Parivaar

Chapter 5: Blessings and Family

"Uh oh. Only he needs to bend and take my blessings. You can simply stand beside him while he takes the blessing for both of you." His Dadi said, stopping Anjali and pulling Rudra forward. Anjali and his Dadi were patrons of handlooms and had bonded over their meetings at various expos and workshops. And when she realized that Anjali could be ideal for Rudra, she wanted them to marry at all costs.

"I am so sorry for doing this to you. I wanted you as my granddaughter-in-law, but I didn't know that Pratap would be getting you for Rudra. I didn't mean to offend you like that. But wait, you already knew that I am Rudra's Dadi?" She asked, curiously.

"The day Dadaji visited us in the hospital, I knew he was your husband. And when the proposal came through, I just fit the pieces." She shrugged.

"You guys have never met? How did you know that he is my husband?" Dadi asked curiously.

"I saw him twice when he picked you up from the workshop. It was just putting the two together." She replied. Rudra heaved a breath of sigh he didn't know he was holding. His Dadi embraced her and Anjali hugged her back with an equal adoration.

"We have a small puja for you guys. The pandit ji is here and after the puja we can have the other rituals." Rudra's mom said, caressing Anjali's head. The newly wedded couple along with others sat in front of the deity and performed the puja as instructed by the pandit ji. Rudra and Anjali together, offered flowers, prasad and performed Lord Ganesh's aarti.

After the puja, Rudra and Anjali were made to sit on the couch and everyone from the family gave them gifts and Shagun. Anjali received a Louis Vuitton bag from Pari, they received a couple watches from Dev and Ved gifted his Bhaiya Bhabhi a Jimmy Choo perfume set. Pari gifted her bhabhi a Sabyasachi saree, specially customized with their names and wedding dates on the saree ends. Arjun and Preeti gifted Rudra a pair of cufflinks with their initials on it. Her bhaiya and bhabhi gifted them a Mercedes -Benz AMG A 45 S. His mothers gifted Anjali a limited edition Cartier diamond necklace and his fathers gifted them a year long free visit pass to Australia. His Dadi gifted her their heirloom bangles and made her wear it immediately on her wrists.

Anjali gifted Ved, Dev, Priyanshi and Pari the customized bracelets she had made for them. The three of them were so delighted to see their Bhabhi getting something for them. Priyanshi just gave a small smile in response to her gift which Anjali gracefully reciprocated.

"Now it's time for the first rasam." His badi ma placed a vessel filled with milk and rose petals in front of them and removed a ring from her finger and dropped it into it. "Now the person who finds out the ring first, gets an upper hand in this marriage. Three, two, one, go." Anjali and Rudra fished for the rings in the vessel. First Rudra got the ring, then it was Anjali and in the third round both of them had it together in their hand.

"Now what does this mean? Who won the contest?" Pari asked, curiously.

"Both of them have won. Sometimes it is her who takes the authority while it is him the other times, but whoever has the upper hand the victory is always theirs." His Dadi explained. "Beta, now make her wear that ring." Rudra slid that ring up her right ring finger as her left one held their wedding ring.

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The entire family sat down in their garden to host the wedding dinner. Exquisite feast was arranged for everyone present there. The servants and the house helps were given bonuses and gifts as a token of joy and celebration. Anjali had made Kheer as her Pehli rasoi and she received another round of Shagun from the family elders.

After everyone decided that it was time for the newlyweds to retire for the night, Priya, Arjun's wife, Pari ushered Anjali into Pari's room to doll her up for her first night. She tried telling them it would be of no use but her words made no sense to those two excited women. They were also joined by their mothers' who were enthusiastic about what dress Anjali should wear, how her hair should be, what kind of makeup would look right and so on. Anjali sat still for an hour as they toyed around with her hair and face. She was then sent to change into a deep maroon silk saree that her mother had gifted for her wedding. The women let out a sound of squeal as they saw her in a maroon attire making Anjali's cheeks flame up. She walked up to the mirror to see herself, and her eyes widened in shock as she saw her own reflection. Deep colored eyes, highly voluminous and bouncy hair, the saree sticking like a second skin to her, she looked ethereal to herself. Anjali took a second glance at herself before she shook her head in a no. No way she was going to look like this in front of him.

"We hardly know each other. And this is no way I present myself in front of him." She said, to Pari and Priya who were staring at her with widened eyes.

"Oh shush Anjali. It is your first night today and maybe you will get to know him better. And you look beautiful, what is wrong with that?" Her friend stated, making her narrow her eyes in disbelief.

"Yeah beta, you look very pretty. No matter what happens, you are allowed to look this good." Her mother in law said, making her sigh in agreement. She just wondered where Rudr was and what he was up to for tonight.

The tale with Rudra was another affair of its own. He was taken to his brother Dev's room where he was glammed up with beard creams, hair gels, colognes and perfumes. Added to these were endless teasing from his brothers and uncles. They made him listen to how to please his wife the best and how to never let her complain. Rudr just wanted to crawl up his bed and shut their mouths before they could explain anything else. But alas, he was left at their mercy until Anjali arrived at his room, which was theirs now. Finally, which seemed like ages, his sister knocked on the door indicating that it was time for the groom to enter their room. He sighed in relief which didn't go unnoticed by his siblings making them tease him again.

Rudra, at last entered his room after hearing endless do's and don'ts only to find his room empty. Locking the door inside, walked towards the end that was decorated with roses and jasmines indicating the occasion. His eyes roamed in search of his wife, he paused as he rolled the word on his lips and a small smile grazed his lips. His eyes settled on the silhouette of his wife standing on the balcony and he silently walked towards her. As they stood beside each other, they took a deep breath in simultaneously before asking each other, "Are you ready for this?" together. They broke into small chuckles before they turned to look at each other. Taking a moment to drink each other's appearance in, their eyes locked together, before they broke away the eye contact with red cheeks and a hazy mind.

"You can change Anjali, it shall be comfortable for you too." Rudra insisted and Anjali wordlessly nodded as she headed inside the room. As she stepped in, she realized that she had no clothes here to change into. She looked at Rudr who understood the situation too.

"Will you be okay wearing my clothes?" He asked, as he rummaged through the closet for a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Anjali agreed to settle on wearing his clothes as she had no other choice. Anjali took her own time to change into his pair while Rudra quickly helped himself in the bedroom. When Anjali walked out of the bathroom in his shorts and tee, he was sitting on the bed and scrolling through his phone. Seeing her in his clothes brought an involuntary smile on his face.

"Do you have a side preference?" She asked him, to which he replied in a negative way. "Then I shall take this side." She said, sitting on his left and sighing in relief.

"When are we leaving for Delhi?" Rudr asked, breaking the silence. Anjali thought for a moment and then replied.

"On Monday. We shall be heading home directly from here."

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