Plainly With A Twist!

1. Marrying the shrew off

Sitting in the makeshift room with the manuscript of her latest science journal article laid open in front of her Meera sighed. The deadline to submit the final draft to conclude her work at Veling is tomorrow morning sharp at 10. Here she is still left with the entire discussion part left unattended. It is not that she doesn't have the data to fill in or the will to do her work but she is distracted by the commotion outside.

"I must say Ruchita bindani, I am very impressed by your hospitality and if Meera is in any way a successor of yours, then we will be glad to have her as our bahu." Meera heard the voice of an old lady.

"My daughter is an all-rounder. You will not regret this decision.

You see, if she wasn't so responsible and dedicated to her work, she would have been here greeting you herself. I am just saying you know... she is particular about her work, but she is even more responsible towards her duty for her family and you would be proud to have her as your bahu", her father said.

" it is a good thing that even our son was busy today... But make sure that Meera attends the meeting tomorrow" said an unfamiliar male voice.

The noises from outside are making her more nervous by the second. The raucous laughter was heard, a few minutes later ensuring her worst fear was confirmed. They have been successful in arranging her marriage to an unsuspecting fool.

Meera banged her head on the desk in front of her helplessly. This was by far the worst of her vacations. Every day was proving to be more traumatic than the one before. Here she was sitting like a guest more like a convict on trial in the storeroom turned into a temporary bedroom of her own bought flat, trying to write a befitting codicil to her 2 years' worth of hard work, her final certificate course and then she will be officially a professional and be ready to enter the real job field. Well, the prospects of getting a remunerative satisfactory job and finally settling down in a house of her own looked a far-fetched dream right now. The people outside who were unfortunately her family and to-be family were ensuring just that.

Meera was a PhD in biochemistry, with special training in synthesising synthetic neurotransmitters for therapeutic purposes. She had worked on a variety of methods for extraction of dopamine and serotonin and one of them included exploring weed extracts. Meera felt as if right now she could herself do with some weed to help her cope with this mad house dynamics. Who would believe that the ever vigilant Dr Meera Nanda was so denuded right now that she didn't even know the name of her prospective husband.

This guy wasn't the first of the many proposals that had come her way. She had simply rejected all of them because she was studying and she personally couldn't be bothered with the drama of romantic relationships. That meant she didn't have a shot at a love marriage whatsoever.

Meera was no fool, she knew why her uncle and aunt were so interested in getting her married but currently she was losing the reasons to keep up the fight. Everyone including her mother's side of family who were formerly her ally, had taken to harassing her regarding her still-unmarried status, with never ending intrusive questions. Some people had even started entertaining the idea that she had medical issues, after all she was tall and dark. And that resulted in her literally getting married to a stranger.

Mukund Jindal heaved a sigh of relief as the Poddar family left. The Poddars will be returning again tomorrow with their son Eshaan and also meet Meera. But for now, the worst was sorted.

Mukund Jindal was Meera Nanda's one and only foofaji. He was the husband to Meera's aunt Nandini. Nandini was Rakshit Nanda, Meera's father's elder sister.

The family dynamics were strained at best. No one really loved each other but were together for power and money.

Meera was the only child of her parents Rakshit and Ruchita. It wouldn't have been a problem if only Meera was a boy. Meera was tall, dark, and beautiful and also very clever but for the extended family of Nanda family she was only tall and dark. When Meera was to be born there were suggestions to somehow change her gender in the womb or abort her, but the female foeticide prevention law obeyed in city hospitals saved her life. When she was born, Rakshit and Ruchita tried for a boy just 6 months after Meera's birth but 2 years later, they still couldn't conceive again and the medical tests showed that Rakshit had an early onset of diabetes that was hindering his reproductive capabilities.