Salutations!

Srichand and Kiran Arora share the first bite of pedas

Fools celebrate birthdays. You have no hand in your birth and can claim no credit (nor blame) for surfacing on earth. Birth is an accident. But marriage is a choice. And to sustain that marriage, year after year, calls for strength of character, dedication, sacrifice, tolerance... in short, a lot of hard work. So every wedding anniversary deserves more than just compliments and good wishes.

The Milwani card

Today, the 47th wedding anniversary of Kiran and Srichand Arora deserved a big salute. At a time when urban marriages are not expected to last beyond a decade, here was a couple who has weathered it all through thick and thin for close to half a century and this morning, came out smelling of roses. No amount of hugging and hand pumping, the customary extra laugh, cheers and the many accolades showered on them after the exercises were adequate enough to express our collective admiration for this handsome husband-wife duo.

Celebrating with special brown pedas from Mathura

Perhaps the most befitting (and off-beat) tribute came from Bihari Milwani and his lovely daughter who, true to (family) tradition, presented the Aroras with a beautiful personalized home-made anniversary card. In a way they made up for what the rest of us were found wanting. Our contribution in the short but sweet celebration was limited to gorging greedily on special choco-brown pedas Arora had treated us to and making merry. Still, the high point of the morning was when the couple took the first bite of the sweet – one feeding the other with the warmth and affection that can only come out of 47 years of loving and sharing.
We wish them many more years of togetherness – in continuing on their happy journey, hand-in-hand, secure in the assurance of being there for one another. As the French say, “There can be only one happiness in life – to love and be loved.”
Bhaswati Bose:
So just three years to go for the BIG TREAT... We will wait patiently and greedily. Kya kare, BIG LAAF ke member hai, aadat se majboor hai!
Srichand Arora:
* The anniversary is not that important, but our dear BLOG MONSTER has made it so. Just read the blog! How nicely - beautifully and heart touchingly -- it has been described by him. Wow! We all love you. God bless you. I am sure, hereafter we might forget to celebrate birthdays but can never forget MARRIAGE ANNIVERSARIES.
* Bhaswati-ji, treat toh banta hai aur baki ke teen saal dekhna kitni jaldi beet jate hain. Bus thora sa intejar aur!
Harish Wadhwa:
* Blog Monster, I agree with every word in the blog today, except the fact that marriage is also an accident and NOT a choice. Yes, sustaining it is an art.
* Kudos to Arora-ji and Kiran Bhabhi-ji on their 47th wedding anniversary. The wonderful observation about the couple is that both are always smiling and happy-go-lucky. Rab yeh jodi saat janmon tak banaye rakhe!
* I genuinely appreciate Milwani-ji's daughter's hand-made card that carries a personal and affectionate touch. Children must learn from this gesture. Keep it up!
Srichand Arora adds:
Harish-ji, I would like to respond to your comment. Let me say that if one is in a love marriage, it cannot be an accident. And secondly, if it is arranged, then too it is not an accident as in normal course parents ask the boy and the girl if they like each other and are ready to accept one another as as wife / husband.