We start early as usual, with dinner.
I think this is a massive culture difference between Indian parties and western, especially European.
Allow me to explain:
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In a typical scenario like New Year's eve, everyone will come early and on time, arriving early (like 6.30 or 7) depending on the time they've been invited.
If your host asks you to come at 6.30, it is good manners to show up at 6.30, acceptable to show up by 6.45 and totally rude to come by 7.
Not here in India, no. If you invite people to come say "by 8" people come after 9. If you invite someone to dinner at 8ish and he shows up at 8 -- chances are you're still in the bathroom with shaving cream on your face.
If you're a man.
I think an important part of this punctuality lies in the fact that in a party/ social get-together in Germany, dinner is served almost as soon as you set foot in the house.
And it is almost always a comfortable long seated-on-the-table sort of scenario and dinner usually goes on for 2 hours.
Which means that if you're late:
- Either everyone is waiting for you at the table. Embarassing.
- Or worse, dinner will be over by the time you get there.
In contrast, in India at a social get-together, dinner usually marks the end of the festivities. Once dinner is served, there is no more dancing or drinking. There are conversations and dessert.
Usually the music is also over, leaving you to here the clinking of forks and plates.
It is also the same when you invite someone home. Since there is no "agenda" the guest usually comes at his own pace and usually at least an hour late.
You greet him with conversations and snacks (mostly fried) -- I'm not saying it's wrong. It's just our way.
Many paneer tikkas and kababs and chips and possibly a salad with dip (if you're cool, like) later, you serve dinner. And once again this means, no ore drinks, no more snacks, no more dancing (if there was any), time to clink forks on plates, eat your dessert and be off.
We have literally no agenda post dinner. Save a few random conversations.
So when TheOne® moved to India and a few of my friends came by for a social evening, she quickly set dinner out at 8pm on the table and said "
Dinner is served!"
My friends were totally confused and looked at me asking if I wanted to get rid of them in a hurry, lol.
No in complete contrast, a German social evening would begin with dinner, say by 7. By 9, much has been consumed and there is general merriment. By 9 the guests usually help the host to clear out the table.
Then everyone sits around the house, listening to music and general merriment. Of course at no point is the food as
heavy as typical Indian food.
In fact by about 10 or 11, the chips and peanuts come out. Yes, after dinner. There are no fried, heavy snacks, it's mostly chips and crackers and stuff. And chocolate too. The evening progresses with chit-chat and dancing and games and the usual consumption. Goes on till 2 or 3 am. You end up with 7 to 8 hours of merriment.
It's a culture thing. And that's the wonderful thing about this world.
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Everyone shows up by 7 and we finish dinner. Tonight there will be TheOne®'s siblings, all of them and almost all their partners (one will arrive later)
We've started the evening early with some rather enjoyable board games.
Tonight the plan is not to have a typical sit down dinner, instead opting for a family favourite, Pizza night!
I love pizza night. There is a bucket full of pizza dough, all the various toppings, various cheeses, olives, meats, corn, onions, pineapple and more.
You want to eat, get up, roll your own pizza, top it and put it in the pizza mini oven. 10 to 12 minutes later, Voila. Your own tasty, shapeless pizza.
The pizza stuff is out all night so any time you're hungry, you make one yourself.
Yeah sometimes it's a bit annoying, yes, to get up in the middle of the merriment and get your hands all white with flour and use a
belan to make the pizza.
That's when you beg.
Make me one na?
Make it yourself.
Make na!?
Everyone's making their own pizza, Sam. Go to the kitchen and make one.
I DID! I made two!
So? Make the third one then.
You make na!? Pleeease! Bahbeee?
It works usually. Then I get a pizza with big eyes. But it doesn't always work.
The evening goes on. We now play Dumb Charades. It's another favourite.