When She Turns Twenty One

THE ARRIVAL OF THE GROOM

     Today being the first day of college where I am pursuing my master's in English literature, I am least interested in coming to college because I am tired of studying English literature for the past three years and I really wanted to take a break. But because of my parents compelsion I am here to do my master's degree and that's why I am here. Apart from that yesterday I was at my Aunt's house and it was my mother's birthday. So, we planned to buy a birthday cake to celebrate her birthday. Me and my sister inwent to buy a cake at the nearby cake shop. We did not have enough money to buy a black forest cake, so we bought a sponge cake and on top of the cake it was written "Happy Birthday Amma ''. 

     The shopkeeper packed the cake and we paid around one hundred and fifty rupees for it. En route home, we made fun of each other and discussed marriage, relationships and so on. In addition, I was excited about my mom's birthday surprise. When we reached home, all of a sudden there came a phone call from my father. I did not know this call was going to change my life. If I knew it before, I would have done something to stop my aunt from picking up the call. My father asked her to send me home. At first, they did not tell me what was going on with them. Then I came to know that an alliance from the Tuticorin district, which my mom had told me a few days ago, is coming to see me, and I am not at all interested for this marriage, so I did not wanted to return home on that day. Everyone else was so excited to see the groom and his family except the bride. My brother dropped me at my house in the daylight.

     Without interest, I started to change my clothes and wear a blue silk saree, which I have worn for my puberty function. My parents are in such a hurry to receive the groom's family, they are frequently calling the groom's father and are asking him " where are you now? ". At last, they reached our village and then they went to their relative's house in our area. There they chit-chat ed for some time. They enquired about me and my family. By the time the groom went off to sleep because of tiredness and nobody dared to wake him up from his deep peaceful sleep. While he was asleep he smelled the talcum powder. Finally, his aunt goes near him and the odour of the jasmine flower in the braid of her aunt wakes him up. He opened his eyes and saw the people around him, and  they were staring at him and he did not know the reason. They told him to freshen up and get ready to meet the bride and her family. He washed his face, made it dry with a towel and applied some talcum powder. Then he combed his hair and ask his sister-in-law, " Do I look good?" Yes, you do, she replies. Everyone else gets inside the car except the groom.

     There he picks a scooty with his cousin, and he drives it on the way to our house. In the meantime, the saree which I had worn was not comfortable for me. I felt so irritated by their delay. Now, it is 10 a.m The sweat all over my face annoyed me and I asked my mom " Shall I change my saree? " she said to wait for some more time. I lost my patience and told my mom that I am going to wear a churidar instead of this saree. My mom and I scolded the groom's family for not being punctual. Again, there came a phone call and my dad said to us " They are coming ". And now I had changed my outfit to a chudidar, I was so excited to see the groom because I have not seen him before. My parents did not show me any photographs and they too did not see him. In the groom's family also nobody saw me before except a very few, the ones who brought this alliance.

     My mom and I were standing in the kitchen when suddenly a bike came and two people were sitting on the bike, a mother and a son. My father, John, welcomed them. My mom, Yora, kindly told her the reason for not wearing a saree. " In the morning she did drape a saree, but because of your delay she changed it and wore a chudithar ". The woman said it is okay and it is not a problem. They both smiled at each other.

The woman was my father's classmate when he was studying in school. Then again, my mom and I get involved in the process of making coffee for the guests. I did not help her but I just simply stood there and talked with her. I was so excited and at the same time so frightened. My mom did not mind me; she was busy, arranging the tumblers on a tray and pouring coffee on them. At this time a white car came and a lot of people came out of it. They are all dressed traditionally, and on their braid, each woman has a bunch of jasmine flowers which are tied with a thread. I know these are the flowers which they bought for me.

     When my parents asked them not to follow all these traditions on a phone call they agreed. In our tradition, if a groom and his family went to visit the bride and her family for the first time they will bring some flowers and a tray of fruits. If the groom and his family members like the bride they reveal it by exchanging the fruits with the bride's family and the sister of the groom will put the jasmine flower on the bride's hair. Which symbolises that we like the bride and we are agreeing to the marriage with your daughter. This is the tradition which is followed in south India. But, my mom told dad to call them and asked them not to do these kinds of traditions today. If everything is okay with both families, we shall do these traditions later. This is the reason behind those jasmine flowers which are on their braided hair and the flowers make me laugh. I saw a tall man and fit come out of the car.

     My mind asked me if he is the groom, " what are you going to do? ". He looks like an uncle. With his big gigantic appearance, I do not want him to be my groom. Other than him no other man is in the car. This bitter truth makes my mood even more bitter. They entered our house with a smile on their faces. Yora got tensed on seeing that, I too got scared of them. Looking through our kitchen windows, I saw two youngsters parking their scooty in the back of the white car. The one who drove the scooty looked so good and handsome in my eyes, the moment I fell in love with him and I wished him to be my groom and I started to think " Who are they? ". They entered our house and everyone says here the groom comes. Throughout the gap between the kitchen, I looked into the living room. The gigantic man is sitting near a married woman. My mom told me that he might be the husband of that woman and in those two youngsters one will be the groom at first I do not believe her because she too does not know who the actual groom is just like me.

     Everyone was eager to see me so they asked my dad to call me. His classmate told him, " John, call your daughter ". My father called me " Bella, come to the living room and see your groom ". On hearing this I was so nervous to go there and see them. My mom gives me a tray, which is filled with coffee in the tumblers. I whispered, " Mom, what should I do with this? ".  She told me to go and keep it on the table and then I went there to the living room with my high-heeled footwear, which gave me more confidence on that day. In my hands, I carried a tray with coffee in the tumblers.

     I was nervous on that day so when I reached the living room without any doubts, I simply placed the tray on a black-coloured small oval-shaped table and ran towards the kitchen. Someone cracked a joke about what I did just now. He compared it with a scene in a Kollywood movie and everyone laughed with him. One of them in the groom's family says John, call your daughter. My dad called me " Bella come here " and he asked me to sit on the chair opposite to the groom's family.