In the much anticipated excitement of an auspicious ceremony, some hiccups are inevitable. In some cases, no amount of preparation is enough. Here’s an incident that vouches for the fact that there aren’t just limited things that can go wrong in one place at one time.
Rose petals, violins, preceded by a touching video clip budded with memories and milestones in the couple’s love story that followed the welcoming of guests – everything was going somewhat according to plan until it was time to exchange rings. Only when the compere ushered in Ira and Harish on stage did they realize – the engagement rings were missing!
Only few days ago the duo became convinced that they wanted to spend their lives together. Ira hailed from a heritage vastly different from her companion. Her father was primarily Italian though the rest of her family branched out in different parts of Europe. Her mother was purely Moroccan.
Ira visited India five years ago on a geology student exchange program and fell in love with Harish. Their common favourite stone was the peridot, coincidentally their birthstone too. Without a doubt, their priceless engagement rings had a unique peridot stone fixed in each.
The day of the engagement was indeed thrilling. Harish’s family being traditionally Maharashtrian, weren’t particularly fluent in English. Hence, most conversations went misunderstood. From non vegetarian starters being served to strict brahmins to embarrassingly mispronounced English verbiage, the party was almost a volatile mess.
After a tiresome half an hour spent on a tedious search for the engagement rings, Ira asked her mother if she remembered seeing the gold plated boxes. She affirmed that she did and had given them to Harish’s parents earlier that day. On checking with his parents, Harish was relieved to finally see the rings, albeit on their fingers. Turns out, they understood it to be a prestigious gift from the land of Africa and reluctantly returned the prized ornaments.
The ceremony coming to an end brought a strange relief. Yet Harish knew that he’d be embarrassed about this day for a long time.
