‘Tamil Nadu, that is where I come from,’ Ananya said.
‘Stupid, didn’t you read it in geography?’ Nikki scolded her sister and turned
to me, ‘Your girlfriend is so pretty. And her sari is also so beautiful.’
‘Thanks,’ Ananya said. ‘Both of you look great. I want a lehnga like that.’
I took a full glass of vodka from the bar and poured it into three glasses. I
topped the drinks with Sprite and brought it for the girls.
‘I don’t drink. It’s only for the DJ later,’ Tinki clarified. ‘Anyway I am eighteen
now.’
‘You went to IIMA, no? You must be so intelligent. Can girls get into IIM? Nikki
said.
‘Of course, why not? What’s it got to do with being a girl,’ Ananya said.
I stepped away from them. The girls talked for the next ten minutes. If nothing
else, Ananya had bonded with the younger set of my family. Why was it so much
harder to win over the older generation?
‘Where are you?’ my mother’s angry voice cut into my musings. ‘The
ceremony is about to start.’
I collected the girls and we went to the stage. Minti sat on the floor of the stage
with Duke in front of her. A priest sat alongside.
As my aunts would say, Duke was on the healthier side.
‘He is fat,’ Ananya said flatly.
‘Shut up, someone will hear you,’ I said.
‘Oh, people really are careful about what they say around here,’ Ananya said,
sarcasm shimmering in her words like the sequins in her blouse.
‘C’mon Ananya, they are not even aware they are being offensive. You will like
them once you know them.’
‘Please, I like your cousins, let me be with them,’ Ananya said, her voice
defiant from the vodka.
‘We like her,’ Nikki and Tinki certified as they gave Ananya a hug. Just like
men, women too become friendlier after alcohol.
nora
(Nora)
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