The Reception.
We finally reached Crystal Palace by 1840 hours I was surprised and taken aback to see that decorations and erection of main gate as well as arranging the tables placing of colored sash around the chairs etc inside was still going on !! Things were NOT ready !!!! Then I remembered the TOT like timings maintained in all the functions till then ................
A bit of digression for those uninitiated and do not know what is TOT. It is "Time On Target" . It is generally one of the most important timing in times of war with the enemy , in general and assumes still vital importance in particular when "coordinated attacks" are planned with other formations of air elements like , CAP for para drop , bomber escort , or Army elements like tank offensive,air cover for bridge head etc etc. where the presence of fighters / fighter Bomber at exactly the right time and place would make a difference in a victory or defeat !!! All the Squadrons in general and Fighter / Fighter Bomber/Bomber squadrons in particular are assessed by Air Force Examining Authority and marks granted . If My memory serves me right , if the TOT was OUT by " + / - FIVE SECONDS" the squadron got a big FAT ZERO in assessment !!!!! TOT was & is that important :).
..............................And realized that there were still TWENTY MINUTES for the given reception timing of 1900 hours ! In 20 mts hell of a lot of things can happen , including the venue getting fully ready for the reception :-)
There was lot of activity , Hustel & Bustle and to-ing & fro-ing going on . Most of the people Hustling & Bustling, To-ing , Fro-ing were young boys and girls , who were conspicuous and stood out for their good looks , smartness and tender age [(at our age any one in the 20s is considered as of tender age :) ] They were organizing Bar , food stalls , putting gift items on the tables, like Photo frames, sweet packets , confetti packets etc in the correct quantity so that every guest sitting on the table would get at least one of each item.Steve Datta knew few of them and called over two of them , whom he knew , and also knew that we knew there parents .
One was Ritika , Tony Garg's younger daughter . She was in-charge of liquor and looking after the bar and had done a wonderful job of the responsibility . We told her to say hello to Tony & Sadhana. Told her to also thank them as it was only because of the help and guidance given by Tony to me for the studies , that I could make it to the Staff college , also that Priti & I, even today remember the nice sleep Anuj had during his child hood in the cosy "Baby Cot" given to us by them .
The other was son of Rakesh Sharma,for those with memory problem, Rakesh was and remains the only Indian Astronaut !! It seemed that other youngesters also had Air Force background . SU had managed to commandeer a very smart , efficient and impressive volunteer work force .
Priti & I went around the venue . As was my wont,started with the bar :). As expected , lots of Vodka , Smirnoff , Whisky & Rum bottles were in evidence. The bar man with a wooden mallet in hand was busy pounding ice cubes with mint leaves and some other exotic herbs in a cauldron like vessel . His assistant was busy in dicing and chopping apples and other fruits and mixing them in red wine with some other liquids in large jugs
Food stalls were getting ready . The most tantalizing inviting and mouth watering aroma was wafting through the air . All of a sudden I was feeling hungry and then realised that my sense of smell was playing tricks on me after smelling all those most inviting smells :)
The stage with seating for the Bride and the Groom was ready . It was simple but most elegantly, and tastefully furnished and decorated , white being the predominant colour !
A well decorated arch was erected between the stage and the dance floor, this was to put the wedding cake later on after the Couple had arrived and reached the stage .
All around there were plenty of trees and all these were festooned with fairy lights , lanterns , balloons and colourful streamers . As the darkness approached the fairy lights were turned on .
It was TOT of 1900 hours and the Crystal Palace looking most beautiful like a scene from a fairy tale .
The venue was ready to receive the guests for the Reception !!!!!!!!
To be continued in...............
PART FOUR : THE PARTY
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