The Scandalous Wedding

Chapter 1: Tabloids

"Yes Sangavi", there were very few people in the world, who could pronounce her name properly. That included her parents, her assistant Nimmy, her few Indian and Srilankan friends, and a few other business associates. She only let them call her by their full names. For the rest of the world, who had a terrible accent and couldn't pronounce her name properly, she was Sang. Sang de Silva.

"Tell me mom, why?" she cried once again. Alina lifted her eyes and cast a look towards Kaya who stood at a distance, but still within a hearing range, and she immediately picked the cue and left. Alina was a woman who could speak a million words through her eyes. People always said, Sang inherited her mother's expressive eyes, which was a huge compliment for her.

"Come here sweetheart", her mother gestured towards the path which led to the garden and they both started a slow paced walk. Sangavi was what you call an obedient daughter. She trusted her parent's blindly and believed in them. Though she expressed her views and opinions out loud, she always listened to her parents as well. That was her specialty, she listened. She listened to others not to be polite but because she liked to understand them, to empathize with their situation. This quality made her likeable and importantly a confidant to many people in her circle.

"Do you trust me?" her mother asked her, to which she nodded in positive. "Every individual in this world is born with a purpose. Some call is fate and others responsibility. Do you remember the story of Drishtadyumna, from Mahabharath?" Alina asked gently.

Sang grew up hearing the tales of mythology of all cultures. She did remember this story, "Yeah, vaguely", she replied as the story of a warrior replayed in her ears.

"Drishtadyumna was a warrior whose only purpose of life was to avenge his father's insult. He didn't have a childhood, he didn't have a life ambition of his own, all he ever thought, dreamt and wished was to avenge his father's insult. One day he asked his teacher 'Isn't it unfair that I don't have a childhood or a life of my own? What if I don't want to be a warrior? Why should I make such a sacrifice?' the teacher was stunned for a moment. Of course it was unfair, obviously it was unjust to thrust such a responsibility onto a child who was born as an adult, who yet was only an infant. He knew what Drishtadyumna was going through wasn't easy. The teacher took time and replied, "I know you feel you were born not out of love, but for a purpose and it hurts. But that is the truth. You are born to avenge your father's insult and there is no way of sugar coating it". Dristadhymna was shocked. He didn't expect this kind of a harsh reply from his teacher. He thought his teacher would console him in a gentler way. Seeing his shocked expression, the teacher smiled and said, 'I know I might sound harsh to you, but truth is always harsh. Every person is born with a purpose and is expected to sacrifice something of his own. A king is born with a purpose of succeeding the throne and protects the kingdom. Now what if he decides to abandon the kingdom and become a goldsmith? He might become a great goldsmith, but what about the people and the kingdom? It's the sacrifice a king has to make. A farmer is born to cultivate the crops and bring food to the people, what will happen if all the farmers in the world decide to quit their jobs and go on a trip around the world to have fun? They are accustomed to trips around the world and having fun too, aren't they? But who will bring food to us? And who will satisfy the hungry mouths if they aren't there to care for the farms? - It's the sacrifice a farmer has to make. No person is above anyone else, and no person is luckier than the other. There will be no land, if there is no king. And there will be no king, if there is no farmer. Likewise, there will be no world if there is no sacrifice""

There was a moment of silence as Alina recited the story shortly to her daughter. Sangavi was in deep thought as she heard the story. "Honey", Alina turned her daughter around to face her, "You might think that this is so unfair to you. Yes, it is. But you don't have a choice. Look, we aren't going to starve to death or go bankrupt if you decide not to show up on the altar. But remember, there is a purpose to everyone in this world. And your purpose is to bring an end to this age old rivalry. Now I won't lie to you, yes, we are thinking about the ulterior benefits of this wedding. But to look at the greater good, the cold war between the two families will come to an end with this wedding.