My Big Grand Indian Arranged Marriage !

“We need to talk, I have no interest in this wedding, it was all my mom’s idea … I don’t have any interest in an arranged marriage. I always wanted a love marriage and I am really sorry, if I hurt your feelings… very sorry”

These were the lines Arun was thinking again and again. The reason was simple, his mom had seen a girl for him, they were about to go to her home for the customary practice in India, for seeing the bride. Arun had just returned home a week back from his work in Boston, to visit his family, and now he’s getting married.

Arun was quite terrified with the concept of an Arranged marriage, living the rest of your life with someone whom u hardly even know, which seemed pretty odd for him. Since for past 6 years he’s been in the USA. And hardly, ever thought he’d do an old fashioned arranged marriage. So he decided, he’d confront the girl whom he’s going to get married to, into dissolving the engagement by which his mother probably won’t plan something like this again. So he was actually rehearsing on what to say in his mind the whole morning.

Later that evening, Arun and his parents reached the bride’s house. They were greeted by the bride’s parents, and welcomed in a very special way that Arun felt royal. Both the parents, started talking about things – past, present and future. While Arun was being bored with this conversation had his eyes surveying the entire house, even though he was in the living room and hardly could see anything. He was by now, very curious to see the girl whom he’s supposedly to get married to, but also whom he would be dumping  before he’d even get to know her.

Probably, the parents of the bride got some cue and asked their youngest son ,to take Arun to his sister, who happens to be the bride, for some moments of private talk. Arun got really nervous, his excitement was building up to see who this girl was… he had dreamed a lot about his future wife, so the walk to her room was a slow movie magic. He went to the door and knocked it, there opened a beautiful, saree clad angel.. His brain also put wings on her back to give her angel look..! He became speechless, like all men do when they see a girl as good as they imagined her to be, the girl introduced herself first before Arun could.. “ Hi, Am Padmini, you must be Arun”.

So, he started his moves of talking.. He started an unusual talk asking her about the saree first…  he sounded like some lady asking the other woman’s possessions. Then, she felt weird and changed the topic, the best thing women do.! So, they started talking about their respective careers. Arun was a production manager in a big pharmaceutical company in Boston and padmini was a Research scientist at Cancer institute, Chennai. Since both their field of works was quite similar, their conversation drifted towards technology and their respective work. Arun had always thought that science didn’t have much value in India and people who do their research here don’t achieve a lot. But he was proven totally wrong after talking to padmini.

Arun for a moment had forgotten what he had come for.. He was reluctant to start off the talk about dissolving the engagement, he started to feel, may be his mom was right.. May be she’d make a better life partner for him than his choice. But then without thinking twice. He started to talk about his plans. What he wants to do, why he doesn’t want this arranged marriage.

Padmini interrupted him asking why he hated the concept of arranged marriage. So Arun started to let out his thoughts.. He said “ you know, I’ve never been in love. I’ve still haven’t found anyone who would make me fall blindly into love. Run behind them, woo them till they accept. Sing ‘truly,madly,deeply’ to her, go on a blind trip with her.. Basically lose my body, mind and soul to her. You being a girl won’t understand it.. You won’t..”

Padmini then replied “ hey, I’ve had my share of male stalkers, who say they fell in love with me at first sight, with not even a stupid reason. There was this guy in college who was behind me for 3 whole years even though I never even was a friend with him, he was such a stalker, all you guys are..”

“Ok, this is becoming a little sexist talk.. Let’s stop it.” It was Arun’s counter. He didn’t want to start a fight with her. So then he tried changing the topic.. He asked “ so have you loved anyone or been in a relationship before?” even before he could possibly imagine the reply he would  get, she snubbed him saying “ just because you are a loud mouth telling me everything, doesn’t mean I have to do the same”.

This was getting a little bit embarrassing for him and uncomfortable for both. So padmini suggested moving out to the terrace. So Arun followed her. He was still having double thoughts. “ Trust his mother or make his own fate” his answer came quite soon, padmini said “ see I too don’t have any interest in this marriage, I just thought it would be unfair to hurt my parent’s wishes and I also thought I should see their selection before I get on with my life ahead.”

She told the same reason why, Arun had come to see her. Now, since both were out with their thoughts about the whole issue, the field of uncomfortably had broken, they felt quite free to talk to each other about a lot of different things from friends to foes, movies to fantasies, food and sports etc…

Arun started to like her a lot, her character and nature was pulling him towards her. He was actually falling in love with her without himself knowing about it. Padmini stood near the terrace wall overlooking the road below, her hair was loose and she had brushed it all to one side of her neck and it was flowing sensually across her left shoulder down to her breast, where his eyes wouldn’t dare to wander much. There was a bright moon light on a full moon’s day, and Arun felt that she was glowing under the moon light. The sight of her against the moon light felt so magnetic, that without realizing it, he said.. “Marry me… Be my wife.. forget what we talked about before.  I think I am in love with you, and please don’t say no”

Padmini smiled and asked “ what about the whole dream thing, you falling crazy in love, singing truly,madly,deeply to her??”

Arun was very excited, he went on his knees and said “ well, haven’t I fallen crazy in love with you… love happens .. It just happens, and I am ready to sing ‘truly, madly, deeply’ to you anytime you want..” and he also started singing it to her.

Padmini couldn’t control her smile, it turned into a blushing laughter. Even though she didn’t tell him directly, she too had fallen in love with him in their half hour talk. She said ‘yes’ to him. Their arranged engagement had blossomed into a beautiful love.

Arun and padmini got married a month later in a grand wedding followed by a even more grand wedding reception. Finally, his mother was right.. It couldn’t have been better than this for Arun!

 after all, the Indian Arranged marriages still work !

Arun Meets Shalini !

It was December 31^st of 2006, the whole world was waiting for the New Year to be born and everyone was in a party mood, while I was in my hotel room in Hyderabad packing up my suitcase to go back to Chennai. I had to take a train at 6.30pm and travel all night to Chennai.

I regarded this as my worst New Year celebration, to be sitting in the train, or probably sleeping, when all my family and friends were partying and welcoming the New Year. I got early to the station and got into the train, as I tucked my luggage up. I figured I have time for a cup of coffee, so I went out and had a coffee and came back to my place, to see a girl sitting just opposite to my seat. I wouldn’t say she was an angel, but to describe her… she was a beautiful painting that had come to life, or a bouquet of flowers in a woman’s body.

Even though all her movements and behavior was normal, it seemed as if they were in slow motion time freeze scene going on before my eyes. The way she looked outside in boredom, with her beautiful brown eyes. The hair that kept falling in her face, the fingers directing it towards the back of her ear. Which looked like a chocolate chip cookie, the chocolate chip being her earring.

So as time flew by, as I was admiring her for a while now. The train had started to move. For once I thought sooner and sensibly, I was 25 and not getting any younger, perhaps it’s high time for me to get into a good long term relationship which would probably end up in marriage. So I thought why waste time admiring her from a distance, when I can talk and know about her. So I started it, without any second thoughts.

I said, “Hi am Arun, what’s your name and how are you? “She replied “am fine” and kept quiet. So it was a sort of first move rejection. But I couldn’t give up, so I asked again, “what’s your name?” and there was a reply “Am Shalini”. I was so happy for that moment, as if I had accomplished something great. I had got to know my future wife’s name. So I then continued “so are you going to Chennai?” Before I could realize that was a dumb question, there was an answer “ya, I am going back to Chennai “. Luckily, I had got a thread now… “So you are based in Chennai. Me too, so what was your purpose of visit to Hyderabad? “. She replied “it’s personal”.

I thought it was a second stop for me and shut myself up and gave myself time, to slow down things and maybe postpone humiliation. But things changed immediately, she then started the conversation after a long silent time between us. She asked me “what was your purpose of coming to Hyderabad?” I didn’t even wait a second to reply, I said “I came here on a business meeting. I am a project manager in a biotech company in Chennai, Came here to meet one of my clients, a very official trip”. I didn’t stop there… “My company offered me flight tickets for the trip, but I prefer trains you see… it’s comfortable and safe.” She then kind of mocked “ ya, but u don’t have to be sitting here in the train on new year’s eve with a flight back home in 2 hours, you know train journey takes up lot of time”

Something came up in me and I said, “why would I worry about being here, when I have got company of a beautiful girl, it’s probably going to be the best new year of my life”. She immediately replied a bit annoyed “what? You think I am a good company? You hardly spoke to me for 5 minutes and this is going to be the best New Year’s Eve for you? How lame can that be?” The words, it was like a thorn to your private parts. It was kinda hard to come back from it, but I did…

I said “well, experts say that it takes 31 minutes exactly for a man to make an impression on a woman by talking. I am not an expert so let’s say I can make an impression on you in an hour? You want to try it out?”

She had this look on her face, which said either it was a surprise or am a desperate guy. She hesitantly replied “ahem… I don’t know what you are up to, but why not, let’s see if this so called theory works on me.”

So I thought it was my only lucky chance, so I started off with my most interesting thing about me, I said “ hey, do you know, I was born the day Halley’s comet appeared on sky ?” and it worked out.. She became interested. She was like “wow… that’s something I’ve never come across. You seem very special”

Then it began, our conversation went on for more than 2 hours. And I came to a certain belief that I had made a big impression on her by this time. I got to know lots about her. She was a software engineer from BITS, only daughter to her parents. She was a maharastrian by origin but born and raised in Chennai. Her likes and dislikes were contradictory to mine. It was almost like she was just the opposite of me, but in a good way. She was an intelligent, smart, beautiful, humorous, person, she is a bit short tempered and sometimes can be moody, But it was quite enough to handle and also, the stars matched… she was a Libran, the best compatibility for Aquarians.

It was dinner time, and she was a vegetarian, which was also inverse of me, since I am a meat lover. The more and more I talked to her, I felt myself pulled towards her. I was at any moment going to lose control and say “I love you” to her.  Before some hours, I was sitting opposite to her, just admiring her beauty but now, I was sitting by her side with shoulder rubbing distance and having dinner with her in the train, already it was turning out to be the best New Year’s Eve as I said before. 

To make the night, the most memorable ever something happened that I never thought would happen, when I boarded the train in the evening. It was almost midnight and we were still talking. The whole compartment had gone to sleep, lights were dimmed everywhere. So when it struck 12 midnight. I wished her “a very happy new year”.  She too wished me the same and then came forward to hug me and we hugged. When I was about to come back from the hug, I felt an very high urge to kiss her, and I kissed…  she too responded to the kiss and we were there kissing passionately, with our eyes closed and I felt blank, It felt like I was feeling the love, something I never felt before, when I had previously kissed. The kiss was to say, “Perfect” according to me.

Then, when we parted our lips, I was now in urge to propose to her to marry me right now, and I uttered the words “ I love you” but she had something else to say, she said “ I am sorry !, I shouldn’t have done this. Please don’t take it wrong, the kiss came in a spur of the moment and I can’t love you”. Needless to say, I was quite a lot surprised, my reply was just a “what “.

She then told me something, which she didn’t even care to talk about in 3 hours and more of our conversation, in her own words “I am sorry Arun, but I am getting married in two weeks, the reason I came to Hyderabad was to meet my fiancé who’s been there for past 3 months on a work assignment”

Those words fell like an Atom bomb on my garden of dreams. The girl whom I thought would be future Mrs. Arun was going to marry another man in 2 weeks, and I get to hear this after the most beautiful kiss of my entire life, with someone whom I thought was the perfect partner for me, an accidental love which had its death, even before birth.

After those words, I couldn’t help myself from cracking down, but I didn’t want her to feel sorry for me, so I went away from the seats and went near the door of the compartment and sat there, with a tear in my eye, trying not to think about what happened, but still thought about it the whole night.

We reached Chennai, very early in the morning, I didn’t want to even face her, but couldn’t  help it, so saw her once, then said, happy married life and got down from the train. We parted our ways to our respective destinations.

The best New Year’s Eve turned into the worst start for a new year. ..!