My 1990's Arranged Marriage

3

I couldn't believe my luck.  Beautiful boy also known as Kamal would be in my home and I would be able to talk to him without aunties gossiping about me talking to someone from the opposite sex.  I mean I could look at him and hopefully get to know him a little bit.  Karan is good as an older brother.  He knows what mum and dad expect of me and he knows I would never knowingly hurt them. And he's right, I wouldn't hurt them knowing that I was.  He understands that at school we have to talk to everyone but at the temple or within society it is different.  Again it is something we are not told but become aware of and adapt subconsciously.  Some of the girls at the temple are literally spied on by their brothers, older or younger to make sure their sisters are not talking to boys and embarrassing their families.

So I'm still smiling at mum when Karan shouts out to me

'Sim you want to walk home with us?  You know mum and dad are going to spend ages saying goodbye to everyone'.

Did I want to? Of course I did.  I told mum and started walking with them listening to them talk about football.  Their enthusiasm told me they supported the same team.  Kamal had a deeper voice than Karans and he talked slower too. It had a nice relaxed feeling to it of someone who was enjoying the banter.  Karan was walking in the middle and was just talking to Kamal but Kamal looked at me as well as Karan when he was talking to include me in the conversation even though I wasn't responding in any way.  It was a nice gesture and said a lot about his manners.

Once home Karan said he was going to the bathroom and left me alone with Karan.  Before I got the chance to be nervous he smiled at me said

'So what's Sim short for then?'

'Simran'.

'Just Simran? Not Simranjit or Simranjot?'

'No just Simran' i said shyly.

'Cool I like it. Just like me then. I'm just Kamal as well with no Jeet or Jot added on. Don't know what they give us such long names just to shorten them' he smiles ate me.

I laugh 'You are so right. Makes it so much easier'.

Oh I really like him. He is so friendly and easy going. We better not related in anyway. How could I tell mumI liked him or even worse how could I find out he really likes me or was just being friendly? This was the first time I was actually speaking to a boy that I fancied. I had crushes on boys at school of course but they were childish.  I was going to college in September and if this is what the older boys were like that I was really looking forward to it.  And I meant just to be friends and banter. Being the times it was, so many Indian girls were not even thinking of further education.  They either started work where their mums worked or stayed at home until they were married.  It was not uncommon for a girl to leave school in June and be married by September.  I know mum and dad wanted me to study but was it just college or would they be happy for me to study further be in university or some other form of higher education. Karan was in his final year of the 2 year business course all Indians seemed to do. I wanted to do something completely else but what I wasn't sure yet until I got my GCSE results in August.

'So how old are you?' Kamal asks.

'16. You?'

'I'll be 18 next month'.

Perfect I'm thinking. Not that I wanted to get married yet but this was looking good. He was friendly, just the sort of boy I liked and dad knew his dad as well which was bound to go in my favour. Again I know how naive this sounds but that's just how it was. So many couples were married by these sort of random meetings and the families got together and agreed it was a good match and that was that. Arranged marriages were very much the done thing. Some arranged and completed within months. There were no year long engagements or getting to know each other. You did that after the wedding.