Ok, Mari calls me up
about four years ago, 7am
she says, let's drive halfway to kottayam
to meet a boy
and I was worried
I was like, wow, this girl is really taken with this guy
I hope he's nice
I had a whole speech prepared
Like, you better take care of her
or else
But the moment I met Josh
I saw the way that he looked at her
and I realised
I had nothing to worry about!
He was the one in trouble!
He was the one
who was so enamoured by her
that speech remains unused
don't need it
I don't need to give it today as well
look at the way he looks at her guys!
What I want to say is
Josh
You are like delicious kappa (tapioca)
to my spicy meen (fish) curry of mari
you guys are the perfect couple
I'm so happy that you guys are together
I'm so happy I could be here for this
Can we have a round of applause for this fabulous husband and wife
You didn't tell me which bangles are going to suit your sari, Mari
I think it'll go actually
Wear whatever you like, I took all
Mari don't laugh!
Sit still!
Rosie
Send me the photo, ok?
In Delhi
I was going for my friend's brother's wedding
Mari called me
saying hey Josh, I'm in Delhi, I am free for some time
let's meet?
Even then it didn't click that she liked me
I said, sure you might be free but I'm very busy with the wedding here
I'm helping my friend's family
Let's meet later in the evening, no problem
And then I blew her off
After that my friend texted me
You idiot,
she likes you
she wants to meet you
Then I figured it out
Let's try again
I called her back
I said I'm free now
Let's meet?
We met at 3pm
We left at 12 or 1am
So that was really an instant attraction
It was comfort, to be honest
Her way of talking
or her childhood stories
all her likes, all of it
i found a lot of similarity between us
it was very easy
it was another level of comfort
that I felt that day
I really didn't want that night to end
the groom is ready!
every time as we grow older
I feel like we find new reasons to be in love
instead of it fading
we keep asking each other how are we still
after all this time
and after knowing all of this
how are we still in love?
(your lipstick is going to come on my face Mari!)
On the first day that I met him, if it was his smile
then maybe today
it's his warmth or his generosity
maybe ten years down the line
it will be the father that he is
but I feel like I will always find things
to be in love with about Josh
I don't think that's going to change
(Mari, you look super!)
Chanting The Lord's Prayer
Amma, can you bless me please?
Oh why not!
Who am I to bless you anyway?
I have a letter of hers
Maybe three weeks after we met
She wrote me a letter
She has a fierceness
A fierceness with which she loves you
you can see it in that letter
In just three weeks
One person is so sure about the other person
so convinced
If you read it even you would think
does the girl really love him this much?
that's something
maybe I should try this
maybe we should give this a shot
May you be always happy in your married life
Lord, give them joy and bless their union
And I think when they saw
The man Josh is
and the way he is around me
and our relationship
as observers, I think they then realised that
he really loves me
he's going to be there
he's a reliable and trustworthy person
and he's full of love and warmth
once they saw that
after a couple of meetings
then it was as if he was part of the family already
in background: I'd like to welcome you all to this lunch reception for Joshua and Marita
This love that we feel now
that's not going to fade away
it's one of her big fears
that this love that we feel
after some years, it will go away
slowly slowly it will fade
and we are going to live separate lives
that this love is not going to be forever
but I don't think it's going to fade away
not that easy
it's not going to fade away
it's an unending reserve of love
that we have for each other
and that won't fade away so easily
the first thing I remember so clearly
And what I am still in love with
he has this very warm, radiant smile
when he smiles it's like
his face and facial features become 10x more handsome
that's the first thing he gave me
he gave me a warm smile
he gave me a big warm hug
almost like we were already friends
almost like we had known each other already
and that put me at ease
that's the first thing that I remember when I met him
(and bless this lovely couple)
He said, so I shall thank the Lord
for winning the heart of Marita
you see, the logic?
I said no, the logic is
Marita has agreed to marry you
That is the blessing of them all
People say that married life is boring
but that's not true
if you're marrying your best friend
you both are going to have an amazing life
can we have a round of applause for these
two wonderful human beings
