Having recently being introduced to the 'Blogosphere', it did not take much convincing (am sure much to the delight of my better half who has convinced himself that I am a stubborn mule that requires cajoling more than convincing in order to start 'ANYTHING' new) for me to get kick-started and spew my views to all and sundry who happen to drop by.Well, here goes...

National Intergration!!! Huh? What? Why? No, No my fellow 'Blogoreans' it is not another attempt at World Peace. Although at times the situations that I manage to get myself into, make me wonder if attaining world peace would be a much easier task.

Being a Patriotic Expat Indian (funny how we become patriotic when we leave our country), I decided very early on in life (7 years old) that I would contribute to the National Integration of 'Hamara Pyara Hindustan'. How did that happen? Let me elucidate....Daughter of a Conservative Marthomite Malayali Father (he is my darling) & a Rowdy (in her heydays) Malayali Catholic mother (love her can't leave her - according to my better half, the umblical cord has not yet been cut), I was brought up as a Malayali Catholic in a typical Bombayya environment surrounded by Punjabis, Sindhis, Maharashtrians, Parsis, Gujratis, Jains, Goans, Manglorians, East Indians and every other religious and ethnic group of India. In that cultural melieu as dictated by the laws of physics 'opposites' did 'attract' i.e. bonny Malayali lass meets bonny Punjabi kudi and they hit it off from day one (at the age of 2). As the years passed somehow more and more Punjabi friends joined the fold and at the age of 7, I announced to Momsy dearest, that I will marry a Punjabi when I grow up. Momsy's reaction: 'Go and finish your homework'.

That statement of mine was never repeated again and it was all but forgotten. Until recently. Years have passed and as fate demands, I have in fact married a Punjabi. How in earth did that happen? No idea. Did the statement that I made many years ago, which went ignored and unnoticed, stay lurking at the back of my mind? Did those initial years growing up surrounded by Punjabis gear me mentally towards looking for a particular partner? Hmmm Mystery...

Being adventurous (sometimes dangerously) and innovative in nature, my family and friends were not at all surprised that I decided to tie the knot with someone who is the exact Opposite of ME. Lets put it this way. My better half and I epitomise OPPOSITES ATTRACT. He is Punjabi, I am Malayali. He is actually a Multani (he puts the word Fighter to shame), I guess I must be a Dravidian (being from the south) i.e. non-confrotational. He is a Hindu, I am a Christian. He grew up in Delhi, I grew up in Bombay (I refuse to refer to my fav city as Mumbai). He is a free spirited intellectual, I am a tight-!@#ed analyser. He is thin, I am ....let's say Well Endowed (much to his frustration) Pray, I can go on and on. There is nothing that is remotely similar in us. Yet he popped the question in a drunken stupor, I said Yes in an even more dazed stupor and 6 years hence we are still married. Wow!!!

National Integration my dear friends. This is all I boil it down to. Of course we can attribute it to love. But lets leave it at AshuNishu's bit towards unifying that extremely diverse culturally melting pot that we all love and hate - HINDUSTAN!!!!!