Let the preconceived notions and perceptions NOT mar the beauty of relationships

I was bit apprehensive about going there, had my own fears of ‘how would I be treated by the people of other community’ - thanks to the junk fed to our minds since childhood. I was little sceptical and unsure of attending the occasion. But my conviction that I’m going to attend a close friend’s wedding and not of someone from a specific caste or community, pushed me to be a part of this so very special moment of my friend’s life. Hence, there I was at Udaipur, at his place, with Azu’s (one of my best pals, whose wedding I was to attend) family. My heart started beating fast as soon as I reached Udaipur but my fears gradually started vanishing by the ‘true hospitability’ that I experienced during my stay at Udaipur, with Azu’s family.

Azu and his younger brother came to pick us (I and our friend Amit) and took us to the hotel, where they had already made perfect arrangements for our stay. We were suddenly left with no worries. But this was only the trailer. The real hospitality was to follow. We took our own sweet time to freshen up at the hotel. We then had to go to Azu’s place to meet his family and have our lunch there. I found it really sweet when I saw Shabeer Uncle (Azu’s dad) coming to pick us from the hotel, when he could have easily guided us to reach his home on our own. Shabeer Uncle seemed to have decided to make our stay so comfortable and memorable. On the way to his home, he kept briefing us about various places in Udaipur and how we could make best use of our time there. We had already started enjoying his company; he was so friendly with his son’s friends. What a cool dad he is, I thought :)

Time quickly went by and we reached at Azu’s sweet home. Yes, it truly is a ‘sweet home’ and that’s what I realized during my stay there. Azu introduced us to every single person present there, including his other relatives who had come to attend his wedding. The happiness on everyone’s face there, while we were greeting each other, was so genuine. I loved being in the ‘zero attitude’ zone there, full of people welcoming you to their hearts :) and that too with so much of warmth and poise. Shabeer uncle and Azu then gladly showed us their entire house that was again, very beautiful, having a lovely terrace garden with a mountaneous view. What a wonderful beginning to equip someone to your place, to make someone so comfortable at your home!!

Soon, it was lunch time and we were invited for the lunch. Aunty Ji (Azu’s mom) was bit apprehensive of whether we would like sitting and eating with them together or not. This thought of her clearly reflects her deeply soft and mellowed down persona. Her so humble nature made her look so beautiful and I couldn’t stop myself from respecting her even more :).

While I’m writing this, I’m little apprehensive about how they’ll (Azu’s family) react after reading this (if they do so), but I am unable to stop myself from expressing my gratitude towards them and telling the world that never stop yourself from going ahead and loving people with open hearts, because you might end up discovering gem of people - people who are beyond boundaries of castes and communities.

We started having our lunch that was served with so much of love. Everyone sitting there ensured that we ate well and enjoyed the lunch thoroughly. Wish, I could tell them then that my heart was already full of so much of love that they had already given us within just 4-5 hours of our being there :). The food tastes even better when it is served with so much of passion, respect and warmth.

After spending some more time there, it was time to pick our stuff from the hotel and get ready for Aziz’s ‘Barat’ (wedding procession). There again, Shabeer uncle, Azu, his brother and Aunty Ji helped us in arranging for whatever was required. I felt as if we were troubling them much but they seemed to be so happy making us a part of the occasion. Could we have asked for more?

The Barat was ready to proceed and Azu’s family ensured that we were enjoying every moment. I felt so touched when I was called to be a part of a ritual along with other family members, just before the Barat proceeded for the venue. Aunty Ji kept ensuring that I wasn’t left alone on the way and also at the venue. I was touched to the core.

I thoroughly enjoyed Azu’s cousin sister’s company while she so lovingly explained every single ritual to me. Her funny talks made it even better. I thought, “Have I ever taken so much of pain to make someone so comfortable?” I wish I could also do this.

The night ended and it was the reception, next evening. We thought to use our free time to visit some places in Udaipur. Amit had been a great company too. After we had enjoyed our next morning visiting various markets and other places, we were again invited for lunch at Azu’s place. It was again a lavish and delicious spread and we met a few more of Azu’s relatives there. Everyone there was so warm-hearted. Not just Azu’s parents but also his other relatives (especially his masi ji - maternal aunt) were serving the food with so much of love. We were being fed as if we were their kids. Love seems to be running in their blood :). We chatted with them for a while and that too was a joyful experience. I loved the tea that Shabeer uncle made and served in the evening. Someone has rightly said, “The family that eats together, stays together” and this was very much reflected in everything I saw at Azu’s place.

We finally got ready for the reception and reached the venue. We met other friends and cousins of Azu and interacting with them was also very enjoyable experience. The reception brought us closer to Azu’s family’s caring nature when we often found his parents looking for us and frequently checking if we had our dinner or not. The ceremony ended with ‘Bidai’ and we were also dropped at our hotel. Nowhere, we were left on our own to manage. Everything was being taken care of by Azu’s family. My heart was full of admiration for such responsible and caring people. We were already invited by Azu’s maternal aunt to have lunch at her place the next day. Felt great to be a ‘part’ of the family :).

Next day, after visting a couple more places in Udaipur, we’re picked from the hotel by Azu’s brother and we reached at his maternal aunt’s place. There again, everyone ensured that we were ‘stuffed’ with love :). The food was delicious and Azu’s masi ji so loving fed us that I felt as if my mom was sitting there feeding me. She insisted that we should catch up with some sleep, while at her place. Could anyone be more caring? Soon, we were chatting like a family, with Abbu’s (Azu’s nephew) cute, little tantrums adding to more fun. Awe, what a short yet beautiful experience we had with these adorable people. It was time for us to leave and the good bye felt even special with the loving hugs from Azu’s family.

This whole experience was so amazing and beautiful that it washed off all my apprehensions of ‘how would I be treated by them’, forever. It has suddenly made me much more open to welcome the love that is unexperienced and has been overshadowed by the boundaries that we have created in our minds, for people of other castes and communities.

Thank you Azu and everyone in your family for making me look at the relations with more love. Let the love flow across communities, boundaries. Life is short. Let’s not die without opening our hearts and removing the dirt and dust of hatred, jealousy, and selfishness - let the ‘true hospitality’ rock!! :)

Ameen..