MARRIAGE: START OF A TRUE LOVE STORY!

Sitting in seclusion,by the side of her bedroom window, the 22 year old Kavita ,reminisced the years went by. As she gazed out of the window, the memoirs of the past that clouded her mind took her down the memory lane. It was nearly winter time and the pleasantly cold breeze that ruffled her hair was redolent of the times when the entire family would wait to get back to the warmth and snugness of the house.

She remembered how her mother would prepare the bed and warm it up by keeping hot water bottles underneath the mattress.Her father would get the heater out from the attic, while her two elder brothers , Sumit and Ravi , after returning from college would get down to their business of mollycoddling their little sister. The family would snuggle up in their quilts, after having the grand winter dinner that would comprise of the beautifully baked pomphret, the baby corn soup and fried eggs followed by the gajar ka halwa, which was prepared as a part of the winter sacrament.Kavita along with her brothers would talk about how their day went and make plans for christmas and new year. Being the youngest in the family, she was the most pampered and was the cynosure of everybody’s eyes. Time had flown; she realized as her eyes welled up with tears and she tried to bring herself to the present day. Time for her to get married and embark on a new journey; The atmosphere of the house was brimming with excitement but Kavita cherished her solitude, wanting to capture each moment spent with her loved ones in her heart. The day arrived. It was time. Decked up beautifully,she walked slowly towards the Mandap, everyone awed and marveled at the beauty of the lintel girl , about to step into a new world.Even though she was shy and timorous, she hid all her apprehensions behind the little smile that she had put on to greet everyone who stepped forward to congratulate her.

The diffident girl tried to capture a glance of her husband, whom she had seen only in the photographs brought to her by her parents, through her ghunghat. She,like an extremely obedient Indian girl,had left the biggest decision of her life to her parents.She knew that they would tie her in the nuptial knot with the one who deserved her. Although she was unable to admire her groom due to the heavy ghunghat that half -covered her face,his comforting baritone and the touch of his hand ,to calm his bride’s nerves, reassured her of her parents’ decision.After all the rituals were done with and vows taken, Kavita bid adieu to her family.

​She was going to lay the cornerstone of a new life with an unfamiliar set of people. Extremely anxious, she stepped into her new house with her husband, aloof of what love is; hardly did she know what it meant to be married. All she knew was that her mother wished she becomes the apple of everybody’s eyes in her new house and also accepts everyone with an open heart. She remembered her mother say that all she had to do was respect everyone in her new house. Aware of her wife being uneasy, the equally apprehensive Aman wanted to comfort her. After a few failed attempts ,he stuttered her name ,“Kavita”.She responded with an equally soft "Yes". Mesmerized , he admired Kavita’s winsome charm and the fact that how fortuitous he was to have found her. Kavita, not knowing what to say, was abashed. He gradually began a converstion. He started talking and kept talking for a while, told her everything about his school and college and how he spent his years. Unable to elicit a response from her, Aman could gauge that she was already missing her folks and nothing could have made her feel better, he decided to give her some time alone. Nevertheless, like a budding home maker, she took care of everyone in the family and in no time became everybodys’ dearest. Days passed, she became so comfortable with everyone in the family like she had known them for years. Though she became really good friends with Aman, there still was an inhibition; But how long? Aman was assigned an importamt assingnment by his boss for which he had to go out of station. As she helped him pack his luggage, she began to have a sinking feeling,she couldn’t understand the reason for her disgruntlement. The flight was scheduled for two days hence. Kavita would’t talk to anybody, not even Aman.She herself couldn’t apprehend the reason for her disquiet but she just wouldnt feel like doing anything. The night before Aman had to leave, Kavita didnt sleep the entire night. She sat by her bed and kept staring at Aman. She still wasnt aware of the feeling that was getting nurtured within her. Next morning,after Aman got all dressed up and left for the airport,Kavita locked herself up in her room.She felt a deep void and just couldnt get rid of it. She sat waiting for Aman to call her up and inform that he had reached his destination..He did but Kavita was immensely depressed. Aman was due to come after a week. She continued doing her chores for the next one week without talking to anybody. She deeply missed Aman's presence. ​

​A week passed; for kavita it was a lifetime; she was anxiously waiting for Aman to call and apprise her of the arrival of his flight. An hour passed; then two and three; but there was no notification from him. Kavita just couldnt handle the anxiety. As time passed,her anxiety grew and it slowly gave way to tears rolling down her cheeks.She immidiately started from her house for the airport.Trying to brush away any bad thoughts, she gathered herself and started frantically calling the authorities and Aman, alternately, whose cell was out of service for a while now.She reached the airport. Extremely tense, Kavita wanted to know about the well being of her husband ;She asked the authorities and discovered that there was a delay in the flight due to inclement weather and that it was about to arrive.But she wasnt relieved ,she wanted to see Aman that very moment; she fettered around for him in the airport. After a few hours of anxiety, he arrived from amongst the rabble of passengers. Kavita, aloof of her surroundings, scurried through the mob towards him and threw her arms around him. Tears rolled down her face. Before he could say something comforting; Kavita uttered the Three golden words - I Love You, and snuggled into his chest. Yes! She had found it.. She had found her day of love.

#LOVE