The woods were lovely dark and deep. Walking slowly beside her, in the



damp mud road, was her husband whom she barely knew. He was very



relaxed, happily watching a group of kids playing at a distance.



Her "mehandi" was still dark and smelling fresh, reminding of the



excitements and tension 2 days back. "It cant work this way



mom...please stop this", she kept telling her mother till the last



moment, who wouldnt listen but carry on with beautifying her. She had



been crying all night and her make-up had to be patched up twice or



thrice to hide her awkwardly swollen face.



It was too late now. She had to get married "NOW" to the guy...The guy



whom she had seen once and talked thrice. The guy about whom she knew



nothing at all but for his name and work. Everything happened in a



hurry and everthing was over before she could breathe again... here



was she with this guy, all alone in this hill station... how can



anybody send their daughter such a long distance with a stranger???



"Hey look at that....!!!" he shouted in excitement... she shrugged and



looked where his finger pointed...



Bright colored balloons dotted the sky. Children were jumping in joy



and he seemed to be completely absorbed into it...colors are always



exciting...but not now. She was not with her friends, not with her team



mates, not even with her parents. This was not a 3 day tour or team



building trip. This was her life and she has been forced to start off



with this person.



Loneliness and discomfort with this stranger was sickening...She



looked at him in wonder... does he even realize that he has married



me? Does he understand that he has to love me, protect me, care for me, a



new girl, a stranger, all his life?







The marriage morning started like a daylight nightmare for her. The



first time in life she felt she should have fallen in love and then



married somebody. some man who she would have felt more comfortable



with, someone whom she could call by name and introduce to friends,



someone whom she could trust. But marriage morning was obviously not



the time to think all these.



Her parents would never have said "no" if she had declared that she



was in love. But she was not emotionally attached to anybody she



met, especially guys. She was very friendly, playing, teasing, but never



had second thought for any man around her. That brought the entire



responsibility of looking for a groom on her parents' shoulders. Her



parents had had a very bad time with this entire process. They started



their groom search with unending "&" operation. The concatenation of



"Horoscope matching" & "Decent family" & "Good looking" & "Good pay" &



"same cast" & so on... that always gave 0 output. Now after all that 8



months hunt, they were not ready to hear her "ifs" and "buts" for this



'good guy'.



She had explained to her father. She does not feel anything for this



person. He is nothing more to me than any other software



professional. Like list of names she sees in the chat rooms. Distant



and usual...Her father asked her to talk to him and even meet him and



discuss their likes and dislikes. That meeting started like the



induction programme self introduction and ended like a 3 hour



seminar.She was waiting to get away from that place. "So did you talk



with him?". "yes". "was he polite and decent". "yes". "Oh he got that



special flavoured tri-color icecream...!!!".OK. All her family and



relatives discussed...She was given the chance to "understand her life



partner" and that they have understood each other "well" and she is



ready for the marriage now.



All arrangements geared up and it was 24 days after her first meeting



that she was getting married to her man... perfect match as everybody



else described. Marriage hall was full with excited people, kids got



the chance to play, ladies got the chance to wear the silk saree. The



smell of rose and jasmine filled the hall. Different poses for the



photographer and artificial smiles for the videos. The moment he had



tied the sacred thread was unexplainable vaccum in the head. It was



over.She was his wife. Accepted by the society and law. Her proud



parents were relaxed. This was their duty they had been planning to



fulfill since she was born. All this crowd will fade away, leaving her



to explore her new world...



He pulled her hand gently to sit on the stone bench. The bench was wet



and the chillness was indeed enjoyable. "So what are you thinking



about?"... that was an unexpected ball. should she reply? s hould she be



silent? She remembered the two hour presentation she had taken last



month. Bold and confident, she kept answering all the queries with a



broad smile. Now she remained silent. "Do you know honey... I was not



for this marriage too..." Oh my God... what did i hear??? did HE tell



that or did i think aloud? what does he mean? didnt he like me? was he



forced into this? He must have noticed the quizzical look on my



face...with a gentle smile he continued..."I wanted to look for a girl



myself, buy her everything, care for her, argue with her, laugh and cry



with her, then get married to her... Anything otherwise would be a



drama. Traditional drama and i was not for it anytime. But my love for



my work and also my stress would not give me time and mind to search



that girl...When your parents talked to me 2 weeks before our



marriage, about your fear of getting married, to a stranger, i could



completely understand your mind. I could see myself in you and that



was the moment i decided i will marry you. There was no time to prove



myself to you, make you trust me, everything happened in a hurry. But



there was the entire life before me, to please you, to love you, to



make you trust me. This is no less than what i had dreamt, the girl i



was waiting for, is you. Now tell me... will you love me???" Tears came



down her cheek. Her parents had done more than their duty. They had



found her the perfect guy. Thank you Mom!!! Thank you Dad!!! His



question remained unanswered yet both knew the answer....