Chinese also steal Hearts!

I was quite surprised to get a mail from my old time friend Ganesh sundaram inviting me to attend the marriage of his elder son Nikhil with Hsin @ Delhi on the 23rd June, 2013.  The name added curiosity and more so as she was an Associate Professor of Music with Texas A&M University, U S A.  My friend is an accomplished Piano-Accordion player himself and we used to perform in Delhi during the 70s.

I and my wife left for Delhi on the 21st morning as there was sangeeth program at the Lake Side club, Mayur Vihar in the evening.  Hsin, hailing from Taipei presented a couple of Chinese folk songs which were sounding brilliant and outstanding.  She is trained in Opera singing where one is trained to sing without using Mikes or amplification systems!  One has to use the vocal cords to amplify the sound and the training is so perfect that you do not require any supporting gadgets to amplify your voice!!  It is also true if you recall how our carnatic stalwarts like S D  Kittappa, M D Ramanathan and many others sang without using any supportive amplifications.

There were more than a dozen versatile singers and each one outclassing the other in singing!  Mridul, younger son of Renu and Ganesh adorned his Spanish Guitar to accompany the singers and also play a few heavy metal clips which were appreciated well.

The morning of 23rd June, 2013 witnessed the young couple locking themselves in the spectrum of Matrimony, the rituals of which were conducted according to Hindu rites and rituals.  Hsin was clad neatly in a traditional south Indian silk Saree and looked vibrant and beautiful.  Nikhil looked absolutely handsome and affectionate.  Both of them got married and there were hundreds of guests to bless the newly weds.

There were 5 family members of Hsin who specially flew in from Taipei to attend the marriage.  The highlight of the marriage were a Chinese couple from Delhi, friends of Ganesh who were gracious enough to do Kanya Dhaan of Hsin who did not have her father.  The Chinese couple were known friends of Ganesh for a long time and readily agreed to do the role of parents of Hsin for the function!  god bless them all!!  I also met one of our good old friends popularly known as LC(L Chandrasekar) who used to try his hands on the drums when we had the orchestra during the early 70s! Both of us looked well fed for ever whereas Ganesh, the Groom's father,  looked as if he had parted all his food only to both of us!!  We had a good time cherishing old memories together.

Chinese not only intrude Indian Territories but also Indian Hearts!!