Now my father started looking for other proposals as according to him this marriage is not feasible. He was also afraid that we may get married without his consent. He called my relatives to find a match for me. Few days passed and I kept quite. After some days, one day I strongly told that if I won't marry him then I can't marry any other guy. I will be unmarried forever. That's it. I made him understand the world has changed. It's our generation now. He should be a bit flexible and change his thoughts. After a while, he agreed. One fine day, my father asked me about Aruj's mobile number and I gave it to him. It was a formal introduction conversation for 5 to 10 minutes. Oneday, we also went to Aruj's office to see him. My father started introspecting every tits and bits. He also talked to his boss. After that we had our lunch and came back to home. I asked him did he liked him? My father told yes he is good but he has less hairs at such an young age. "Just look at my photo how I looked". We both started laughing. Now, came Aruj's turn for convincing his parents. One fine day Aruj told me that his father wants to talk to my father. I conveyed the message to my father. My father immediately agreed and called him one fine evening. My father told the brief to Aruj's father. They both introduced each other. Now, Aruj' s father wanted to talk to me. He also took my photo and birth details for horoscope match. One fine evening I talked to Aruj's father and his mother. They liked me a lot. This calling session went for a month. Then, we decided to go to Sirsa, Haryana to visit his family. As his mother was going through chemo treatment and could not come to meet us so we both ( me and father) decided to go there. Aruj couldn't come as he took a leave after few days when the chemo treatment will be done. The day for our journey arrived. We were late to reach the station. My father almost ran and we caught the train "Rajdhani express" from Howrah station. We were supposed to reach Delhi by morning 10 am. It was in the month of November. The weather was foggy. Hot samosas and tea was being served in the evening. There were lots and lots of tasty food being served. We enjoyed a lot. Aruj's brother was supposed to meet us at the station. I was pretty nervous in the morning. It was our first meeting. I was really worried about my pimples and whether, they will like me or not. The train stopped. My heart beat started pundering a lot. Finally, his brother met us. He was very calm and cool. Ritesh was a guy of average height say 5'6" or 5'7", beard look. He was on his jeans and casual tees dimple smiling and waving us. He was a year younger than me. We clicked few photos at Redfort.We went to "parathe wali gali" and Ritesh ordered varieties of parathas for us pudina Paratha, mirch Paratha, papad Paratha, nimbu Paratha and rabdi Paratha. It was our first visit there. We heard a lot about it and equally enjoyed a lot. The loungis were equally good with the parathas. After few hours we boarded for a passenger train to visit Sirsa. It was like never ending journey of almost 7 to 8 hours which was very tiring. The train went through sugarcane and paddy fields which were burnt after yielding the crops. As, a result it was very foggy and we faced little difficulty in breathing. Anyhow, finally the train stopped at 8 pm in the evening. There came the station "Sirsa". I have never thought in my dream to come to this place but, love can make you stand on your toes. His father and grand uncle greeted us. My father looked a bit nervous. We went to the hotel. Aruj's father looked well prepared wearing a neat ironed white shirt with formal pants and shoes. I don't remember much about his grand uncle. My father looked untidy and tired infront of them. They offered us soup or tea but my father refused. We had our dinner after taking a hot bath and went to sleep.
Next day we went to their home. I was wearing a violet saree with white and golden thread works weaved on it and a golden blouse. I applied little kajal on my eyes and a small black bindi. My curly hairs were untied. I applied lip balm on my lips as I thought lipstick could look over made up. We were allowed to sit in the living room. Aruj's mother was inside the room. I heard a frail female voice saying, "Mummy go! first impression is the last impression remember that". Aruj's mother came running. She hugged me when I touched her feet. Then started the conversation. After sometime I was in utter shock and very dissapointed.
To be continued......
-Sangita Chatterjee
© All Rights Reserved