Those 5 years of roller coaster ride is now cherished and served as a rock solid foundation of a now stable relationship. And oh my look at where we have arrived…today not only marks 5 years of our courtship but also marks 6 months countdown to our Big Day

I love you my jaan !

1)    I need memories to last forever - Solid good Photographer & Videographer
2)    I need someone to turn me into a glamorous Bollywood star – Make up artist & Hairstylist
3)    I need a magician to make my fantasy wedding a reality – Creative décor artist.

Im open for suggestions and I need it for the wedding in Penang  & KL both in Dec 09 !

The engagement function started with the traditional ceremony. Shamil was blessed by my family, given gifts, money and fed sweets. Then it was my turn to experience the same.  Once that was done, we exchanged our diamond rings. Yes, he too wanted diamond, cute isn’t?

The stage was quickly taken over by my very capable emcees, Shobie Malani & Bhavesh Patel.  I must tell you, they did a remarkable job coming up with interactive sessions and hiding the surprise elements.

We were first entertained by the Australian twins, Brinda & Benita Patel performing an excellent hot number “Challia Challia”. Mind you, these gals are on a different plateau altogether as they are the show kids of Shiamak Davar. Who is Shiamak Davar? He is a famous Bollywood Choreographer. Remember “Legi Legi” from Dil To Pagal Hain? And his most recent ‘Dance Pe Chance” from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

The performance that I enjoyed the most was a medley mixed by Preeti Patel, simply because all my favorite people were in it. The start was “Aaj Hain Segayi Soon Ladki Ki Bhai” performed by our gorgeous Preeti and my darling brother. Vicky coming on stage was a shock to everyone, its not something he would usually do . Bhavesh, our emcee made heads turn with his entrance on the stairs with “Wah Wah Ram Ji, Jodi Kia Banayi”. No, seriously we had to literally turn our heads to follow the spot light when he made his way down from the grand staircase dancing graciously. He was not the only one whom made our heads turn Melinder, my darling lovely cousin made us turn 180 degrees back to the stage where she continued the female verse of “Wah Wah Ramji”. I must say, it was a cute duet on stage. Melinder continued her performance with Divya Patel, dancing to “Dholki Da Gidha” an engagement song by Sunindhi Chauhan.
I love that song it was soooo appropriate.
Just as I thought it was over our hero Shyam Patel coolly sashays in to “Desi Girl” and he was not alone. Bhavesh, came on stage to join his brother. It was a cute competition on who was the coolest on stage. Followed soon was my beautiful sister in laws Preeti & Divya and my god the 4 of them brought down the roof with their upbeat  hip dance moves. I tell you; almost every guest present was moving to the rhythm and singing along. I felt like jumping in and dancing but I had to constantly remind my self
“It’s your engagement silly, calm down. Wait for the after party” :)

When all the exciting dance performance fizzled out, dinner was served. I so love the “Dhal Makani” by Ishq Restaurant, Crowne Plaze Hotel. I somehow had not much appetite to eat, although the food served was excellent.

Shobie & Bhavesh continued the interactive session by coming up with mini dance competition. Shamil & I had to individually select 5 guests each from the crowd for this. They formed 2 groups and both groups had to choreograph a one minute dance. It was hilarious. In the name of sheer fun, no prices were given out.

It was a pleasant surprise to see my childhood friend, the gorgeous Pooja up on the stage giving a short speech about me. I was kinda touched by her just being at my engagement. She and her sister Sonia both were just amazing. Neesan, Shamil’s childhood friend made us emotional with his short and sweet speech.

The night continued on ……
The highlight of my engagement was when Shamil walked up to the stage and dedicated a poem to me and immediately broke into a dance …Ya I know so Bollywood kan?
The cutest part was he had back-up dances lol…..it was hilarious seeing Nitesh Bhai and Dilu Bhai doing the “cha cha like dance” that best suited our darling Ashish the most!
They danced to an old Bollywood number – it was sooooo appropriate. The song was about a boy trying to woo a girl and tells her “I love you” in various Indian dialects, in Gujerati, Marathi and finally Punjabi. He then took my hand and slipped another ring and brought me up to the stage to dance along the “Bhangra” part of the song.
I was lost for words. I had no idea they were brewing up such a surprise for me.
Actually he had me stunned with the poem part, but what followed afterwards was just mind blowingggg. I always teased him for not being romantic and all, but now my lips are sealed on that matter hehhehe.
Creative Sonia was the darling mastermind behind this surprise element. Such things comes naturally to her, after all she was one of the main person responsible for putting up the brilliant “Aaja Nachle – A Bollywood Broadway” show early 2008. It was a hit hit superhit ,all tickets were sold days before the show day.

Wait ….there is still more.
“The crazy cousins and friends” had more in store….And boy did they steal the show or what?  They marched in and sprung into action dancing a full number of the famous “ Bhooth ni key” from Singh Is Kiing. It was hilarious and fun filled. Our multitalented Bhavesh made us guessing when he appeared mid song dressed in a Punjabi turban (with bling bling) , Full beard and mustache. He gave it a way when his fake mustache fell off while he was “bhangra-ing” hehheeheh. Of all people, he had to bully younger brother Shyam on stage by making him the Horse! Well, it wouldn’t have been complete if they didn’t take the “Dulha” on stage right? Well they did and dragged me along to dance too.
With that song almost coming to an end the DJ officiated the Dance floor and the party roared crazy. Right party music, excellent disco lighting & sound system; thanks to DJ Amreek “Ishq” was transformed to a Bollywood club instantly.

We got out of traditional cloths and got comfy where we continued to party 1am onwards @ Mumbai Se

What is a Masquerade?

An elegant ball which normally includes the guest wearing a mask, it was made popular in the 15th century particularly by the Venetians. Masquerade ball were sometimes set as a game among the guests. The masked guests were supposedly dressed so as to be unidentifiable. This would create a type of game to see if a guest could determine each others’ identities. This added a humorous effect to many masques and enabled a more enjoyable version of typical balls. We don’t expect any of that happening in our party, unless of course you intentionally want to be unidentified.

Why Masquerade?

You must be thinking we are out of our minds to have a Masquerade themed engagement. We know it’s not very Indian, but we wanted to try something different. We were toying with a few concepts but finally settled with the Masquerade. I like how “The Masquerade” sounds; it has a nice ring to it. Besides, we love the whole mysterious & elegant feel to it.

What to dress in?

You can come in your finest Indian outfit or what ever you think is appropriate. We are not doing the entire Venetian ball works, just the mask part of it. So live up to the Masquerade theme and don’t forget to bring your mask. You don’t want to be left out now, do you?

Where to get the mask?

You can either rent it or purchase it from any party shop. Below are some places you can check out.

Rental:

One Stop Party Shop
Desa Sri Hartamas  03 2300 2553

Costume & Party Sdn.Bhd
City Square Centre  03 2164 8184

Purchase:

Century Fiesta Sdn. Bhd
Desa Sri Hartamas  03 2300 2048

Balloon Bouquet Party Shop
Great Easter Mall & Bangsar
Contact Number Unknown

-Shamil Nirmal-