EIGHTEEN
872 Words
NANDINI'S POV.
I don't think I will get a better day to write our story. We met exactly 14 years back.
My arrange marriage story started couple of years before I met my husband, My Manik. . I was a good-looking girl pursuing B.E. with lot of dreams. My mom had her instructions clearly set not to go for anyone other than your own cast. Being the eldest one and the good one, I abided all her instructions. I had lot of friends who used to like me a lot but neither me nor them could dare to take it to another level. I was a super confident girl who was always good in studies, who was always told that how beautiful is she. I passed out from college and grabbed a good job for myself not to ask a single penny from home and moved to a city far from my hometown. My mom started looking proposals for me and then the arrange marriage horror started.
I saw the ugly face of our society. My parents had visited several boys' houses only to listen that your daughter is short, your daughter's complexion is not fair(Trust me, Manik never fails to tell me how fair I am! :3 Out of love though! ) , your daughter's successful career will not let her become a good daughter-in-law/wife (And he says, I am the perfectionist, he's in love with) , how much does she earn etc. And if none of that, a Honda city demand had shut all possible doors. Luckily my mom was very smart, and she only allowed me to meet a guy when things used to look 80% alright from her perspective. Effectively she took all humiliations on herself on my behalf (f**k this society man!). I met three guys and they were decent on face but somehow things didn't move forward. For some I was too modern because I was wearing jeans (?). For some I was very bold because I met them alone in the city where I used to work. For some my US visa became a threat. The 4th guy was my husband and thankfully we were in the different cities. My mom floated the idea to talk on phone first so that we don't waste time in arranging the meetings. Manik was extremely shy and did not call me. After few rejections I became shameless but not hesitant to call him and talk to him. Why would you marry someone without talking? One fine day I gathered the courage and called him only to understand that this man is an extremely good listener. Who would otherwise talk only for 5 minutes in an hour conversation? I think something happened that night and we just started talking. We had not seen each other till then. He had seen my photograph and he was surprised why on the earth I am even considering him. My photographs are much more better than what I actually am. After talking about a month, finally the day came when he was making an official visit to my city and decided to meet me. We became good friends by then, telephonic friends. I decided to wear my best dress and I was waiting for him at the mall entrance. And then I saw a handsome boy approaching me with a red rose bouquet and a colored print out of my photograph (to recognize me?). My heart stopped beating because this was the first bouquet my parents would be happy for me to receive (funny no?). We had a nice lunch in one of the good restaurant. Even though I insisted but he did not let me pay. I had no inhibition of my looks and neither he had any. That's the super advantage of talking to someone beforehand rather than seeing them directly. There were no smart phones back then to click a selfie. All those moments are still fresh in my memories and I really don't need any photo of that day.
Now the twist came when we both were supposed to travel back home to get approval of his family. His family had very high expectations from his marriage. They always dreamt of getting a car in his marriage with lot of other stuff. He not only convinced his parents but also broke all the rules of dowry system which still exists 14 years later. He had all high-flying proposals waiting for him which could have fetched him nothing less than 20-30 lakhs easily, but this 26-year boy decided to take home a 24-year old girl who brought almost nothing.
I can go on and on about how good my husband is but have to stop here as our two beautiful kids are waiting for their bedtime stories. I can just write two closing lines about him to end this.
If you ever imagined a man so good that he cannot exist for real, it's my husband. And yes, he still orders mineral water :-)
Manik is a very private person. He does not exist in social media, but he stays in hearts. Take care you all.
Sorry! Slept last night and thats why couldn't get you any bedtime story! ❤
- Writer
