Thanksgiving Blind Date - Desi Style

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There is just something about the idea of Thanksgiving that I love. This weekend I found out that my dad went through life thinking it was a religious holiday. I had to gather all my strength to not yell at him and then I explained to him that is was NOT a religious holiday. 

A couple of Thanksgivings ago I had the pleasure of being forced to go met a guy in the city that never sleeps. Ok, so when I say "forced" I mean I brought it upon myself, kind of. So a few years ago when I was still in college my parents hatched this plan to get me to talk to this guy living in NYC. Side-note:  Till this day I still don't know exactly where my parents found this guy. He was living here in a bachelor pad with his brothers and a few other guys and apparently my parents thought they had hit the jackpot with him.

I don't remember the minute details that much (perhaps because I chose to forget them once this whole episode was over). However I do remember going to see relatives in New York that Thanksgiving while casually mentioning it to Mr. Cricket (you know, because he LOVED the sport of Cricket) that we are coming up to the city to spend the holidays. He would not leave my alone and suggested we meet, my parents flirted with the idea of a meet and greet and I somehow in that moment forgot that my opinion actually mattered and reluctantly agreed to it. 

So here we are Thanksgiving afternoon and the meet and greet has been arranged. My sisters are pissed at me because they can't come with and we had to put on hold our own plans until this meet and greet was over. I didn't bring any desi clothes with me and much to my mother's dismay I wore jeans, boots and a red sweater  My mother made it a point to give me the longest shawl she could find (as if somehow that shawl would cover up the fact that I was wearing American clothing). My dear brother in law was driving up from NY to come get my sisters and I to spend the rest of the weekend with my cousin and him in their new house. Little did he know when he came to pick us up that there was going to be a detour and he was joining my parents, my aunt and I to this desi restaurant to met Mr. Cricket.I gotta love my brother in law for putting up with all this and not saying a word. For that I will always be thankful to him.

When we got to the restaurant I wasn't allowed to sit next to my brother in law (because god forbid everyone think we were an item). My mom's thinking not mine. Really people? You don't see the ring on his finger and the fact that I am referring to him as BHAI (brother). So I had to sit between my mother and my aunt. Bro in law sat next to my father and across from Mr. Cricket so he could get the 4-1-1 on this dude and get a good read on him.

All I could think of was what could I possibly order off of this desi menu that would be easy to eat and not leave greasy stains on my finger? 

I did not make any conversation with Mr. Cricket. I knew who he was and we had been talking on the phone for a few weeks. But something just happens when you meet a guy for the first time, with an audience of parents and friends, which makes it just awkward. 

You thought going on a blind date was bad enough? Try going to a blind date WITH your parents and HIS family. 

I really don't remember what was said during this meet and greet but something must have happened because a few days later I remember everyone getting excited and the idea of marriage being thrown around. 

So that leads me to the story of how I almost got married......that story for another time.