Jessie pulled her sari tjghter about her in an involuntary gesture of self protection. Something about the man in turban sitting opposite her in the train compartment disturbed her. The newspaper he held was all a pretence. She was sure of that. Now and then he was casting furtive glances at her with a sly smile on his lips.
She was a teacher at a reputed school and was going back home for her quarterly holidays. Her father would be waiting for her at the station. This Christmas would be special for her. She would be allowed to wear a new necklace that they had got her. And that beautiful pink silk sari.
A veterinary doctor had come to 'see' her some ten days back. The family seemed pleased enough with whatever they had seen and heard of her.The doctor himself seemed to be a skinny guy. She couldn't catch a glimpse of him properly as he was far away and girls were not supposed to stare. So they might fix the engagement in the holidays and then the marriage between Christmas and New Year. That was the time the church would be fully decorated and everybody would be in a festive mood.
The train slowed down at her station and she got up to pull her suitcase out from the shelf above. The man opposite her immediately got it for her.She felt like telling him to mind his own business but just pulled it from him with a rough 'thank you' and turned away. Her brother had also come to the station. She showed him the man and said, "looks like he's been following me." The brother immediately turned his cycle and went after the man.
"You'd better leave my sister alone."he warned.
."I don't think that's possible, brother-in-law," the man replied, pulling off his turban and false beard."I wanted to have a closer look at my bride, you know, and now hurry and start the wedding preparations."
The bride was my maternal aunt and that was how I got my fun loving uncle.
* * *
Satish was a handsome and enterprising engineer working abroad. So the next natural step was to search for a suitable bride for him. An elderly well wisher had found just the right bride for him. Well educated, wise, patient and caring, the well wisher was fully sure that the bride's temperament would be ideal for the modern, impatient engineer. Satish contacted the girl via the net and found her to be indeed the ideal match for him.In the meantime he found a new company with better opportunities and decided to switch jobs.
The date for the wedding had been fixed but the new company was in no mood to release their new employee even to attend his own wedding at India. Cards were printed and the guests were invited.
But no one knew when the bridegroom would actually arrive. As the possibility of his arriving for his wedding grew dim, he began assuring his bride that even if he couldn't arrive in person at the appointed time, they'd complete the rituals via the net and be declared Man and wife at the appointed time.
Yet Mala, the bride still hoped. Eleven hours before the wedding the company gave the groom permission to leave and five hours before the wedding he arrived to find his decked up bride sleeping out of sheer exhaustion. He whisked her into a car at midnight and took her to the beach only to be threatened by the police who suspected some foul behaviour. Luckily some relatives came to his rescue and he and his bride had a chance to meet each other before their wedding.
This young couple are my house owners and are blessed with two beautiful children.
* *
A freedom fighter who had been in jail for a long time was shown the door by the fathers of all the prospective brides.
In those days relatives competed with one another in booking bridegrooms for their daughters. So this fatherless bridegroom was very downcast. He confided this to a friend who promised to get him a good bride. The friend went to his sister's hostel, lied to her and the staff that their father was ill and brought the poor unsuspecting girl out. Took her straight to a registrar's office and made her sign the marriage register.
The girl's mother-in- law was a warm and broadminded person. She immediately welcomed the bride and did everything to make her feel at home.The student- suddenly- turned bride found herself to be the head of a long line of brothers and sisters-in-law. Yet she too soon fit into her role.
This (her adjustment) happens to be good for me because the bride turned out to be my mother-in-law.
She was a teacher at a reputed school and was going back home for her quarterly holidays. Her father would be waiting for her at the station. This Christmas would be special for her. She would be allowed to wear a new necklace that they had got her. And that beautiful pink silk sari.
A veterinary doctor had come to 'see' her some ten days back. The family seemed pleased enough with whatever they had seen and heard of her.The doctor himself seemed to be a skinny guy. She couldn't catch a glimpse of him properly as he was far away and girls were not supposed to stare. So they might fix the engagement in the holidays and then the marriage between Christmas and New Year. That was the time the church would be fully decorated and everybody would be in a festive mood.
"You'd better leave my sister alone."he warned.
."I don't think that's possible, brother-in-law," the man replied, pulling off his turban and false beard."I wanted to have a closer look at my bride, you know, and now hurry and start the wedding preparations."
The bride was my maternal aunt and that was how I got my fun loving uncle.
* * *
Satish was a handsome and enterprising engineer working abroad. So the next natural step was to search for a suitable bride for him. An elderly well wisher had found just the right bride for him. Well educated, wise, patient and caring, the well wisher was fully sure that the bride's temperament would be ideal for the modern, impatient engineer. Satish contacted the girl via the net and found her to be indeed the ideal match for him.In the meantime he found a new company with better opportunities and decided to switch jobs.
The date for the wedding had been fixed but the new company was in no mood to release their new employee even to attend his own wedding at India. Cards were printed and the guests were invited.
But no one knew when the bridegroom would actually arrive. As the possibility of his arriving for his wedding grew dim, he began assuring his bride that even if he couldn't arrive in person at the appointed time, they'd complete the rituals via the net and be declared Man and wife at the appointed time.
Yet Mala, the bride still hoped. Eleven hours before the wedding the company gave the groom permission to leave and five hours before the wedding he arrived to find his decked up bride sleeping out of sheer exhaustion. He whisked her into a car at midnight and took her to the beach only to be threatened by the police who suspected some foul behaviour. Luckily some relatives came to his rescue and he and his bride had a chance to meet each other before their wedding.
This young couple are my house owners and are blessed with two beautiful children.
* *
A freedom fighter who had been in jail for a long time was shown the door by the fathers of all the prospective brides.
In those days relatives competed with one another in booking bridegrooms for their daughters. So this fatherless bridegroom was very downcast. He confided this to a friend who promised to get him a good bride. The friend went to his sister's hostel, lied to her and the staff that their father was ill and brought the poor unsuspecting girl out. Took her straight to a registrar's office and made her sign the marriage register.
The girl's mother-in- law was a warm and broadminded person. She immediately welcomed the bride and did everything to make her feel at home.The student- suddenly- turned bride found herself to be the head of a long line of brothers and sisters-in-law. Yet she too soon fit into her role.
This (her adjustment) happens to be good for me because the bride turned out to be my mother-in-law.
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