Eyeing the Success - Part 2 - The coincidence!!

I was very optimistic about my life since the day I met Jayant. As usual this optimism lasted for about a couple of months and it was that time of the year when we all start creeping about how we had less salary than what we deserved, how our bosses were the worst persons we have in our life, resigning from our jobs and starting our own business etc etc etc. It was appraisal time!!

My parents were busy searching for a daughter-in-law when I was busy spending my time with my friends. My trips to Goa had increased much more to my amazement. I was also of the opinion that it is now high time that I should get married. Then one fine day I was at my home in Vasco, the port town of Goa when the door bell rang. One bubbly looking lady in her 40's had come to meet my parents. I was in a hurry to go downstairs to attend one of my "Goa Friends Catchup" session. When I was back, I got to know that the lady had given a photo and "Patrika" of a potential bride. I reluctantly saw the photo. I saw a girl who was slim with big eyes and who had no expressions on her face whatsoever. Come on Pranav, Photos don't have emotions. Her name was written as Amita Shikerkar.

The patrika seem to be matching and this time I did not go to Jayant for patrika matching instead one of Amita's relatives volunteered to match the patrika and gave a positive signal that we both will make a wonderful loving pair (Open for discussion!! :))

Our families decided that we should meet. We both met and decided that we should now get married after speaking on phone for hours together for about 10 months. We both were in Pune now, with me back to routine and Amita searching for a new job. After a couple of weeks Amita told me that she has a relative of hers staying in Pune who sees "Patrika" and tells if we need to perform any rituals for our well being. I had thought that Patrika was essential only until marriage, this was something new for me.

"Come on Amita, why do we need to see Patrika. Lets believe in ourselves and with hard work and enough confidence we should be able to crack any interview".

This is what I would have said had our marriage been about couple of years old, however we were newly married couple and I thought I should not ruin my impression in the first month itself after marriage. I agreed to meet this relative of hers. On one Saturday morning we went to his house and to my amazement it was Jayant again. This time Jayant Dada as Amita would call him.

I remembered my first meet with him about 1 and a half years ago. I was excited that I will be meeting Jayant dada many a time now in the future. And this time as I had Amita by my side, my visits would have been easier.

More to come about how I could convince Jayant dada to tell me his story, some amazing incidents from his eventful life...

Eyeing the success - Part1 - My First Meet

I had to marry now, its high time and nobody would have tolerated a "No" from me for any reason. Finally I agreed to the pressures from my big family after words of wisdom from most of them. Prasad bhai, a relative, suggested me to contact a person called Mirvankar for patrika matching of any girls who had the potential to become my wife and tolerate me for the whole of her life without complaints.

Matching a patrika in Hindu marriages is like validating the skills of the candidate whether they match your requirement. This is kind of a requirement document with the designs not yet in place. Even before a girl meets a boy, their patrikas should meet each other. I did not have very good ideas about patrika matching, however for an arranged marriage you had to believe on something and I thought Patrika would be the most reliable of all. At least better than the fake human behaviors.

I called up on the number prasad bhai gave me and took an appointment. The person spoke with a puneri dialect and told me the address
Mutheshwar chowk, shaniwar peth, Pune.

I was amused by the way he spoke. He asked me to come on Thursday at 7:25 pm "sharp". I thought "This fellow must be a busy man or like most punekars behaving as if he is busy". In any case I had to face him.

Okay, Mutheshwar chowk, shaniwar peth. Going to any address in "peth" is like going to a Thrill adventure park. Small streets with people behaving like streets have been built for them, making life as tough as possible for anybody who pays road taxes, as if foot paths are built only for couples to be in their own comfortable positions and yes for bikes to go over when there is a traffic high tide. Any non-punekar going there for the first time pleads to the RTO, "Take double road tax, however please build a special highway to bypass peth". In short going to Jayant Mirvankar's place is going to be a 7D ride and that too for free.

I reached the address told by Jayant with some bike heroics which Rohit shetty would have envied. It was a small old building, however new by Pune Peth's standards. I thought it can't be this smooth in a Narayan Peth in Pune and then from no where while parking the bike I heard a loud voice.

"Arey eee.....He kai vahan tal vatla kai tumhala....Vahan taal JM roadla kinwa patrya maruti jawal ahey, tikde park kara" (Hey, do you think this is paid parking?, Parking places are present on JM road or near the patrya maruti). It was the watchman, at least he looked like one from his clothes.

I said, "Me ithe kunakade tari alo ahey"("I am here at someones place".).

He, "Nav naslela manus hai kai??"(Does he not have a name?").

Staying in Pune I too had learnt a bit of Punekar bashing. 

I said, "Me ithe Jayant Mirvankarankade alo ahey......Kaam pan sangu kai ataa??" (I am here looking for Jayant Mirvankar....Do you want me to tell the personal work that I am here for?) 

And I left the place towards the stairs looking for the name.

I saw the name "Jayant Mirvankar" with names like Joshi, Apte surrounding it. The staircase was such that barely a person could pass through. Finally, after the pune traffic bike heroics, the watchman bashing and squeezing through the staircase I was at the doorstep of Jayant Mirvankar. I knocked the door with some fear of meeting a Punekar.

I entered the house. There was something different about that house. The house was clean, with "Gondavalekar Maharaj" overlooking you from the left and curtains on the right hiding the kitchen and bedroom from outsiders. Though the flat was located in the midst of honking pune traffic, there was a sense of calmness about that place. Jayant came from one of the rooms to greet me with his wife following him and guiding him when need arises. He does not need support or guidance all through as he has been independent all his life and his wife knows this very well and offers help only when he absolutely needs it.

I was sitting in the living room thinking what I should expect. I knew it would be a typical talk like I have had earlier with many match makers. They would look at the "Patrika" and tell me which planets are suited and which are not and conclude whether I should take steps further up towards marrying the girl whose Patrika I had given.

Jayant was a busy man, he had only 15 minutes for me. from 7:30 to 7:45. So he came directly to the point and asked me for both the "Patrikas". As his wife read out both the patrikas to him, I could see him listening intently and asking her to read it again whenever needed. Probably he was making an image of the patrika in his mind as his wife read out the patrika to him. I was continuously staring at the couple with a "That's awesome" expression lit up all over my face.

We are in so much distress and pain, always complaining about small things we don't have in life. "I need car", "I need a Promotion", "I dont like the work here", "I am frustrated with the traffic in Pune", however here was a person who did not have one of the most important organs with him and was the happiest person, happier than all of us who had all we need in life and still crying about things we did not have.

By the time he finished and gave me advice that I should not marry the girl. I found his advice very practical. He said "Patrika is not a final verdict, it is just a probability of how well your life will be with that girl as your partner". So according to him though we should believe in the patrika's verdict, we should not be obsessed with it to such an extent that we ruin our lives. This was the first time that I heard a very logical view about match making.

I learnt a lot in this first visit of mine. Though I was a little sympathetic about Jayant, my respect for him was far more than the sympathy and he surely did not require any sympathy from anybody. Wonderful human being, brave, practical and logical person is what I had concluded of him. I did not knew then that I will be meeting Jayant many a time in the future to come.

Stay tuned for the parts to come....

Kebab's in the haddi's...

What do you say when you find a "Haddi" in a "kebab"?. Did you say "Kebab mein Haddi"??. No, it is in reality Ankita (My saali) in between Pranav and Amita.

My saali is a self declared "Go by my terms" person. She thinks she can do anything in this world while simultaneously asking her brother to pull a chair for her as she cannot pull it.

This incident took place on the first day when more than us our parents thought that I and Amita were perfect for each other.  So we were in Ponda for the marriage registration. All went well, I looked at Amita and the reaction came back, though with some hesitation. Our names were bonded together. Amita shikerkar was not Amita Paranjape on paper.

On this wonderful occasion our parents thought it would be best to take lord ganapati's blessings. We were the old generation types, hence though we wanted to be alone and together for some time, we did not indicate it. Our parents asked us to go to the Farmagudi Ganapati temple. I was happy as I would get some quality time with my "to be". Also, I had bought her some gifts from Pune. It would have been the perfect time when I could give it to her and see her reaction. I already had some thoughts as to what I would ask her, and what she would ask me, we both would then catch each other's hands for the first time and like a typical Bollywood movie might even circle around the banyan tree at the GEC ground before returning the new addition in the paranjape's, temporarily to the shikerkar's.

I had not heard of cold mentalism then, otherwise I would have not even thought of such good things. This is exactly what happened, Ankita could read my thoughts and she exactly knew what to do.
She called out Amita with her thin, shivering voice.."Aaaamiiiiiitaaaa", with some vital vibrations in the tone.

She wanted to come and hence she influenced Amita's mind so that Amita started asking her to accompany us along. I thought please "No...No....No"...This is supposed to be our time, only you and me. This was my second mistake, she read these thoughts too.

I was a good boy, how could I ask Ankita to not come, that would have been such a bad impression and I could not afford making my first impression my last impression.

That's it. I had to give up. I could see my Bollywood dreams being crushed. I could not do much other than posing a wide smile on my face and welcoming my one and only saaliji in the car. Saaliji obliged and I had to forget all my dreams.

This was just the first incident, I did not know this would happen many a time in future, so much so that she would be with us in Pune. Let me stop writing now....I can hear her call with her amazing voice calling "Aaaaamiiiiiiitaaa" with some shiver and yes vital vibrations in it..