The Shaadi

So finally my cousin is married.  It was an epic wedding, as there were functions up in Buffalo the week before, and more functions in New York this past weekend. Though I am sad it's all over!  When you get into the shaadi mode, it's hard to get out of it.... Anyway, like I mentioned, it was a Muslim-Christian wedding, so it was somewhat of a fusion wedding.  Buffalo was the Church function, which didn't turn out to be any sort of pure Catholic ceremony, but instead more of a multifaith, integrated ceremony, where they read from the Bible, the Quran, and, even the Tora.  They also left out the "you may kiss the bride" portion, I suppose that was a wise compromise....  It turned out to be a good time since all our cousins were there to hang out.  We also got to sneak a peak at Niagra falls, and eat buffalo wings at Anchorbar, the home of the original Buffalo wings.  The nightlife was, well, ghetto.  But we found salvage at a bar called Soho lounge for drinks amongst frat boys and white trash.  At least the beers were dirt cheap!

One of the crazy stories of the Buffalo trip though was the airport incident.  So get this, I check into the airport, get my boarding pass, and am waiting at the gate. Of course half the 20 row plane we are taking back to New York is our family, so a short while later, the rest of the brigade arrives.  As they check in, my aunt, who has my last name as wel, got her ticket at the counter, checked in, walks through security, and has her ID checked and everything.  Security was standard, slow, checking all bags, making you take off shoes and belts, and takin away any lotions or liquids over a certain size.  When she gets to the gate she sees her boarding card, and it is the exact same as mine.  That's right, she has "Ali Haider seat 1A" on her card, just as I do....  Are you kidding me? I was shocked! It was issued to her, AND she passed through the ID check with the WRONG fuckin name on the boarding card.  How can you even issue two of the same boarding cards and not know? What the hell kind of security is this?  So many millions of dollars and anally retentive checks, and even making walk through some weird ass machine that blows air up your clothes, and you issue a second boarding card for a Paki dude named Ali to an auntie.  I just couldn't believe it.  It coulda been some sleeper cell terrorist taking my name, shooting me in the bathroom, and then hijacking the plane, all the while I would be the one blamed for it all!!    Unbelievable.  The airport personnel didn't even make a big deal out of it, and ironically I wanted to bitch them out, and ask them what kind of freakin system are they running here? But decided not to push my luck..  But just goes to show, are we really safe when we fly??  I don't know.....

Well we did make it back in once piece.  And the whole week was filled with dinners and dholki's my cousin's house, which was essentially the Shaadi House, as the Mehndi and Nikka, and Valeema were all there.. Friday and Saturday was the Mehndi and Valeema, and it was nothing but fun.  Great set up, great food, drinks, and a lot of dancing. We even did a choreographed dance, which will never make it to youtube contrary to popular opinion.  Oh there were problems sure, like the power kept going out because the lights and DJ equipment kept competing... Of course I somehow was appointed the electrician, and was dancing banghra to Daler Mehndi one second, and running into the basement to flip the circuit breaker the next.  Food catered by Diwan grill, you can't go wrong with that! The DJ was great, I'll throw him a plug in case you ever need a good DJ for a desi event - DJ Gudah.  I forgot how much I loved Pakistani weddings, as it has been a while since I went to one, and it was a great time, mostly thanks to our great family and friends.  I have tons of pictures that I've launched onto facebook, so feel free to check them out, as they tell the story better than words.  And of course, Good luck to Umar and Judith!

Comments

[Salacious Samosa]

Your shaadi pictures rocked Ali. You should've checked out the Canadian side of the falls, it is way better.

Your 'high security' story reminds me of when my mum and I were flying to Karachi and the American immgration officer was so busy barking instructions at me that he didn't check the expiration date on my mother's passport. We flew all the way to Karachi on an expired passport. How cool is that! American 'high secuity/intelligence' is just about as brilliant as the President!

[Suga]

Ur pics were wicked and so full of fun:)

Best wishes to Umar and Judith x

[Rajaa]

You just made me nostalgic :)

Its been a while since I have attended a traditional wedding but i am glad you guys had fun.

About airports, these crazy people!! They are never on top of things. The media makes a big deal, but seriously, the actual security system just sucks. I fly all the time and encounter one interesting and stupid incident each time I fly :)