how late can you go

Sindhis. How on earth do they run their ship? I am up to here (pointing to my nose) with their marriage functions. Yesterday I was invited to attend a Sindhi reception. The lady was a summer intern who reported into me and then I went on to teach her batch for the subject of sales. The invite said 8pm and I knew it’s a Sindhi thing so I asked her what time should I really make it. She said 9pm for sure. The food will be out and you can eat by then as well. Ok. I reached at 9pm. No food no bride only a handful of guests. 915… no sign…930 no sign… I am busy trying to call some friends in an attempt to kill time. 945 still talking to some friends, getting really low scores on the game on my cell phone. Finally at 10 pm I call up one sindhi friend of mine and blasted him instead, “You sindhis this and you sindhis that”. He was laughing “if you had only asked me before going. 10.30 the couple will come and the reception will last till two in the morning.”
Finally the couple came in at 10.15 pm and I hastily got into queue and congratulated the couple before running away.

But actually at they heart of all this, I am to blame. I studied in a sindhi college and I have a large number of sindhi friends. None of their functions ever start on time. One hour after the stated starting time must you get up and begun to get ready. Post which you will leave home for venue. This formula would work irrespective of how far you stay from the venue.
One Sindhi friend applied this rule to my marriage function and he managed to just about catch us while we sat for dinner after all the formalities were over. That way I love the gujju marriages and gujju banquet halls where we hold our marriages. People come on time and tardiness is frowned upon. The halls have cut off times which are strictly enforced. They have a first bell, then a second bell followed by a lights off policy. I have rarely seen these extend beyond 10 pm. Imagine a Sindhi wedding held by chance at a gujju hall. The couple will enter to a hall of darkness.