NP.com would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Diwali and prosperous New Year!! Neeraj and I will be spending our first Diwali after marriage with my family in IL. We are looking forward to a fun filled day making rangoli, and then in the night doing Diwali pooja, going to the mandir, and enjoying the time together. We will be calling all of our family members in India in the next two hours, so the line is going to be busy.

Enjoy the time!!!

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

Note this was written yesterday — I just forgot to post.

Today is my first Karva Chauth. Its an exciting day as its a special day for Hindu husbands and wives everywhere. This is the day that the wife fasts for the husband’s long life, prosperity, and well-being. I have always prayed for Neeraj’s well-being for so many years (I have even fasted previously on this day), but this was the first year that we would be together on this special day.

So I am fasting today and did the various things that I was told to do. I woke up before sunrise and ate some food prior to getting ready to go to the office. I have so far not doing anything related to sewing and or using scissors (there is a signficance of that but I didn’t ask my mother ). I will break my fast when we see the Almighty chanda (moon) tonight.

As you may know, Neeraj and I have moved recently to a different city in a different state. We have adjusted well to our new apartment, but we have had a hard time the past two nights trying to find where we would be able to see the moon. Unfortunately its not seen from our balcony, and we most likely will have to head outside tonight to get the glimpse.

Usually the husbands don’t keep the fasts with the wives, but my Papa has been doing it for some time. As for Neeraj, I am not sure if he is doing it or not — but its fine either way. I guess I will find out Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge style just like Simran (Kajol) found out after breaking her fast that Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) had also kept a fast for her.

My parents are also coming to be with us this evening, since it is my first time participating in this pooja (ceremony). It will be great to see them, and Mumma and I willl break our fasts and eat together.

To all husbands/wives and to-be husbands/wives enjoy this special day together and tell your special loved one how much you are care for him/her.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

So I have finally reached Mumbai. After completing the majority of my shopping in Delhi, I had reached Mumbai two days back. If those who want to contact me, send me an email or contact us and we shall chat via mobile.

Everything has been a bit crazy so have not had a chance to blog. I will still write atleast one or two more times prior to leaving for Jaipur on 13th May.

I am so far having a blast — I don’t know about you guys in India, but the heat isn’t bothering me yet. Yes in Delhi I was in AC car, AC house, etc… so how can it be a bother, but in Mumbai, you may not believe — but I am living without AC — the place where the humidity is very high. Anyway, I think my excitement level is so high that I don’t have time to think about it being hot.

My health has so far been good. **touchwood** Neeraj has been busy with his sister’s marriage — and now my dear nanad, Lakshmi, is happily married. I can’t wait to see her:!:

I have spoken to Anubha and Kunal on the phone but haven’t had the chance to meet either.

My shaadi lehenga is absolutely amazing!!! Its one of the most gorgeous dress that I have ever seen — and I am so excited that I will be wearing it. Sorry guys, if you want to know more about my dress and what Neeraj is wearing — you will have to be present at the wedding in Jaipur.

So, are you coming??

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

Its taken some time for me to write a post only because so much has happened in the last week. That includes personally as well as professionally, which I wasn’t expecting the latter.

I have been at “home” since yesterday because my project got postponed due to contract issues. I most likely will be home for the next week as well, and then the week after that I leave for India with Neeraj and Papa. I am a bit freaked out about what’s going to happen because Neeraj is also working at the same client through another company, and well it would make sense for me to stay there — so hopefully the contract issues will work out.

In good news, we got the invitations by DHL on Monday. They are FABULOUS!!!! Neeraj and I went to the mandir on Wednesday and put one in front of Mata Rani’s murti. Then we also put one in our mandir at home too:!: Papa has addressed the rest of them, and so we have started to send them out to our family & friends. Look for one in your nearest inbox.

Mumma has reached India. She left on Saturday, 8th April on AA (the new direct flight to Delhi). She said the flight was great — seating was good and also the food. She didn’t have any troubles @ Delhi airport, and saw my cousins once she got outside. Now she is in Mumbai doing the same as we did here with the invitations and taking one to the mandir first.

Tomorrow is our day for shopping — Neeraj and I have a lot to buy for his side of the family. We are still waiting on our Citibank NRI Account to open up. It says that it takes 10 business days to open, its been more than that since we had sent it on 25th March. We called yesterday to their help center, and they said that it takes time for the verification and to call back on Tuesday. Let’s see what happens then. These darn banks!!!!

Looking for hotels in Mumbai for my friends to stay at — looking at Hotel Bandra Residency, looks good and nice rate as per TravelGuru. Anybody has any other ideas? Not looking to spend alot — somewhere around 2500 rupees.

So that’s it for now I guess.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

Unbelievable as it may sound, I finally have the Bridal Shower photos up! Ha, unfortunately for you all — its password protected. I will be sending you (atleast to our regular readers) the password so that you can enter. If I forget to send it to you — please do contact me. So comment in the photos and let me know what you think!

Today is April Fools’ Day — and I got my readers really good last year. It was late, but I got them. Anyway, no plans for this year for April Fools. Kuch bhi creative nahi soch paayi — isliya chod diya.

Neeraj called me this morning and says, “Aishwarya aur Salman Khan ki engagement ho gayi”. I was like what??? And then I was like, duh!! Its April Fools!!!

Anyways, I had gone to the Indian Consulate yesterday to get visas for my American friends. I realized that the people behind the counter here are as rude as they are in India. I wonder how they appoint these people at these jobs??? Instead of being helpful, they are trying to be as a big nuisance as possible. I got 5 out of the 6 passports back that day. One of the passports was Canadian, so we are going to see what we are going to do because it will be completed after Tuesday.

Now 26 days to go until coming to India:!: Its not like I am counting.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

Silsila of Birthdays has started. Neeraj started it off, and recently we had two more birthdays of our blogger friends. Here’s Neeraj and my gift to you both.

January 13 was Anubha’s birthday. NP.com would like to wish Anubha a

Anubha commented on our blog the first time on July 3, 2005, and this was her comment:

Hey Poonam,
Thanks for having me there i had an absolutely rocking time, it was great meeting all of you. Yea i remember Ankur’s saying that about my voice . LOL i remember Neeraj’s “stock broker” mic. You people are so sweet you bore my singing and murdering a beautiful no. loved torturing you people Neeraj sang really well and i’ll never forget the blush on your face when he was singing. I missed Kunal’s song so he better be prepared to sing 2 songs the next time IM all ears. Yes it was soooo much fun and all thanks to Akash n you guys!!! You people rock!!! hope to see you guys soon in another OBM.

Our friendship began at the OBM when she had joined us. Since that time, we have become very good friends and chat frequently on Yahoo Messenger. Anubha is very easy to talk to, and we are able to voice/video chat for hours. We both always have a good time pulling the leg of a Mr. Kunal, and we gang up on him as often as we can. She is a very sweet girl and speaks to the point, which I really like about her. Since her new job, we don’t hear from her as often, but its always nice to catch up with this Delhite. Neeraj and I hope for the very best for you always in life. We hope to meet up with you at our wedding because I know that you will come. We hope that you had a great birthday!!

Then on January 14th was the birthday of our own mister Manpreet Singhji. NP. com gives out a shout to Manpreete to say:

Our friendship with Manpreet goes back a long way. His first comment on our blog was back on July 21, 2004. Here’s what he had to say:

$1 for an outgoing call. that is about 46 rs. for a min..!!! And, I thought that talktime is expensive in India.. hehe
Don’t know about Mumbai, but Hutch in Delhi(aka Orange in Mumbai) charges about Rs. 49 a month, for unlimited SMS..
Yeh to kuch bhi nahin hai.. When I was in Bangalore, SMS was free… bole to ek dum free.. I used to send about 100 SMS a day.. hehe… vitually used my mobile as a chat client… hehe
Voice mail costs about 3 rs/min to retrieve a message. No charges for leaving a message though.

To give you some insight, this blog’s existence from that time was only one month old. Neeraj and I have had the great privilege to meet this Delhite in the bestest city in India, Mumbai. Yes, of all places, we met up with Manpreet in the bestest city in the world (but he won’t admit to that ). After meeting Manpreet, my views have definitely changed for him. Before, I used to think that this guy was a casanova type, looking for girls and just one full party. But in fact, he’s really this seedha saadha ladka who has a gf and only acts like the casanova types. Our ongoing war on Mumbai-Delhi will continue for a lifetime, but I feel that so will our friendship. We have already discussed taking our kids to Rashu’s marriage in 8 years. Manpreet is a fun loving guy, and Neeraj and I do hope that we get to spend more time with him and Tanya in the future. He’s a very intelligent guy, and even when we met him for the first time, we were able to sit and chat for hours of time. He has been our partner in crime for setting up the OBMs. Thanks for being a great friend Manpreete. Neeraj and I hope for your success in the future, and we hope to hear good news so that we also get a chance to balle balle“. Chak de phatte!

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

Its been a busy few days for us as we try to gather and plan for the wedding. But today is a special day. Today is the day that I am very thankful for because without this day, my Neeraj would not be with me.

Like most people that i know, I also get inspiration from music. Here’s my favorite lines that I think were made for me to say it to you — yes you, my dear sweet Neeraj.

Tu mera jaanu hai, tu mera dilbar hai
meri prem kahani ka, tu hero hai

These words are true for me every single day of my life. You are my hero, and that would make me your heroine. When life gets me down, you are there like Superman and whisk me away to this far away land where its just you and me. When I am in a bind or in trouble, you come like Spiderman and save me from the web of mess. When I need a laugh, you come like Johny Lever and make one goofy smile. Johny Lever is a hero? I think if someone can you make someone else laugh, then that is a definite hero in my book.

And of course you are my hero Neeraj because the minute I see you standing so handsome like Abhishek Bachchan ( ), I fall in love with you all over again.

Neeraj, I hope that you have the very best 25th Birthday today. I am very happy that we are together celebrating this day together and are able to create new memories on this special day. You are my love, and I will love you forever.

You make me a complete person, and Neeraj on this day if I had to wish anything for you, I would ask Mata Rani to always keep you happy in life. You deserve all the very best things in life because you seriously are one of the most wonderful human beings that I have ever met in life. That is why I fell in love with you because your amazing personality, your ambitions, and your true inhibitions to make every person around you happy. I truly admire you Neeraj for who you are and will try all the powers within me to give you an universe full of happiness.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

So many of our other bloggers are reflecting on what has happened in 2005, I began to also think what were the main moments in Neeraj and my life:

Celebration of New Years in Mumbai on Jan. 1, 2005 with Neeraj

Applying for Neeraj’s K-1 visa in February so that he could come to the US

Papa starting a new job in July and shifting to a new city

Neeraj’s visa interview in July

I was able to start a project where I was able to commute by driving

Those dreaded Mumbai floods in end of July that ruined everything Neeraj had but miraculously and with a determined will to be able to do whatever it takes to get a new passport & visa so that he is able to come to US

Neeraj arrives in Chicago in September

Our engagement ceremony on Thanksgiving weekend in November

Major opportunities for Neeraj for the new year in means of a job

Now what will the new year bring for us? Well we do one thing — Neeraj will be starting a new job in the next week or so as everything will be finalized. We hope that 2006 will be our year for good news, let’s see how it turns.

May the new year bring you lots of happiness and prosperity in your lives. Thank you for being with us in 2005, and we hope for the same or better in 2006.

Enjoy the times. Neeraj and I will be going to Chicago with my family to celebrate there with my cousins, chachas, chachis, etc… Its my chacha’s 50th birthday so we will be having a big party.

One last thing - a very big thank you to Vidhi for mentioning my birthday on her blog:!: Thank you so much my dear for doing that for me, that was very sweet and thoughtful of you. I really appreciated it and brought a big smile to my face.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.