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| Wedding day! |
The mehendi was
looking beautiful. I had received a lot of compliments for getting it drawn on
my hands so creatively. I was happy all right, but nervous. That night, I
washed my hands just before my entire family sat for dinner together. But soon
after, I had sweaty palms. So, I washed my hands again, but had my food with a
spoon.
I was going to get married to my childhood friend
the following morning, which I had admired all of my 24 years. I knew he was
the one for me, but for some reason I hadn't come to terms with my
self-confidence as yet. That confidence was shaking and trembling like it does
when we go for an interview under-prepared. My cousins pulled my leg all night,
but they didn't spoil my sleep. I just couldn't sleep that night. My mind had
already travelled to the wedding hall that was at a distance of 8 miles from my
residence, in which I was supposed to be standing in front of the love of my
life, all dressed up, hopefully properly. I had butterflies in my stomach. I
was daydreaming at midnight.
At 7:00am sharp, my mother shook me vigorously, and
made sure I was up after whatever little sleep I could salvage from the
previous night. I almost had fever, I remember. It was the end of December, and
the temperatures in Pune were certainly 10 degrees below normal. Yet, I was panting,
as if my mother had just told me I had a Math paper to give today having
studied History all night yesterday. I waited for three years for this day, but
at this moment, I wanted a buffer of another week. I never thought a wedding
can give anyone so many jitters. There was make-up waiting for me, a hair-stylist,
and the longest sari I will be ever wearing.
Breakfast was served, but there was no place in my
tummy to gulp it down. And so, I threw tantrums like a cranky child who
discards the homemade breakfast and dreams of the samosa
he gets in his school’s canteen. I had to eat 2 boiled eggs, brown bread with
butter and a glass full of orange juice. The yolk popped out of the egg-white
and fell into the teapot kept a couple of feet away, the melted butter was
spread nicely over the dosa mom had cooked
for dad, and five minutes later, the orange juice splashed its vivid colour on
the white track pant I was wearing that morning. I couldn't come to grips with
anything, quite literally. Looking at all this commotion, my younger siblings
began poking fun at me, started calling me by names, and whatnot. There was
laughter all over, with me, the joker, misjudging all my juggling acts. I was
scared to death. My nerves were shaking. I was losing my mind, or probably had
already lost it.
An hour passed by, and everyone else was ready to
leave, except me. I remember my sister shouting that morning, “Whose wedding is
it, anyway?” Finally, after another hour-long half an hour, I stepped out of my
house. And for the most stupid thing I did in my life, everyone burst out in
laughter all over again. And this time, it was ROFL. Why, because I was wearing
two different sandals in my feet. Never in my life did I ever think that
getting married was going to be more difficult than even winning a war. It was
horrifying. I felt as if I was about to get deported to another country for
some felony I had committed. The ceremony was supposed to run fluently. My
father had spent almost a fortune on my wedding, and probably that was one of
the major reasons why I couldn't even stand properly on two feet. Putting on
the correct sandals, I got in the car for the 20-minute drive to the wedding
hall, where I had already been to last night.
Inside the hall, the final decorations were in
full swing. Some of my other relatives present were looking at me with genuine
admiration. After about three hours when my make-up was ready and my
traditional hairdo was done, I had to step out in front of a huge crowd of
people waiting to see an unmarried girl becoming a married woman. In school and
even in college I never had a stage fright. Today, I did, big time. I was even
getting afraid of a wardrobe malfunction. How embarrassing would that be in
front of everyone who would have their eyes fixed on you, and you alone! Until
of course my man steps out to flaunt his wedding outfit, and the attention
shifts slightly. Most of the rituals took place smoothly, and I felt a heavy
log of wood removed from my shoulder. And finally, the silk white cloth that
was separating the two of us from making eye contact was lowered, and I saw
him. And like it happens in a typical Bollywood movie, for the first time in 24
hours, I felt the ground under my feet. All the tension, the nervousness and
fear vanished in thin air. A few seconds later, the bride-to-be became the bride
of the groom she had dreamt of, without spoiling the moment.
