It was a lazy Sunday
afternoon.
I was sitting in the
living room trying to fix a broken tape-recorder giving an impression of
omniscience to the outsiders, but the truth evident to everyone that I do not
know anything electrical – one of the reasons why I couldn’t clear IIT-JEE
mains. My father came into the house with a tired but happy expression, after
which looked like a hectic but successful morning behind him, and said, “Get ready fast. We have to go see the girl.”
My parents have been
looking for a suitable girl for me from the past few weeks.
We went to the girl’s
house and knocked on the door. Her father opened the door and welcomed us in.
And there she was standing in a black t-shirt and white shorts cleaning the
dust on some books. She welcomed us and went inside to get ready. I was shocked
at seeing her attire that I didn’t have the time to look at her face or her
beauty. And my thoughts started wandering everywhere – “How will a conservative and traditional family like mine accept a
girl who is in a t-shirt and shorts when the boy’s family goes to see her?”
While my mind is messing
itself up with all such thoughts, she entered back into the living room decked
in a red pattu saree, in perhaps
shockingly the least amount of time I saw a woman dress up. And my brain
stopped thinking and went blank looking at her beauty. I did not realize I was
just staring at her until she came to me and said, “C’mon. Let’s go.”
And there I go into
shock again! I was not sure how much time passed after we came, or what our
dads were talking, or where our moms were (of course, kitchen!), or what her
father was asking me. May be, my brain was thinking too much to listen to
anything else – until she came. I wasn’t sure what to respond and looked at her
father for permission. Her father nodded smiling, “We will give you both some time.Talk to each other and come back.” I
was surprised at the response because he hasn’t asked me any questions that a
guy is asked in an arranged marriage – or at least what I thought would be
asked. May be, he did and may be, I answered. I was in a shock to remember anything
that happened until then.
We went for a walk. I
felt the flood of happiness drowning me. I didn’t know why. I haven’t talked to
her yet. I haven’t looked her in the eyes yet. I haven’t heard her voice yet. Yet,
I was walking on clouds. I slowly turned my face to look at her. And I realized
she was talking. I tried to listen to what she was saying. I couldn’t. I realized
I was just staring at her. I pinched myself to come to senses and to listen
what she was talking. She wasn’t talking about marriage, life after that, her,
me or us. She was just talking randomly – like you talk to a very old friend –
like you talk to yourself – like you talk to the soul which defines you. At the
same time, I also realized that she talks a lot – and it was the same thing that
makes her so beautiful and complete.
A lot of questions
popped up in my mind then. “I am a good
listener and I can listen to her for any long. But if at all I want to talk,
will she give me a chance to talk?”, “If
she talks so much, will she take the decisions and be the head of the house and
make me a puppet?”, “I have some
questions which I want to ask her now. How can I stop her?” I knew the
answer. But, with a sense of doubt, I slowly looked behind. Our dads were
walking few yards behind us and moms few feet behind them. They also wanted to
talk and perhaps, they also found the unconfined space of the roads better than
the confined space of a living room. I looked at my dad trying to ask all these
doubts in mind. He replied with the most satisfactory smile I have ever seen of
his and looked at my mom. She understood his smile and looked at her little kid
grown up. They were smiling at my helpless happiness.
And that was my answer
to all the questions. It was the same happiness which anyone would ever want in
a life to start together, irrespective of all the questions that pop up.
Gathering all the courage
from within, I stopped her and asked her the most important question for an
answer I was supposed to know, “What is
your name?” She started laughing.
The bells started ringing. I slowly turned to my side. It was 4:15 AM and it was my first alarm for the morning!
