Wedding in India - Prologue

The first time I saw Jes (Jeswant), he was confidently providing a presentation in a thick Indian accent to a professional audience. The subject was his involvement in Bayu-Undan & Darwin LNG, a newly-completed mega project in the Timor Sea north of Australia. He was rattling off complex details as if they were simple concepts; like explaining parts of a bicycle and how to operate one. I didn't know who he was, but I liked him immediately.

Jeswant with N135ES on a Knik River Gravel Bar (Alaska)

The second time I saw Jes was some months later. He had just arrived at Kuparuk, which is a massive oil field on the top of Alaska. It was a typical, glorious summer day in the remote arctic. A batch of workers had just arrived on one of the company’s Boeing 737s to start their 2 week "hitches". Fresh folks typically scatter quickly through the maze of complexes to the security of their assigned posts. However in this case, a happy yet lost-looking group of young people began assembling in the open hallway just outside my office.

Curiosity got the best of me, and I went out to investigate noticing Jes in the middle. Unlike my first encounter with Jes where he clearly demonstrated experience, maturity, and independence, I began to get the impression that he was, let's just say, someone "less developed". He looked to me, and reading my thoughts in an instant, immediately shook his head back and forth exclaiming, 'no, I'm not with them'. The part that makes me smile when I think back on that moment is how he kept repeating it as he alternated glances between me and them until he was sure I believed him.

College Interns at the Arctic Ocean (Alaska)

It turned out that Jes was not paradoxically some type of 'experienced college super kid' after all, and instead was a young professional in Kuparuk on another assignment. That group of young people I just mentioned had come to tour the oil field. Jes and I were enlisted to be their guides. It was hard duty escorting them to drilling rigs for insightful presentations by the actual operators. We proudly pointed to features in the warm landscape, such as distant caribou and swans out on the lush surrounding tundra. We stopped for a photo along the slushy Arctic Ocean; hard duty away from the office but somebody had to do it.

Jes and I as Tour Guides along the Arctic Ocean

Flight with Jes (Alaska)

I later took Jes flying from our then home base of Anchorage.

Dancers of The Party

We also danced together on the empty ballroom floor at the company Christmas party. It was worse than it sounds for we were in a group of four guys, one of whom was even hobbling away on crutches. It must have been a sight to behold. Up on stage was a group of 3 beautiful violinists in full length electric blue dresses swaying and strumming away with high energy. It was the main event for the night; the opening act designed to "get the party started!". Hundreds of people were seated and contently watching the live performance when all of a sudden the trio began a piece that somehow worked in a didgeridoo. Being the good natured lovers of Australia that we were, along with the support we must have sensed from our comrades in the crowd, we eagerly jumped into the sea of empty dance floor expanse, twirling and bobbing-about with flash and style below the musicians.

Given our initial high-quality bonding experiences, our obvious fondness and interest in Australia (he is a citizen who moved there from India at age 16 while I am an Australian permanent resident visa holder about to move there from the USA at age ‘don’t ask’), and a high level of mutual respect, it didn't take long for us to become friends. When Jes presented me with an invitation to attend his wedding in India, my jaw dropped in disbelief at the sheer magnitude of his offer, and yet it took me only 5 minutes to give him a serious "yes".

Preparing for this trip has been interesting. For example: I felt uneasy giving up my passport for mailing to San Francisco as part of my Indian visa application; Consulting with a physician resulted in a prescription of diarrhea medication to take along and new immunizations of Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, and Yellow Fever; There will be a core group of westerners from various parts of Australia joining me. One product of our extensive coordination has been a Google spreadsheet; a color-coded share document that anyone, anywhere in the world, can view and edit. It's loaded with dates, locations, place and people names, plane and train details, hotel bookings, and other notations.

First up: what Jes calls a "buck’s party", in Hong Kong. Give us a few days to get there. I have to make my way from Alaska and Jes has to make his way from Australia (where he now lives).

Wedding in India

Prologue

Next Post >