“Make sure you take a half day on friday and be home by 2 o clock” said my mother.”Ya ma,I will,dont worry” I said.I reached office on friday by 8,started my PC,mind filled with a million thoughts-How is he going to be? Hope his parents are nice…Family is important too.
Well,I opened my inbox and there were 2-3 mails asking me to do this and that.I got started,I had to leave by 12.So putting behind all my doubts and fears,I distracted myself with work.My colleague came at 10,she was surprised to see me looking pale and nervous.”Relax dear,dont worry,It happens in every girls life” she said. “Everything will be fine,God is there with you” she pointed.It took me around 2-3 min to understand what she was saying (my brain was working really slow that day,after all I was thinking a 100 things at the same time that day.Poor me) It takes me 2 hrs to get home and at any cost I must leave at 12 or else I will be late.It was 11.45,I had finished everything.Suddenly my PL comes and says,hey why dont you please check this before leaving? Damn him,I am already so tensed,I dont want more work in the last min and the work he gave me would take another half hour.I started on it with full speed.My colleague was really sympathetic,she said ” why dont you go? I will do it for you.” I nodded my head from side to side,I couldnt talk.It was 12.20 and finally everything was done.”Bye Sandhya,I am leaving.I will tell you what happened on monday” I said and got my bag." good luck " she said. I smiled at her,ran to the lift.” Don’t get nervous,you have faced so many exams,interviews and presentations in your life and you have done well so far” the voice in my head said.”But this is a totally different thing,this is about meeting the guys parents and god knows who else,It can change your entire life” another voice in my head said. I frowned,closed my eyes trying to shut the voices and relax.I was in an auto,will reach in time,I thought as I looked at the watch.
“why dont you eat something? Did you have lunch? ” mom asked.I said “no,I didnt have the time”.She started getting angry,before she could say another word,I added ” I will eat now” I had my lunch slowly wondering what the hell is going to happen to me in future.Life had been so great so far,why couldn’t I stay with my parents forever? Why is marriage such an important thing in a girls life? I put on a ‘friends’ dvd that i had,humor calms me down.”get ready,get ready” dad said.I dropped my spoon.”Must I wear a saree amma?” I asked,”Its sooo uncomfortable” I added. “Its just for an hour dear” my mother said. “Its a tradition to wear a saree”she added.”Great tradition!” I thought.
As I sat on the sofa with my silk saree and jasmine flowers,bindi and kajal,I wondered what my friends would say if they saw me like this.I could picture my best friend grinning at my plight.I couldn’t help smiling,well what the hell,why should I get nervous? I calmed myself and started helping my mom in the kitchen.
The doorbell rang,I braced myself and stood behind my mother.Two ladies,one with a baby and a man walked in,I greeted all of them and guided them to sit.My dad asked me to sit so that everyone can look at me,my senses were jammed as I was being scrutinized from top to bottom,I didnt know where to look.”So do you know how to cook?” asked one of the ladies.I was asked by my parents to answer in the affirmative for this question,I replied saying not much but I am willing to learn.”Can you make upma?” she continued.”No” I said thinking maybe upma is his favourite dish.The baby started crying and the other lady who happened to be his sister started consoling it .She asked me to hold the baby while she changed its diapers.I was shocked,I am extremely nervous around babies,she put the baby on my lap.I just sat stunned as if a bomb has been dropped on me.”Relax,its just a baby” my mom whispered.I was mum as the baby started wailing.I watched their entire family trying to pacify the baby.I am very bad at making baby noises and cuddling them,so I kept my distance wondering if they will judge me on this basis.
The topic shifted from bangalore weather to real estate to the youth of today,I sat patiently staring at the floor thinking what good this small talk going to do us.After about an hour,dad started enquiring about the guy,Phew! He was in the US,so i had to figure him out from his parents and sister. I listened with both my ears but at the end of it all I concluded that unless I met him i cant give a verdict.
His family seemed alright to me.Finally at 5,everyone left,I heaved a sigh of relief! None of us talked for 15 min,later my parents looked at me asking for my opinion.I said “depends on the guy ma”,let me talk to him and meet him.I was tired,tired of this procedure,he was the 7th guy,I had rejected 6 and my parents were getting restless.“I am ready to marry ma but can’t you people wait till I fall in love? This age old procedure sucks,not my type” I told my parents openly.
Dad said ” You can fall in love but make sure the boy is a brahmin-iyer and atleast 2 yrs elder to you.”
“Oh and make sure you fall in love with a guy who is not of kaushika gothram” added my mom.
“Whatever is going to happen to me?” I thought as I cuddled up and went to sleep in my cosy room…
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