Oh the joy, the utter joy of
it. Maria Luisa touches the piano tenderly, no, no, the piano no longer plays a
tune, but it makes a great repository for the piles upon piles of invitations
resting on it. Invitations to Weddings brought to select invitees by a member
of the family.
‘Won’t
you sit down for a cup of coffee?’
‘No,
no, thank you ever so much, I have to go to so very many places. Do come ahm’
‘Yes
of course.’
Invitations so lovingly and
chronologically arranged, every Saturday accounted for until the end of next
month.
Suddenly
a very distraught Maria Luisa realises that they have no invitation for the
Pinto Carvalho Marriage, the Pinto Carvalho-Rocha Melo was the Society Marriage
of the year, not being invited to this Marriage was being totally ignored by
Society. These two families were considered Royalty in Goa.
As
soon as Jose steps in the house, he hears a strident disturbed cry
‘Jose,
Jose, querido, do you by any chance have the Pinto Carvalho-Rocha Melo Marriage
invitation card.
With
his heart sinking deeply, Jose knows what is expected of him.
‘Jose
everyone else has received it….’tears stand in Maria Luisa’s deep brown eyes.
As anticipated a trip to Dr
Fremiot Pinto Carvalho is arranged.
‘Boa
tarde, Senhor Doutor, how are you? Busy hmm’
‘Yes,
yes Jose what a pleasant surprise....’
Jose disliked the pompous
old buffoon immensely, a small time advocate, immensely rich, he had an opinion
about everything, from Law to gardening. Jose knew that this insufferable man was
taking advantage of the situation. People visiting him for Invitations for his
son’s Marriage. The dolt of a son, who was in ‘real estate’ which consisted in
selling ancestral land to sustain a lavish life style.
He really wished he could
strangle Maria Luisa.
Maria
Luisa took a deep breath, ‘Just wanted to tell you, Doutor, that if there is
anything you need, any help at all, my Jose is always at your service’ gushed
Maria Luisa with fervour born out of desperation.
Dr
Fremiot Pinto Carvalho, loved the power he wielded on such occasions, should he
invite this cretin or not, look at this gushing woman, she just sickened him. He
had received many such unexpected visits, all of these social climbers with
just one thing on their minds. The Invitation to his son’s Marriage. He really
despised such people but absolutely loved the Power he had over them, to invite
or not to invite. That is the question.
‘Dona Maria Luisa, how kind, how thoughtful of
you, such good friends.’
‘Emilia, Emilia, Sr. Jose and Dona Maria Luisa
are here’
‘How
nice of you, Maria Luisa, what is this packet?
‘Nada,
nada mesmo Dona Emilia, just a piece of cheese and cod our Sara brought from
Portugal’.
Dr
Fremiot Pinto Carvalho, smiled a delicious smile thinking, ‘my breakfast for
tomorrow, you simpering creature.
‘Tontinho
was just about to come to your house with the Invitation, but now that you are
here…’ murmured D. Emilia, sick to her gills of all these visits, these people
simply lacked self respect.
‘Of
course, of course, Tontinho need worry no more, he must be so busy’.
Ahh what
utter relief she had the precious Invitation Card to the Society Marriage, the
ugly - Jose’s opinion of course – red, gold and green invitation card to the
Pinto Carvalho-Rocha Melo Marriage. Bless my soul, thought the naïve Maria Luisa;
they even have their Family Crest embossed on it.
Maria Luisa breathes a deep
sigh of pure relief; it was now in her hand. …..She places the Invitation card
right in front, patting it delicately, in her heart she has to agree with Jose,
it is really a jarring colour.
Invitation
cards piled high, all shapes and colours, white and ivory, passé my dear, the
colours of the Season are blue, violet or maybe ink blue. And as in the case of
the Pinto Carvalho-Rocha Melo, their own family colours, which of course are
the colours of Portugal and a Crest dating back to those times when there had
been a Viscount in the Family.
Never mind that the
Viscount’s grandchildren had turned out to be a bunch of illiterate, lazy,
rabble of bums, molesting young girls in
their village.
A Viscount is a Viscount,
whatever you may say.
Jose
the man, who works very hard as a doctor, laughs heartily, at home at last,
with a drink in his hand and the precious Card, he in fact just
cannot stop laughing.
‘Maria,
querida this card beats any card in Switzerland or even Quebec, those are
bilingual, but this elite card is trilingual.’ Oh, my God a card in three
languages,whatever for?
‘ Maria
where is this Capela de San Roque das Doenças Infecciosas e Contagiosas?’
‘Oh my God it is in Loliem, Canacona, let us skip the nuptials?’
‘Skip
the nuptials; are you out of your mind? No, Jose, no, you know how particular Dona
Emilia is about such things; they always go for every nuptial mass’
‘But
Loliem? Maria’…
‘No Jose, no, you know how
difficult it was to be invited’. Please Jose, please, for my sake’.
‘Look Jose there is even a
little map, with directions of how to get there, how nice, how clever, Dr.
Fremiot has always been so particular, so precise.
‘That
miserable, wretched, pompous couple’, growls Jose.
Tired and disheveled Maria and Jose reach the Capela de San Roque das
Doenças Infecciosas e Contagiosas in Loliem, after the driver had missed the
turning, thrice.
Nowhere to freshen up, there is no toilet, the
chapel has never seen a Wedding, the local people prefer their Church. The
chapel is used only if there is an outbreak of a pestilence in the village as
the very name suggests. Is there something wrong with the Bride the local people
wonder? Is she pregnant? Is that a pestilence?
Jose,
a man of few pretensions, peers as a band of young girls all clad in vivid
cherry red enter the small Chapel,
‘Who are those eight girls all dressed in cherry
red, Maria?’
‘Jose, you daft, silly man, those are the
Bridesmaids of course’
‘But our Sara had just one?’
‘Shsss Jose times have changed, all the friends of
the Bride want to partake of this joyous occasion, and you cannot leave the
First cousins out can you?’
’Sshh Jose, Dona Emiia just glanced in our direction
’.
Jose had a fine taste for clothes
and food, he disliked badly dressed women intensely.
‘Maria who is that dumpy, short Bridesmaid, she
looks terrible in that off shoulder dress’
‘Jose she is Advocate Pinto’s daughter, remember how
he helped Dr. Fremiot when he was just starting out’.
‘Maria what
are those eight vapid looking young men doing with those Bridesmaids?’
Huge sigh
‘Jose those are the Ushers, accompanying the Bridesmaids, surely you did not
think that the Bridesmaids would walk down the aisle, alone and unaccompanied’
‘But Maria, I
thought Ushers showed the Guests to their places in the pews’
‘Jose here in Goa Ushers accompany the Bridesmaids,
they do not usher you to your place in the pew. Maria Luisa was clearly
extremely irritated at this no-frills husband of hers, spoiling her fun.
At long last the ceremony is at an end, the Choir
has outdone itself, the Bride’s family was very musical. They had all sung with
zest and enthusiasm. So many hymns, the entire ceremony had lasted around two
hours.
Everyone moves out of the dank chapel, tired and
thirsty. Poor Maria Luisa trying to wish everyone, smiling and smiling, desperately
trying to make her presence felt, worried that the elite would overlook her,
would be unaware of her presence.
Jose on the other hand wondering why he had allowed himself to be dragged
into this, to this end of the world……….to this Cus de
Judas.....
Everyone follows the Bridal Couple to the venue of
the reception, most go home for a hearty snack, Jose the man of basic needs
that cannot be ignored goes home for bowl of thick soup, for as he says ‘who
knows when food will be served’.
Jose would really love to spend this beautiful evening at home with his
wife, chatting or even watching a film but…
‘Maria shall we skip the Reception and listen to
some music, or watch a nice film? ’ Maria Luisa so very horrified glances at
Jose, who winks at her.
‘Come on let us go’.
Jose hates the cold, the dew makes him wheeze, he
makes his way to a comfortable tent like structure at the venue of the
Reception, there are two of these tent like structures. As he hastens towards
one of these, Maria Luisa ever vigilant, wants to make sure her husband does
not commit any gaffes, especially here at this almost royal wedding, taps him
on his shoulder.
‘Where do you
think you are going Jose?’
‘That tent like contraption does look comfortable’
‘Jose that is for the Bridal Entourage’
‘Let me understand this Maria, the Bridal Entourage
sits comfortably away from the dew, the cold, while we the invitees brave the
weather?’
‘Don’t be annoyed Jose, you should get a cap like
Senhor Dantas’
‘Maria, if I wanted to play Golf I would get such a
cap. Oh no, no, no dear God there goes that buffoon MC with his stupid and
crass jokes.’ ’I have such a headache Maria’
‘And what is
so special and breathtaking about opening a champagne bottle, the pop? I know
Maria the champagne is only for the Bridal Entourage because it is expensive.’
‘Why have it
then, the Bridal Entourage could have and should have a Champagne party at their own home
with all their family members. What are we Maria? Guests or Beggars?
Jose was tired of Maria buzzing around like a tired
restless butterfly wanting to be seen by everyone. He was definitely not going
around trying to meet everyone, always the same conversation, ‘Jose how is business?’, ‘Is your son studying in Bombay? And then questions about their piles or
varicose veins.
At last the Grand Opening of the Buffet is
announced.
‘Maria get me
some arroz refugado and some sorpotel, maybe a little balchão. No, no I am
fine, just a little tired’
‘No
absolutely no Bebinca, I cannot bear the sight of a shredded Bebinca, like
confetti, the art of a good Bebinca lies in its layers baked to perfection,
like my Aunt Teresa’s Bebinca.’
‘I warn you Maria, I do not want you carrying that
stupid Gold fish in a plastic bag to our home; I have already discarded those other
take-aways.’ Maria Luisa keeps silent, she knows her husband is tired, hates
the artificial gaiety.
Every time Jose thinks he will stop going for
Weddings, but relents because he knows Maria, otherwise the nicest person,
craves to be seen and to feel a part of High Society. After all Marriage is
give and take.
