Daastan [#MissionDesi]

Chapter 4

Sleeping on your problems provides you with solutions. Next day, early morning, decision made, I went to muthassi's room. She was chanting mantras in Sanskrit.

She lighted the incence sticks with a matchstick and soon the room was filled with the fragrance of Jasmine. I went and sat by her side, hands folded in prayer. She smiled and continued with her chanting.

Later I told her that I was ready to meet that girl on a condition that no one would force me to marry her if I didn't like her. Something about the way she smiled told me she was sure about her choice. She hurried to call them up and inform them to expect us later in the evening.

Now that my mind was made up, I slept in the afternoon peacefully. Evening, I got ready before everyone else, waiting in the living room.

The ladies came out of the room all decked up.

"Oh ho! Apsaras have landed straight from the heavens in our living room!"

We turned around at Vinayak's voice. Rama was ready to scold him for holding us. "What took you.."

Disbelief clear on our faces. Vinayak stood there wearing a lungi, jiggling car keys around his finger.

"What's up with that lungi?" I asked.

"Cool, isn't it?" He said, folding it upto his knees and pulling a funny dance step.

"Yeah cool. But why are you wearing it? Its not like we are going for a puja or something."

He held up his finger like a teacher about to scold his pupil and said, "I'm going to meet your better half. I thought this would create a good impression. You should wear it too."

Shaking my head, I laughed it off.

Soon it started raining as we left for the Krishnamoorty's house. A big family staying together. Children were playing in the veranda and were told off, couple of men stood at the gate to see us inside.

We met the head of the family and were introduced with other family members. I had trouble remembering all their names and soon gave up. I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited at this point. Infact, my eyes searched for her to appear any moment. I imagined her, eyes looking down, holding a tray filled with tea cups and snacks. Giggling neighbours peeping through the window were shooed away.

Fifteen minutes, thirty minutes had passed, still no sign of her. Whispers could be heard behind closed doors, they assured us everything was alright but their faces told a different story.

Chin Chin Chin. A sound of anklets went scuttering across the floor and all our necks jerked to where it stopped. All eyes were pinned to the person standing at the door. Drenched from head to toe, as if someone had purposely splashed water on the subject rendering it helpless.

Eyes round as moon, the whites held a night of twinkling stars in them. They now looked on with expressions ranging from confusion to fear. Kajal smudged under her eyes, lips like rose petals were slightly parted as if ready to spill out secrets of its owner, brown skin like grounded coffee mixed with milk. The pendant of her gold chain sat delicately within the crook of her slender neck. A few strands of her hair fell over her face which she pushed behind her ears.

Silence was such that a faint drip drip of the water droplets could be heard as they fell off the leaves onto the tin roofs. Other than that, the sound of her heart beating wildly like an animal caught by its neck could be felt along with my own heart reaching out to her, matching her rhythms.

Her brain registered the stern look on her father's face. She clutched her petticoat and ran to her left, her long pleated hair snaking her back, trying to keep up with her.