Doom Or Destiny

Vague Vows of Forever

Author's POV:

Days moved quiet quickly and now only 15 days were remaining for the wedding. Jaanvi's mother personally came to Mangalore and dragged her overworking daughter to Bangalore, since they had rituals that had to be performed before the wedding. So Jaanvi started working from home to compensate her absence.

Krithika was back at home two weeks before the wedding and enjoyed her stay before the actual rituals began. Both the familyies had Naandi shaashtra at their home 5 before the wedding. Its the first ritual where the bride and groom seek blessings from God for a hassle free marriage and it marks the beginning of rituals of the marriage.

Next day they had to visit the temple near their home and perform some poojas before they left for the wedding venue. Jaanvi's family reached the wedding venue earlier and Ved's family joined soon. Both the families welcomed the bride and groom with Aarthi.

Since only few close relatives were present for the pre wedding rituals, accommodation wasn't much of a problem. Both families settled in the two separate spacious villas of the resort. Next day the Arishina shaastra (Haldi) was held in the morning followed by Mehendi in the evening.

Arishina shaastra was conducted separately for both the families. At first Jaanvi and Avinaash were having a decent traditional ritual where all the elders applied turmeric paste on the bride and groom. This is considered as a blessing for the soon to be wed bride and groom from all the elders. Arishina or haldi is supposed to impart glow to their skin and protect them from all the evil eyes.

But once the cousins and friends entered the area, it was no more a simple ritual. Avi and Jaanvi were covered entirely with turmeric paste and it soon turned out to a holi of haldi. Something similar happened in Ved and Krithika's case too. Yash and Ved's cousin decided to drench them with haldi and by the end of the ritual almost everyone was in deep shades of yellow.

The mehendi ceremony was a combined event for both the families. The setup for mehendi was near the lakeside. With a beautiful view of lake as background, stage was set for both the couples. Soon the mehendi artist started working on Krithika and Jaanvi's hand with cones of Mehendi.

Some upbeat songs were being played and the crowd slowly started dancing. Both the couples were dragged to dance floor by their friends and cousins, while the elders had fun watching them. Some senior generations too slayed with their classic old-school moves. It took almost 3 hours to complete the mehendi designs for both the brides.

While others had a buffet dinner, Krithika and Jaanvi were fed by their loving mothers. Everyone's eyes moistened after witnessing the moment. Next day everyone took a much needed rest for the upcoming wedding day which will be very hectic. When Krithika believed her mehendi's dark color was due to her loving partner, Jaanvi praised her best friend for staying up with her all night to apply sugar syrup to bring out the dark shade of mehendi.

Even in the midst of the hurry burry of the wedding, Jaanvi never failed to remind her Grandpopz about his medicines. She went to his room to check on him. He was sitting on his bed deep in thought when she entered.
"What's running in my Grandpopz brain now, that he didn't even notice his princess's presence? "
She asked him as she sat on his bed next to him. Her Grandpopz turned to her and spoke with a smile,
"My little Jaanvi is getting married tomorrow along with her Avi anna. I'm so happy my princess. Finally I found someone who can take care of you"
"I will take care of myself. But what about you? Had your medicines? "
She asked him like a strict mother.
"Of course. Now I should start doing it on my own, my princess will get busy with her new family na?"
He smiled at her.
"Even if I move to Mars, I'm still your Jaanu and I will still irritate you and remind you to have your medicines. Don't think you are out of my radar just because I'm moving to another city. I can monitor you from anywhere and everywhere. So like my good Grandpopz you must take care of your health "
He laughed at her childlike antics.
"Sure princess. "
Both of them shared a warm smile.
And Jaanvi started thinking about her life after she moves away from her family.