Arranged Love Marriage

Chapter 11: Their Time Together

Sanjay hits the bell clapper, and I jump to do the same. Ahead of us are a hundred and eight steps, and the temple is on the top of this hill.

"I'm fit, I am strong, I can easily climb all of these!" says Sanjay.

"Sindhu suggests that you carry me when I get tired," I giggle.

"I have never gone to the gym to be that fit of a person," replies Sanjay, and a peal of laughter follows.

We start climbing the steps. As Sindhu mentioned, it's a crowd-free temple. It's a foggy and dull day, and the sun is just rising. The sun appears to be a circle painted with red color. It's beautiful! No wonder Hanuman in the Ramayana assumed it to be a tasty mango. The rising sun begins this new day; the birds start chirping happily. I wonder if a bird's life in the forest is much happier than ours in society!

We take our own time enjoying this trip. We do deviate from the track and visit the deeper greenery on the hill. We click pictures together. We sit holding hands. We jump in the joy of seeing this mini forest and its beauty. We lie down on the hill. We push the big rocks; of course, they don't move, but we take pictures doing that! We have almost reached the top. Seeing the lake from here, Sanjay asks, "When are we visiting that lake?" I reply, "When the lake can shine with the strong and bright sun rays!"

Nowhere in the world do humans decorate god statues, right? It's only in India. Flower garlands and gold jewelry give the devotees an appealing look. It's an emotion for the priests to decorate God's idol as beautifully as possible. Also, it's a pleasure to see the god with that warm, pleasant smile, golden glow, and colorful flowers. A visit to a temple's only purpose is to fill in positivity in our hearts. Don't visit temples for the sake of rules or formalities; visit the temple for yourself.

Rather than asking God for a perfect and happy life, I thanked him that Sanjay loves me. I even declared that I could be happy all by myself and that god does not have to put any extra effort into my happiness because I got that of a perfect family, a family which can face any situation easily. I have everything I want, so I didn't have any wish god had to grant me. Of course, I have considered myself the luckiest person on earth for the past few days. All I wanted was for god to bless me. That's how much I trust Sanjay. How can I trust him so much within a week? It's a wonder! And so does the priest bring God's Crown(Kireetha) and places it on our heads, which is equivalent to god placing his hands on our heads to bless us. We fold our thumb and index finger into an 'O' shape, pull up the other three fingers towards the center, and create space for Teertha (liquid given in temples). We drink that Tulasi water and wipe the wetness onto our hair. Taking the Kumkum, we place a dot on the forehead. Not just sweet payasam, we even get to eat lemon rice as Prasadam.

Now the sun shines warm and gold! We enjoy his healthy rays along with the cool breeze. As Sanjay says, "It's the right time to visit the lake Sandhya, " we start walking down the steps. We sit on the fresh green grass, which is still wet with the dew drops. Cranes and kingfishers are all over us! They just maintain their distance but aren't afraid of us. Fishes are much bolder; they have gathered at the lake's edge. Since it's a temple, fishing is prohibited, so fishes find humans friendly. We throw in corn grains and bread pieces as their food. It's fun to see them jump to catch those. Fishes are fat and hefty; all they do is eat the food humans give. We even find ducks and swans over a distance. As I am lost in watching all of this, Sanjay hands me a few red roses. "I saw a rose plant, so I brought some roses for you," he says. They are beautiful! Like the lake's water is shining, dew drops on the rose are also shining. Of course, I have a blushing smile!

Oh, this is romantic! We are just sitting in this silence on the bright green grass, maintaining quite some gap between each other and watching the shining silver water. We are feeling the joy of being by each other's side. This feeling is romantic.

We had already spent an hour near the lake. "I'm hungry, Sanjay. But I don't want to leave this place." "To the other side of this small lake is a food mart. We don't have to leave this place any soon!" he naughtily giggles. Unlike Sneha, I am a fan of Masala dose, and Sanjay is a fan of Idli.

We spend some more time and return to our houses by afternoon. "Sandhya, you are too beautiful in this half saree! "I was dying to hear that from him. Finally! By the way, Thursday, the day after tomorrow, is our marriage.