‘He’s better, he had soup last night and porridge in the morning. He is taking
rest now. He sends his regards,’ my mother said.
Ananya’s father nodded in concern.
‘What are the ceremonies today, uncle?’ I asked for my relatives benefit.
‘First we have the Vrutham, the wedding invitation prayers. We also have
Nischayathartham, the formal engagement ceremony where we set the auspicious
time for the wedding and give gifts to close relatives,’ Ananya’s father said.
My aunts only paid attention to the last four words.
We came to the main hall, the center of action for the next two days. Every
ceremony of my wedding took place in this room. In the middle of the hall, there
was fire urn, not too different from Punjabi weddings. However, in our weddings
people only came around the fire after eating their dinner and dessert. Here,
everyone lived around the fire. I sat down on the floor. Four priests started the
mantras. Close relatives sat on the floor while distant and arthritic ones sat on
chairs in the back rows. The priests at the Vrutham chanted so loud, it scared
some of my little cousins into crying and made it impossible to talk. My aunts
behind me shifted their positions several times.
‘Should we do a city tour later?’ Kamla aunty said.
‘What is there to see in Chennai? If you want to see Madrasis, there are
enough in this room,’ Shipra masi said.
I saw Ananya’s relatives. I recognized few aunts. The younger cousins had
come down from abroad. They sat in traditional Tamil attire, clutching their
mineral water bottles.
‘Ananya didi,’ Minti said as Ananya came inside. She wore a maroon
Kanjeevaram sari with a mustard yellow-gold border. Her tightly braided hair
made her look like a cute schoolgirl. Her face had make up, and Ananya looked
prettier than any girl on any Tamil film poster every made. Her eyes looked deep,
due to kaajal around it. For a few seconds I couldn’t recognize her as my Ananya.
nora
(Nora)
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