Many of us plan an event or trip taking meticulous details into account. The more experienced one is in such matters, the better things get organized. The nuclear family culture prevalent nowadays verily gives the jitters to the lone couple if an event is to be organized at the residence, especially traditional rituals quite commonly performed in Hindu families, wherein outsourcing help is not possible at times.
Memory lapses and last minute purchases bring the couple into a sweat. I remember a time we had organized a religious ceremony and hired the services of a professional cook. He had visited a week earlier and given us the list of groceries to be purchased.
Everything was done by us, thanks to online shopping. But on the day of the function whilst we were extremely busy with the ritual, the first thing the assistant cook looked for was red chilli to prepare the rasam powder. Lo, the main cook had forgotten this on the list given to us! Luckily my son-in-law, Prasad, had graced the occasion and he took it upon himself to search out the early bird shops and bought the red chilli and dry copra too, inadvertently forgotten by the cook. Later on, we realized that the scented arecanut needed after lunch was missing and once again our son-in-law proved to be the saviour.
With such lapses becoming commonplace and proving stressful to the hosts, most people, despite owning large homes, prefer to perform such events at function halls or temples where everything is taken care of. A rush of nostalgia touches me as I remember the huge household that I
grew up in, with events being planned and executed easily by all the in-house relatives.
My revered father Gopalakrishna Udupi would decide the event, my venerable mother Radhalakshmi would be the chief executive appointing the cook and allocating tasks to the numerous relatives – a few of whom were serving at our business.
My in-house maid dear Lakshmi was no less efficient. She would call for additional hands from her extended family who gladly pitched in for the lure of food and money offered on the occasion.
So what about planning a trip? There can be no comparison between now and the 60s, in all aspects. The whole trip can be arranged through travel agencies nowadays for the wary travellers. The enterprising breed plan on their own from scratch after plenty of research and narrowing down on the destination. The route map is looked up and a few noteworthy places enroute are thrown in for sightseeing. The sites for night stay are
decided upon, which again depends on satisfactory food and lodging facilities available. Only upon confirmation of the travel tickets, the seasoned traveller makes the other reservations of stay and local taxis. Recently, an acquaintance made family reservations for onward local journeys, hotel stays and taxi rides, believing that the railway
reservation under the waiting list for the initial leg would get confirmed as there was ample time. She was in for a bad surprise when it did not and her whole trip collapsed, as she was reluctant to travel by flight and save the plan.
So it makes sense to make the first and final leg of the journey secure before weaving any elaborate travel plan.
