The Caliginous

44. Reunited

Aithe koi na milda
Aape rabb milaunda ai
Milna vichhdna ai
Sab kismat de chakkar ne

｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

#nayaveerdaviah

Jalandhar, Punjab, India

3 weeks later..

The haveli, was decorated with detail for the paath ceremony.

The interior was transformed into a sacred and serene space, reflecting the spiritual significance of the occasion.

The floors, were covered with colorful rugs and mats, adding warmth and texture to the space.

The main hall, where the paath would take place, was adorned with an elegant canopy, adorned with flowers and greenery, creating a sense of intimacy and connection to nature.

The place where the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, was to be placed was on a beautifully decorated pedestal, surrounded by offerings of flowers, fruits, and candles.

The ceiling, adorned with wooden carvings and ornate chandeliers, was adorned with colorful lanterns and streamers, adding a touch of festivity to the occasion.

The air was filled with the sweet scent of incense and flowers, creating a sense of tranquility and spiritual connection.

The paath of Sukhmani Sahib, a sacred Sikh scripture, being held at Shubh's house before the wedding rituals was a way to seek blessings and spiritual guidance.

In Sikh culture, before starting any auspicious ceremony, the paath is held.

Maninder had gone to the Gurudwara Sahib as the groom's father to take along the Granth Sahib bare foot, keeping on his head over his turban along with the paathi ji, i.e. the priest.

Hiral, Jasleen, Manheer, Shubh, Amrit, Sahib and other cousins and relatives of Shubh stood at the doorway to welcome.

The moment the car arrived, Maninder stepped out with the Granth Sahib and the priest was chanting "Satnaam Waheguru" from the back.

Everybody showered flowers over them.

The paath began with the recitation of the sacred words of Sukhmani Sahib, led by a respected granthi and raagi.

Everybody sat down quietly and listened attentively, absorbing the spiritual energy and seeking guidance from the divine words.

As the paath continued, and the time for aradas arrived, everybody seeked the blessings for the new couple and that, the rituals shall now be proceeded.

After the paath, the kadha-prashad was distributed among everyone and langar (food) was given to the needy and poor.

Everybody sat down on the floor together, representing that all the people are equal in god's eyes and had the food.

Maninder and Shubh also distributed clothes and blankets.

Suddenly his phone vibrated.

"Send photos!!" Anaya texted.

He smiled at the text when Maninder caught him.

"Ki hoea?"

(What happened?)

"Uh-nothing" Shubh said sliding the phone back in his pocket.

"Je vohti ne koi message kita ai taan krde reply, fer viah ton baad bohot tang hoenga" Maninder joked.

(If your wife has texted, then reply her. Otherwise you'll be in problem after the wedding.)

Shubh smiled and nodded and went inside.

Meanwhile Varinder was just noticing how his father had never joked like this with him about his marriage life.

Just cause he didn't marry the girl he asked for and married his love.

Shubh was also marrying his love, but the only difference was, he made it look like it's an arrange marriage.

"What are you thinking Inder?" Mridula asked him while keeping his hand on his shoulder.

"Shubh is also marrying the girl of his dreams, still he is getting dad's love. Are we that bad Mridula? Just because we did not lie to dad about us and told him that we love each other? Shubh is clearly lieing to the whole family and gaining their love by pretending he is marrying the girl they chose when it is clearly the opposite!"

Mridula smiled.

"Point hai. But listen Inder. If Shubh had told him the truth, just like you did, would you stand for him the way he had done for us?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You are trying so hard to get on dad's good side but nothing happens. Now let's say, if Shubh had directly told about Anaya, would you be on Shubh's side and fight for him, or would you be on your dad's side portraying the perfect son role just cause you want his love back?"

Varinder became quiet.

"You still are saying all this to Shubh when he literally crossed all the limits to get us two together. Don't you think he deserves this happiness? How can you say such a thing Inder? Since when did you become this selfish?"

"I-" suddenly another hand rests on his other shoulder and he turned around and saw Shubh.

"Uh-actually we were just-"

"Offo veer ji, come with us, why are you standing alone? Come on, little Gill is on the way, you also seek blessings by giving away the blankets and clothes."

Varinder looked at Mridula because of his gesture and Mridula just smiled.

"Come with me" Shubh said and took his hand but Varinder didn't move a bit.

"What happened?" Shubh enquired but Varinder instantly hugged him tightly.

"May god give you all the happiness" Varinder said and Shubh was actually confused at his gesture.

"Ahm ahm" they heard a cough.

Everybody looked around and saw Maninder standing and looking at them.

Shubh and Varinder just looked at each other with confused expressions.

"Varinder. Mridula. Come here." He said.

Did he hear their talks?

Oh god-

Varinder was so scared.

He held Mridula's hand and walked forward.

Maninder had no expressions on his face and just took some money in his hand and encircled around both of their heads and then at Mridula's baby bump and then proceeded to give the money to the workers.

"Jo hua so hua. Abhi ho toh mere hi bache na, jaao maaf kiya" he said.

They both smiled and looked at each other with disbelief and hugged him.

Shubh just stood at the back and looked at his brother finally being happy.

Family Reunited ✨

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️

Okay so, that guy came up to me. 😀

He asked me to wait after class but I ran away 😀

And we had one more class after that of Maths together.

I decided to attend it online and came back home. 😀