Invitation Revived

Kiran Sajjan came in today (left pic) to remind us of the invitation to her son’s wedding in Lonavala this week-end. As mentioned in our post of January 18, the wedding is slated for Monday, January 28 – to be preceded by a Sangeet Ceremony on Sunday, January 27. The invitation is to both events.
Kiran’s visit assumes significance as the initial enthusiasm on attending the wedding had fizzled out following indications of “space constraints” at the venue, especially for those who wanted to stay the night over on Sunday. Shekhawat had informed that he had “got to know” of problems of accommodation and rather than be an imposition on the hosts, he felt we should call off the trip.
This morning though, Kiran came up with a completely different story. She assured us that there would be ample accommodation for everyone so long as we inform her in advance. She even offered to take care of our return trip from Lonavala as there will be no dearth of transport heading towards Mumbai after the wedding.
Now this puts us in a fix. Since the invitation is addressed to the Club in general, a joint call will have to be taken on organizing ourselves, should we be going. Time is short and there are issues of booking a bus (if required), the gift to be purchased, individual contribution, etc. Or should each be left to his/her own devices…
Meanwhile, the fund collection drive has become an everyday ritual (bottom pic) in the Garden. Shekhawat calls for the cash, Arora enters it against individual names in a register, Monthi Serrao collects the amount to be deposited in the bank… This is the daily drill being followed religiously, post-exercise, since last week.
Jagmohan Papneja:
We usually don't see any mention of gifts in a wedding invitation. But in Sajjan's invite, they had indicated "no gifts" -- so as to let people know that all they want is to share their joy with family and friends. We may still give them something on a voluntary contribution basis.