It was so hard for me to resist replying to all those heartfelt comments in the previous chapter but I had to hold back so as not to hinder the target. Well at last I did end up replying to a few comments though.
Thank you for all the lovely comments and support.
Finally the wedding chapter!! But we have another wedding waiting for us. I have added reference pictures to the previous chapters too. Check them out if you haven't already.
Hope you will enjoy this chapter equally too! Enough of my rambling. Happy reading!
Author
Today is finally the day everyone awaited. Though Chaitra's family was a little gloomy about sending her away, their happiness and excitement to see their little angel getting married was palpable. Her brothers didn't have time to breathe as they ran around arranging everything for their little sister's special day.
Chaitra, Ishika, and Bindu had to force them to have their breakfast which they ate in utmost hurry and left soon. After a while, Nithi tied the sehera/shafa around Daksh's head and applied a black dot behind his ear to ward off the evil eyes. Then the barat started from Monsoon Palace/ Sajjangarh Palace as per Daksh's Dadi sa's wish. All of Daksh's side reached there in the early hours and are now going back to the city palace with Barat.
As the barat proceeded, Daksh's family danced heartily. His sisters were on cloud nine to get Chaitra, their favorite senior as their Bhabi maa while his brothers and best friends were happy that finally their 'not so interested in girls' Daksh found a girl like Chaitra. They couldn't be more thankful to god for sending her as his soul mate. The elders were happy to see their son's happiness as his happiness reflected from the glow of his face.
On the other hand, Chaitra was looking at her lehenga lying on her bed when she remembered her panic and the way Daksh and her brothers comforted her.
Yesterday night, Daksh showed Chaitra and her brothers the lehenga he got specially designed for her. It was a red lehenga like Chaitra asked with beautiful intrinsic patterns woven into the fabric with fine gold threads. The skillfully woven patterns of different sizes all over the lehenga added elegance to it. The edges of the dupatta too were woven with golden borders with different patterns inside them. Chaitra's eyes bulged at the beauty of the lehenga while her mouth hung open on seeing the detailed attention the designers gave to all the insights she gave when Daksh asked.
"It's... it's gorgeous," She managed to breathe out as she felt the fabric and the patterns with her hands.
"Not more than you," Daksh's reply was instant and it made her brothers look between the couple with a teasing smile making Chaitra flush crimson.
But soon her mood turned sour as panic surged into her making her fidget with her fingers in nervousness. Akash was quick to observe his sister's dull face and question about it, "Chinni, what happened?" His question diverted other's attention to her who now looked at her with concerned expressions.
"Didn't you like the lehenga, Jaan? I've asked them to bring the other lehengas too," Daksh replied quickly. Though he wanted her to wear this particular lehenga and constantly monitored the work on this, it was not more important than his Jaan's happiness.
"I love the lehenga," Chaitra took a break while the others patiently waited for her to share the reason behind her sour mood.
"But what if I fall wearing it?" She questioned in panic as she imagined herself falling on her face in front of all the guests when she would be the center of attention. Her question made all of them smile softly at her before all of them replied at once, "You won't," She nodded at them though she was a little scared.
Chaitra sighed and got into her attire with the help of the makeup artists and her bhabi. Ishika perfectly tucked her dupatta and placed a black dot behind her ear. Bindu then made her drink some juice as she can't have her food until the wedding concludes. After that, the three of them chatted for a while before her parents walked in with other family members.
Raghav and Pallavi couldn't stop themselves from tearing up seeing their princess in the wedding attire. He was quick to take out a bundle of notes and round it around her before giving it to his assistant to donate the amount. They both kissed their daughter's forehead lovingly and blessed her. Then, her Maamu and Maami too did the same to ward off the evil eyes and blessed their niece followed by her Atha and Mama. By then environment turned a little gloomy but Hithen was quick to lighten the atmosphere.
"Why are you all doing it? Who will cast an evil eye on a monkey?" He asked shrugging which made them burst into laughter while Chaitra huffed at her brother in annoyance but inside she was thankful to him for making the atmosphere light.
"Now can we hug our sister?" Akash asked at which Chaitra opened her hands widely and soon the four shared a group hug as her brothers kissed her forehead one by one, blessing her with all the happiness and love.
When it was time to welcome the Barat everyone else left the room leaving Chaitra with her brothers. When Akash noticed her anklets on the table, he was quick to grab them. He removed her heels and Hithen sat beside him as both of them tied anklets around her ankle. Dev made her drink a few sips of juice and reapplied her lipstick. The three left asking her to wait until they came back to take her to the pavilion.
When it was time for the bride to make her entry, they helped her stand and lifted her lehenga to help her walk with ease.
Daksh
My white sherwani with golden print, threadwork, and red buttons fit my body perfectly while a shawl/dupatta of red color with fine gold work lay on my one shoulder and rested on my folded other hand. My shafa was also golden in color with a mango-shaped broach with a red ruby surrounded by white diamonds pinned to it. My neck was adorned with an off-white pearl set with a few golden beads in the middle.
As I stood in the middle of the pavilion, the younger clan of her family stood in front of me down the stage in a line making me confused. Everyone had confused looks on their faces and finally, Raghav uncle asked what were they up to.
"Mama, our chaitra is so precious, right? How can we give her to him that easily?" Hithen asked.
"What do you want?" my reply was quick and it made everyone chuckle in amusement while my cousins and best friends had teasing smiles on their faces.
"If you want to take 7 pheras with our sister, you have to make 7 promises to all of us," Dev put forth the condition and I nodded without hesitation.
"You will let bua eat Chocolates and won't stop her," Little Viv put forth his condition.
"I won't stop her until she eats them in the limit," I promised.
"You will not let her watch horror movies alone. She is scared of them but is adamant about watching them," Ishika bhabi said condition and I nodded with a smile.
"You will get her flowers for all the important occasions," Bindu bhabi said and I agreed.
"You will never leave her alone when she is in agony. You will always be with her and console her," Dev put forth his condition and I agreed. I will try my best not to let her face any such condition in the first place.
"You will protect her from any potential threats and will inform three of us if you feel she is in danger," Akash put forth his condition and I agreed. I will rip anyone who will even think of harming her.
"You will never let her childish side perish under the weight of responsibilities. Her childishness is what makes my sister unique and you have to protect it," Hithen said and all her childish antics from stuffing sweets with mirch to making that poor boy fall on rangoli flashed in front of my eyes making me chuckle.
"Never," I promised.
"And the last one, you will never stop her from meeting us and will tag along," her brothers said in union and I happily agreed.
"Welcome to the gang, Jiju. Now we will go bring your bride. Don't get impatient," with that, they all walked away.
As I awaited my bride, My jaan, my heart thudded with anticipation and immense love. When the music of Peer Vi tu started to play, I couldn't stop building up excitement as I glanced at the entrance excitedly. Then she emerged from the array of flowers holding her father's hand with her brothers on either side and her family behind her.
As the distance between us started to reduce, my heartbeats quickened, there was this sweet pain rising in my chest and something dropped on my cheeks as I saw her taking steps towards me. With every step she took made me feel more alive. I never knew one could feel this overwhelmed by the mere smile of a person. When I tasted something salty on my lips, I realized I was shedding tears. But I didn't want to blink and miss any single moment so I let them fall freely as my Jaan walked further towards me with tears in her doe eyes but these tears were out of happiness and my happiness knew no bounds knowing she was equally ecstatic about our union.
The beautiful smile on her lips made my own lips stretch into a smile. That smile is something I would kill and die for without thinking a second. Her smile is like the first rain in the barren lands, soothing and new hope for life. With my heart still dancing in my chest, my mind still trying to process the beauty in front of me, my hand extended in front of her on its own accord when she was finally near the mandap.
As she placed her soft hand in mine, my soul left my body and came back in the blink of an eye. I wrapped my fingers around her palm, gripping her hand. Though I held her hand many times, this moment had something special and surreal in it making jolts of escasity pass through me.
But she had to remove her heels before she climbed up and before I could bend to help her with that, her brothers took charge as Dev and Hithen swiftly removed her heels getting onto their knees while Akash held her by her shoulders to make sure she wouldn't trip. Hithen swiftly placed the heels on the side and straightened her skirt. I helped her onto the pavilion while her brothers held her skirt and dupatta making it easy for her to walk.
When she was in front of me, I gestured for Abhi and he immediately passed me a coconut which I used to ward off the evil eye off her by rotating it in front of her and then I took a bundle of cash and rounded it around her before placing it in Rakshit's hand to donate. Chaitra took a pinch of kohl from my eyes before placing it behind my ear making me smile at her. She then warded off the evil eye off me and gave it to one of her cousins asking her to send it to some orphanage.
"Waah beta, I thought it was only meant for us, brothers," Akash teased his sister who flushed hearing him.
"You do that to Vadina too, did I complain?" She asked with a pout and everyone fell into fits of laughter.
Once we were standing in the middle, with all our family members surrounding us, the priest asked us to exchange the garlands. I got onto my knees for her to adorn me with the garland and she did so with a smile on her lips and kissed my forehead before standing straight. When I made her wear the garland she quickly touched my feet before I could stop her and got up with a smile. The crackers went off along with color bombs lighting up the night sky as we both shared a hug.
"Why would you do that?" I slowly whispered in her ear as I adjusted her garland so it wouldn't cause her irritation later.
"For the same reason you got onto your knees," her reply made me smile and I placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
And then we proceeded with the pheras and satapadi. With each phera we took an oath to love, respect, and cherish our bond, taking care of each other's and both our families well being and to support each other in every aspect and challenge of life.
When the priest asked me to tie the nuptial chain around her neck and adorn her hairline with sindoor, I took a pinch of sindoor between my fingers and applied it on her hairline and some fell on her nose making her smile sweetly. I then took the mangalsutra and glanced at her who was already looking at me, with her eyes full of love and respect.
"Just like the gold threads holding the beads together, our love for each other will hold our moments and us together as we both weave our life and mold it the way we want to. I promise we both will weave our journey with all the beautiful moments together and I will be with you to celebrate every little achievement of yours and will always make you a part of my achievements. Like the way these golden threads keep the beads together, our love, respect, and trust in each other we will keep our families and friends together and make all those little moments special and cherished. I love you, Jaan," I professed before hooking the chain around her neck and kissing her forehead.
"I promise to stay by you no matter what and will always try my best to make you feel special like you always make me feel, Aksh, and cherish everything that is dear to you. I will be with you in every situation holding your hand and we both will fight every hurdle in our life together. I will never judge you no matter what and will always stand by you like a pillar, supporting, encouraging, and loving you. I too love you, Aksh" She replied with teary eyes which I wiped off immediately, and then we both took blessings from all the elders and shared hugs with the youngsters.
"Jaan, I completed your 16 shringar," I whispered in her ear and kissed her temple making her blush crimson. She was very excited to complete her 16 shringar and made me call all the famous jewelers yesterday night to get her a kamarband/waist chain as it was one among the 16 shringar. But the happiness on her face when she saw the jewelry was worth all the calls and requests.
When we were about to step down the stage, I noticed my footwear missing. Is it my gang who took them to hide or hers stole them? My question was answered when I heard Ishika Babhi's teasing voice.
"What Jamai sa? Are you searching for something?" she had a huge smile on her face while her husband along with Akash and Hithen stood there smugly.
"He's searching for what you people have stolen," Abhi said with a sulking face making them laugh.
"You don't need to search. Give us 5 lakhs and we will personally make you wear them," Bindu bhabi announced.
"I will give you 50 lakhs if you let my wife stay with me from today," I put forth my condition. As we are yet to get married in Telugu traditions, the elders decided to make us stay in different houses until it's done. Like why? She is my wife! My wife!
"Great deal but we can't help you with it, Daksh. You know lady bosses ordered us not to," Dev whispered pointing at the four elder ladies of their family. I groaned internally but forced a smile.
"Then forget the deal. I have no shame in walking barefoot for a while," I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Chaitra yaar! What kind of husband did you pick?" Hithen huffed in annoyance at my behavior.
"Oye! My husband is the best," Chaitra announced hugging me from the side and I flashed a smile at her family who were looking at her with mouths wide open.
"Not done, Chaithu. Ask him to give us the money," Akash huffed like a kid and my jaan looked up at me lifting her face with her head resting on my bicep.
"Dedu?" I asked with a soft smile.
(Shall I give?)
"Dedijiye," she whispered with a kiss on my bicep leaving her lipstick marks on the off-white sherwani. I kissed her forehead and asked Akshaya to bring my checkbook.
I wrote a check for 50 lakhs and gave it to her Babhis who jumped in delight. They both then started praising me making their husbands sulk while Hithen being the single man enjoyed the show.
I lifted my Jaan in my hands making her look at me with wide eyes while her hands wrapped themselves around my neck.
"I promised to not let you fall, remember?" I whispered with a wink and she hid her face in the crook of my neck making me chuckle while her family and friends started hooting. She glared at them but they paid no heed to her glare and she again snuggled into me huffing.
Imagine the lehenga in 1st pic with the jewelry and makeup second with bangles and long chain from the third. I wanted to add a single pic with everything but couldn't find one that I liked.