Eating is an agricultural act - Wendell Berry

Monday, December 18, 2006

the elixir of welcome

was at a tam-bram wedding (tbw) recently.

as soon as i entered, i was greeted plesantly. instantly the welcomer calls out to the man in the uniform to get me 'coffee'.
(for the record, coffee is not what gets made in a jiffy or is black. it has to be filter coffee for it to be real coffee. that will be the version we will use in this post. and forever as well.)

while sipping the elixir of welcome (eofw), i realised what a critical role this innocuous ceremony plays in any tbw. junta may forget the names of the bride and groom, but the quality of the eofw will remain fresh forever. reputations of families get besmirched forever if they screw up the eofw. its sanctity in the schema of marriage ceremonies is unquestionable.

while it may appear trifling and trivial to the lay reader, the true extent can only be understood through direct experience. there is a dedicated eofw crier, whose job is to ensure that the moment any guest is welcomed, he gets handed a steaming cup of eofw. need i argue more.

and it perfectly sets up the next in line of 'top marriage ceremonies', the breakfast. mouth watering. later.