Locked down in lockdown

18-The demand

Today Vaani's parents along with Bhima and his wannabe politician uncle were going to Vikrant's house just to clear up all the misunderstandings and the bitterness that had occurred in the past few days.

Sitting in the living hall they all were chastising Vikrant's parents for how they had handled things. They talked about how Rangayya was a stingy person even though he had so much money. Not once did they say something nice about his parents, so Vaani really wanted to ask as to why they were still fixed on getting her married to Vikrant when they knew how his parents were?

Bhima's uncle had asked Vaani's father to call Vaani out so as to see her and assure her that he would not let anything bad happen to her. Vaani just smiled politely in response without saying anything else and went back to her room.

"Should I take Veena with me? I don't want to be the only woman in their house," Vaani's mom thought out worried.

"Arre, Mom. What bad could happen?" Veena asked snickering.

"I don't know what I would say to them, that's why." her mom answered stepping out of the door, telling the girls to loc the door.

Now only 20 days were left for their marriage and Vaani could feel the weight of the pending work hanging over her head. They had not shopped for anything nor did Vikrant's parents ask or even touch the topic. 

In most south Indian marriages, the families decide whether if the bride and the groom will get their own clothes or whether if they will buy for each other, or whether if they will just go together and shop. 

A lot of things had to be discussed which they had postponed until now and now everything was falling on their head in a pile. At first, Vikrant's mom and his sister had decided to go to Hyderabad to buy Sarees for Vaani but due to increasing Covid cases, that plan was canceled. Then they had ordered 2 Sarees online without anyone's knowledge. All this they had decided without using or telling Vaani's parents.

Vaani had received this news from Vikrant and was highly upset hearing that. She, for a very long time, had been looking over the colors and designs she wanted to wear at her wedding, every girl dreams and plans about that but now, she felt like an audience in her own wedding.

Nothing was going according to her wishes. There was no mini-function for her, in which Virant's parents had to come to their house, no jewelry of her own liking, no one was asking her opinion about her marriage, no one was buying her clothes, nothing was happening. Even though the groom was not entirely her choice, she wanted to have a big wedding where all her friends and family could come, that's how most arranged marriages worked.

Now Virant had thrown that news at her and even sent her the pictures of the Saree in which she only liked one and then showed it to her mom. Her, mom then sent it to her entire family, which mostly included her aunts who were interested. And after that everyone had started to impose their opinions and ideas on her.

She wanted to shout at all of them because they all were already married and had chosen their own clothes, then why do they force her now to like something that she clearly doesn't want. She was feeling pressurised by everyone around her and wished her wedding to get over soon. The feeling of suffocation was getting to her.

Vaani's parents had now come back from Vikrant's house discussing amongst themselves. They had fallen into another trap and Vaani could sense it. 

When her mom entered the room to change, both Veena and Vaani surrounded her and asked her about the latest event.

"When they invited us to the living room, I went straight to the adjoining room. They had to build a partition to convert the hall into a room, for you. The wardrobe and the bed are still under work though and there is no place for cross ventilation, tell Virant to do something about that" Her mom commented, but Vanni was not interested in knowing about that. Vikrant had already told her about the work going on in his house.