"Girls what is taking you so long? Make haste, people will start arriving anytime!" Anamika's mother, who was also a good friend of Meera's mother and like a second mother to Meera, questioned.
"Aai, when the time of arrival is stated as 6:30, people actually arrive at 7:30 so tu chill kar". Anamika replied coolly.
"What chill, I've loads of things to do." Anamika's mother went away.
"Aaj to Dev ki shamat aajayegi!" Anamika teased her, as she watched Meera all dressed up looking pretty.
"I swear Dev and I had an argument over this dress!" Meera spoke as she rummaged through her room for her lipstick.
"So one day, we were sitting in the car and I saw this dress on Anita Dongre's Instagram page. I showed Dev ki look such a pretty dress."
"And then he took me to Mumbai under the pretext of meeting Chandni and we stopped in front of Anita Dongre's showroom!" Meera ranted as she reminisced the event.
"He said he wanted to buy me that dress, I obviously refused stating reasons like 'independent woman' but he wouldn't budge!" Meera added, air quoting the word 'independent woman'.
"He said it's a birthday present, because this was around October first week and he made this puppy face ki I'd to accept it!" Meera said as she put on her eyeliner.
"Must've hurt your female ego na?" Anamika questioned on purpose.
"Obviously! Anita Dongre is expensive and I'm totally against aristocratic gifts but Dev was persistent." Meera sighed dramatically.
"It looks nice though, not the typical sangeet lehenga. This is unconventional." Anamika opined as she put a small kajal dot behind Meera's ear as a superstitious act.
"Najar na lage." Anamika added and then hugged Meera.
"Bhai teri sachme shaadi ho rahi hai?" Ruturaj was sort of in awe as he watched Dev unbutton his kurta.
"Nahi ye sab natak hai kyu ki mere account mein paise jyada ho gaye hai." Dev joked and Ruturaj smacked his head.
"But honestly kise pata tha ki ek din, teri shaadi hogi! Teri!" Ruturaj chuckled at his own statement.
"Mujhe bhi nahi believe ho raha ki meri shaadi hone wali hai." Dev agreed.
"What if the dynamic changes after the shaadi?" Dev's tone changed to a serious one as he paused styling his hair. Ruturaj looked at him incredulously.
"Matlab, what if I can't give her time? What if we fight over who's going to pay the electricity bill? What if she wants a Husky and I want a Retriver?" Dev questioned Ruturaj.
"Why didn't you think of this before marriage? Ab vichar kar ke kya fayda?" Ruturaj reprimanded.
"This is just cold feet or what they say. Sabko hota hai." Ruturaj added.
"Tera aur Netra ka aisa hua tha kya? Does it change?" Dev asked Rutu.
"Not at all, humare bich kuch nahi badla, ulta it's all the more fun now!" Ruturaj tried to cheer Dev up.
"Isn't Meera the person you want to see the instant you open your eyes in the morning?" Ruturaj questioned.
"She definitely is. Use dekhte hi mood achha ho jata hai." Dev replied in an appreciating tone.
"Toh phir? Kyu tension leta hai? An empty mind is a devil's workshop, so teri dance steps rehearse kar." Ruturaj exited the room, happy that he had calmed Dev down.
The Deveera wedding wasn't a Big Fat Indian Shaadi.
It was a normal homely function which resonated to the South Indian and Marathi culture greatly.
The Sangeet was organized in the backyard.
All the younger generation had taken great efforts to decorate the backyard, arrange chairs, music and food.
Every half hour, something would come up and Rutu and Yash would go and get things.
They sort of found these frequent rides entertaining and were ready to help if it meant going out.
Meera watched from her window as the lights flickered on, emitting a faint golden glow on her face.
All of it sunk in.
She was actually getting married.
Meera had always picturized her wedding since she was a teenager.
She had planned that she'll wear a lavender lehenga, will have white lillies in the decoration and wed at some exotic destination.
It's silly how we think we would want a particular thing to be and how it actually is.
Meera was content with the homely aesthetic of the wedding.
She didn't need lillies or a lavender lehenga.
She wanted her family and friends, close and happy.
The low key element made the wedding extra special. They would have a reception later on for Dev's colleagues but the wedding guests were selectively chosen.
It hit Meera, that she was going to leave Pune and her parents now.
She was not used to staying away from them and suddenly she's shifting to Bangalore.
Quite unfair isn't it? We've only ever questioned the patriarchal system of the bride shifting to the groom's house but have never pondered upon the solution.
Meera watched her Baba talked to his friends as guests started arriving.
She's going to miss him terribly.
She won't be there to remind him about adding Sugar Free to his tea or to keep a tab on his diet.
She wasn't going to be there to regularly check his blood pressure or watching Rangoli on DD National and singing 'Ye chand sa roshan chehra'.
Meera thought of her Aai.
Every morning the first person Meera would call is her Aai.
The moment she sat up in her bed, she would shout loudly, addressing her mother who would come and hug her.
Meera was going to miss the ready-made tea she got and the yummy dishes her Aai made.
She'd miss teaming up with Baba and making fun of Marathi TV serials as her Aai watched them.
Meera would also miss the small arguments that would happen in the morning which eventually settled by the night.
Involuntarily tears made their way to Meera's eyes as she looked at her room.
Meera closely observed the polaroids she had decorated her room with.
She looked at the photo with her Mum and Dad when she had given them a treat at JW Mariott after her promotion.
Meera then looked at the photo with her nephew Ayush.
It was a pretty happy picture of Meera playing with him.
Meera was his favorite Maushi and Ayush was Meera's favourite nephew.
He called her 'Mee Mee' and she had approved of her new name.
Meera opened her cupboard door and looked at her and Dev's photo that she had stuck on the inner side.
It was a picture from Ruturaj's wedding with Meera in a white saree and Dev in a red kurta.
He'll soon call her his wife!
Never in her lucid dreams had she imagined her dream turning into reality.
There was a knock on the door and a lady entered as Meera wiped her tears.
"Hurry up Meera! Everyone -" She stopped abruptly seeing tears in Meera's eyes.
"Kay zala?" (What happened?) Her mother came closer and cupped Meera's face.
That instant Meera burst into tears while she hugged her Aai.
After she was sober, Meera in a shaky voice whispered, "I'll miss you."
By now her mother was also emotional and made Meera sit down.
"I remember when I was getting married to Milind, I was only 22. I was scared, unexperienced and naïve." Meera listened as her mother recalled the past.
"I was so worried as to how I was going to manage the house and the kitchen and other things. Plus, I was also worried about my parents even though Ashu Mama was there."
"But once I got accustomed to the Joshi household, it all settled. Milind and Ajji were the most supportive people and they encouraged me to complete my Masters from Pune University." Meera smiled on hearing that.
"Cooking never felt like a compulsion. Instead I started to love making food for our family. I leaned so many dishes from Ajji!" Meera's mother chuckled.
"You know, like every other girl I couldn't make round rotis initially but Ajji trained me."
"Really?!" Meera exclaimed.
"Ho ga kharach! If I look back, the 22 year old Anju would have never imagined ki she'll balance everything smoothly and also love what she does." Meera's mother smiled as she reminisced.
"A marriage shouldn't feel like compulsion. Initially you'll worry about being perfect but eventually you'll understand ki not everything needs to be perfect."
"The amount of salt need not and will not be perfect eveytime. Marriage is learning when and where to add or subtract the salt." Meera understood the message.
"Also, Dev is a very good boy. Never did I imagine ki your crush will turn to be your husband! Small world isn't it?" Meera's mom laughed and Meera smiled too.
"You have wonderful in laws! Ambili, Chandni are very understanding and will support you at every step. They don't expect you to be perfect." Meera's mother patted her on her back.
"Learn as much as you can from Ambili, all the Malayali dishes, Malayali culture, sagla shikun ghe." Meera nodded in response to her mother's advice.
Meera's phone rung and she put it on speaker reading the caller ID.
"Hello Meera? Kuthe ahes tu? (Where are you) Anju kuthe ahe? (Where is Anju?)" Meera's Dad reprimanded.
"We're in my room." Meera answered.
"Well then stop sitting idly and come down right now!" Milind Joshi ordered his daughter and cut the call.
"Chal patkan, Baba chidla ahe (hurry up, Dad is angry)." Meera hastened and touched up the makeup.
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Just a busy day in Joshi household that had real conversations which I came across at my cousin's wedding.