapositions! Don't care too much for the institution of marriage...but definitely salute you both for making it this far...:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 23, 2013 at 3:02 PM

      Thanks, Bhavana. We are more of friends to each other than the traditional couple!

      Delete
  9. umashankarJanuary 23, 2013 at 2:05 PM

    That Has a Kafkaesqe feel! Loved the intertwining.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 23, 2013 at 3:01 PM

      I was in a light mood thinking of the years past and suddenly Raghul Gandhi made his entry! Our life is not all that independent of what happens in our society, country... and, yes, there is indeed something very Kafkaesque about our life whether we like it or not.

      Delete
  10. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2013 at 4:11 PM

    Congratulations, sir. You're far too kind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 23, 2013 at 4:50 PM

      Thanks, Shovon.

      It was a very small gesture on my part and you're most welcome.

      Delete
  11. VetirmagalJanuary 23, 2013 at 8:47 PM

    Wish you many more Anniversaries together. !

    We have to give a chance to Rahul Gandhi, as we have given to thousands of others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 24, 2013 at 6:23 PM

      Pattu, Rahul took too long to prove his credentials. Given his background, if he had any political skill, he would have been the king today in India. I don't think he will make it. Otherwise whe will be another Gandhi, the Mahatma. And I must say he shows something in that line. There is something of the Mahatma in him.

      But does India want another Mahatma?

      Delete
  12. Woman'n'BeyondJanuary 23, 2013 at 8:56 PM

    Wish you many happy returns of the day! Let's see if Rahul is able to rise above promises!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 24, 2013 at 6:24 PM

      Meenakshi, Rahul may be far above the ordinary. But promises? Who cares in politics?

      Delete
  13. PanchaliJanuary 24, 2013 at 12:07 AM

    LOL...Many more wonderful returns!Coronation over...now let's wait and watch! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. mandakolathurJanuary 24, 2013 at 8:29 AM

    I am going to Washington, D.C for your wedding anniversary, not just the local Jaipur (may be you both should go there next year).

    Just the day before your wedding anniversary, Obama too gave what is tagged a challenging speech, challenging the opposition, the Republicans,that is. So, who among the two of you is the Democrat and who the Republican?

    Have Chicken Manchurian on me for your next anniversary!

    RE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 24, 2013 at 6:37 PM

      Raghuram, best wishes for the trip to the land of dreams which is not strange to you. My dreams are destined to be lived out in India, a country I love for various reasons.

      I'll, however, have chicken manchurian outside the campus with my wife whenever she and I will feel like having it. So, we are neither democrats nor republicans!

      Delete
  15. ranesh_neophyteJanuary 24, 2013 at 4:31 PM

    Happy anniversary sir !!!!
    sir I m not sure if mr Rahul Gandhi has good heart heart, he is in politics and from a family which is totally political and full of diplomats ...so i doubt that he has a good heart .....i don't see vision in his words or speeches .. this is not because i m not a supporter of congress but because i seriously do not see any vision in rahul gandhi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 24, 2013 at 6:39 PM

      Ranesh dear,
      Who are you and I to judge Rahul Gandhi? You are speaking of a family (dynasty) problem. I'm aware of the same at a different level. Rahul may not be a good leader in the political sense. Beyond that, I don't want to say anything now.

      Delete
  16. DominicFebruary 14, 2013 at 11:29 PM

    This has become a blackboard for anniversary greetings.
    Let me greet you too, tho' belatedly... mainly because of one more thread of affinity between u and me... I too call my wife with 19 years of interdependence Maggie...lol

    ReplyDelete

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