I have never ever attended a
slumber party in my life, although I have spent many sleepless nights during
holiday with friends. It sounded exciting when my friends invited me to meet
for a night at friend’s home.
Furniture is moved away from the
living room, mattresses and cushions randomly placed across the room. The wall
is decorated with fun on the mind, (Hungama scrolled in crazy manner).
The preparations were done,(excitement and planning began fifteen days prior to the event) although the girls (actually women)
were to meet only after having their heavy dinner of roasted and spiced finger
foods followed by proper dinner at Sasural restaurant.
But still, the home kitchen had to be
stocked with late night snacks. There were biscuits, banana wafers, chocolates,
sweets and unlimited supply of cold water. The women refused to eat, saying,
they were full but still tasted tit bits from every packet that was passed
around till they slowly stretched their legs, then their body and soon went
under blanket when their eyes began to droop.
Group pictures are must- it is
mainly for those who could not make it to the party.(100% attendance would be 50 close friends, many could not attend due to unavoidable circumstances)
At Sasural, women were anxious to
finish dinner and go home. The dining table at the restaurant was too long,
service was slow, and conversation was not easy, so while the food arrived,
there was some time for photo sessions
The ladies were fashionably
dressed for the party and all looked gorgeous.
The fun began as soon as the
women slipped into their nightdress, saris folded and tucked away neatly into
their bags, Some with bad knee quickly rushed to sit on comfortable sofas while
other sat on cushions or cross legged on the floor, some rested on their elbows
with hands on their chin while others leant lazily against the wall.
The show begins…..
It is Oscar award night, most of
us have dreamt of Oscar awards or simple recognition in some field, after all
we are the bunch of talented people who are often recognized on Watsapp for our
witty messages throughout the day. True friends know our worth and we were to
celebrate the grand event in our nightdress (oh, I wish we all could have worn
our flowing night gowns instead of pyjamas)
Anyway..Jahnavi, Lata and Nalini
entered the stage (on the mattress facing the audience) Nalini held the red Oscar
ribbons and envelops, Lata swinging gracefully around her hips, with a smile
and blinking eyelids, walked towards Jahnavi who most animatedly welcomed
everybody in the room. She was really fabulous with her role as the compere,
her voice loud and clear. Since they were meeting Bindu after many years, she
was invited as chief guest to do the honor of giving away the prize of
recognition.
Awards of different categories
were called out one by one, each one for their distinct talent. The names were
revealed after opening the envelopes and the recipient honored with the red ribbon
with heart shape medal around their neck. They were encouraged to speak few
words. The winners expressed their appreciation with raised eyebrows, some
overwhelmed by the honor, burst into tears, wiping their eyes and nose with the
hem of their dress and some too excited to say anything at all.
And the awards went to:
Vijaya got the HASI TO FASI Award
for laughing and giggling all the time.
Lucy got the FAST AND FURIOUS
Award.
Dilu got award for BANDIT QUEEN
Sandra for JUNGLE BEAUTY
SANGEETA for STYLE DIVA
Lata got an award for being
NAUGHTY AT SIXTY.
Shipra got the IRON LADY Award
Madhu, Bindu and Annie(in
absentia, she attended only the dinner)
got the award of THE THREE MUSKETEERS
Jahnavi got the CHETAN BHAGAT
Award for her writing skills.
Sharbari got a STRAWBERRY PUDDING
Award
Sita and Nalini got SADHU AUR
SHAITAN Award.
Pushee got DANDAWALI BAWARCHI
award
Many of them had ribbon round
their neck, throughout the night (and I am told that some of them even took the
medals home to decorate their living room shelf.)
The eatables and drinks made their
rounds while we prepared for the next game of tambola.
We had many more games planned
for the night, like playing antakshri and some naughty group games, but heavy dinner
at Sasural and then additional snacks at home played tricks over the eyelids…with
droopy eyes, some of them chose to stretch, just lie down for a while..
The voices became blurry, and
suddenly lights went off with just few of us who sat alert on the couch in
darkness....whispering away our anecdotes till the daylight began to sweep
inside the room.
After the hot cup of tea, we,
like zombies, headed home to catch up on sleep that we had lost during the
night…….
