Just 2 days back I was returning from a client meeting. The car got stuck in the traffic at one point and I craned my neck to find out the reason. Turned out there was a wedding in progress somewhere down the lane and the baraatis had blocked part of the road. Soon after, I was treated to the hilarious sight of men and women dressed in their fineries dancing to some Bollywood song - right in the street. A few feet away stood a decorated chariot. It contained the bride and groom who were looking very sheepish and were trying their best to smile. But they were aware that on their very wedding day they had, through no fault of theirs, received lots of curses as wedding gifts from the occupants of all the cars that were stuck in the traffic!

As our car threaded its way forward, I had a strange thought. In all probability, I will never see this couple again in my life. But by a strange quirk of fate, I was part of one of the most memorable days of their lives. And so were hundreds of others who were on that stretch of the road at that time of that day.

The car neared our office and a funeral procession came in sight. Here we go, I said. In India, sighting a wedding procession is considered a bad omen but sighting a funeral procession is considered a good one. Don't ask me why. Sounds rather counter-intuitive, doesn't it? I have never been able to figure it out either. Maybe it has got something to do with the concept of Maaya and Moksha.

I wondered how the rest of my day was going to be, now that I had encountered both, good and bad omens, in one go. :-)