And then she said it!

PART 15

THE LONGEST DAY OF MY LIFE!
"Armaan?" I heard someone calling
me. But the voice was very distant,
so I ignored it. "Armaan?!" This time,
the voice sounded irritated and
angry.
"ARMAAN!! Saale, get up" A not so
gentle smack followed the voice
jolting me awake from my beauty
sleep. Dazed and confused, I groped
for my mobile. I groaned when the
light in the room was switched on. I
gasped when I checked the time. It
was 3 in the morning!!
"Rahul, please switch the light off. I
didn't even have a wink." I drawled,
pulling the pillow to cover my face.
I heard faint sounds of the washroom
door and then the wardrobe door.
Puzzled at what was happening, I
opened my eyes slowly to take a
glance at the proceedings. I watched
Rahul running to and fro in the
room, putting on his vest, then his
pant and then a white kurta. I
wondered what was going on.
"Rahul, take these downstairs to
Padma." Mom dashed in, with a large
tray filled with coconut, some clothes
and some other things. Strangely
enough, she was in some new
banaras saree. "Armaan!!!" She
almost screamed in shock. "You are
still not ready?"
"Huh?" I scratched my head in
confusion, yawning in glory,
somewhere wondering if its 3 am or 3
pm. Because, the wedding time is at
6.15 in the evening. So what was the
commotion now? "Mom, why should I
get ready now? Wedding's in the
evening." I stifled yet another yawn.
Mom's eyes widened. "I told you
there's a hawan at 4." Mom said
angrily, switching off the AC and
pulling the bed sheet away from me.
"Oh, I thought it is at 4 in the
evening." I mumbled to myself.
"Mom, can't I sleep? You all can
carry on with that hawan." I told her,
making my best puppy face.
I had barely slept last night. There
was some ceremony yesterday
evening with a pooja. Mom told me
that I would be an official groom
after that pooja. Almost all of our
relatives were present for the pooja.
They even presented me with new
clothes. Throughout the pooja, I had
been wondering why I was being
made a groom that day when my
wedding is the following day.
Nevertheless, I did all the rituals,
following the Pandit closely. It was
almost 10pm when the ceremony was
over, 12.30am by the time we had
dinner and 1.30am by the time when
all our relatives left home. We finally
retired to our bedrooms at something
around 2am. And now its less than
an hour that I had been brutally
woken up.
Not only me, even mom, Rahul and
everyone followed the same schedule
though I didn't know about
Riddhima. I didn't meet her
yesterday. Then how come they had
that in themselves to wake up at
such wee hours in the morning? Hell,
in my language this time is still
midnight.
"Yeah, why not?" Rahul quipped
breaking my thoughts. "You better
sleep the whole day. We'll find a
new groom for Riddhima." He added;
sarcasm over pouring in his words.
"Fine!!" I glared at him and dragged
my body to the washroom.
"Go and see if Riddhima is ready." I
heard mom's voice instructing
Rahul and peeked out of the
washroom.
"Will Riddhima be there at the
hawan too?" I asked, fumbling with
my brush. "What's this hawan for?"
"Yeah, you both will do the hawan
today. It's because of a problem in
Riddhima's kundali." Mom said and
ran out of the room, yelling
something to someone. I recalled
mom telling about this kundali
problem a few days ago. Though I
didn't quite understand all of it, I
understood that we have to do some
special poojas before and after the
wedding. After the wedding, we have
to go to Omkareshwar temple near
Indore.
Taking a quick shower, putting on
the clothes mom placed on the bed,
I ran downstairs with my hair still
dripping wet. The living room was
empty. The maid then told me to go
down to Padma aunty's house. The
pooja had already started when I
reached there. I found Riddhima in a
cream color saree sitting beside the
Pandit chanting something. Mom
signaled me to come and sit beside
her quietly.
Riddhima appeared tired, her eyes
slightly red, swollen and she was
blowing her red nose frequently. It
appeared as if she didn't have any
sleep last night. I then noticed her
hands and legs covered with
mehandi. She put on the jewellery
mom had bought for her. I just sat
there and stared at her. She looked
at me suddenly after sometime. I
smiled at her and so did she. Inspite
of the tiredness, her face had the
glow of a bride. Well, I had to admit
that its true when people say that
there would be a certain glow on
bride's face during their marriage.
After an hour or so, Muski and Padma
aunty escorted Riddhima to her
room. Then Padmit asked me to sit
infront of him. Then the pooja and
hawan started again. After some
time, Riddhima was made to sit
beside me for the pooja. We chanted
some manthras and then as
Riddhima's guardian, Rahul was
asked to do something. It's during
this Pooja that I realized Sudha
aunty and uncle were performing the
rituals as my guardians.
"Mom, why aren't you doing the
rituals?" I whispered to mom.
"Armaan, I couldn't do them because
your father is not present. Now sit
quite." Mom reprimanded me and
sat behind me, guiding me
throughout the rituals. Since I
haven't attended any marriages in
my family in details, I did face some
problems trying to understand what I
was supposed to do. But mom, made
sure that everything went right.
At the end of the hawan, Pandit
asked me and Riddhima to offer
Kumkum, Turmeric and something
else to the god, by pouring them into
the fire. And that's when Riddhima
broke into a fit of cough due to the
smoke emancipated from the hawan.
She coughed vigorously for 20
minutes, scaring the hell out of all of
us. She coughed, sneezed and then
blew her nose-everything happening
simultaneously. I held her for her
support when we stood up and that's
when I realized the reason of her
tired face. She was running fever.
Her skin felt warm and slightly
sweaty.
To my surprise, Sudha aunty asked
Pandit to complete the ceremony
quickly and took Riddhima to her
room, with mom and Padma aunty
following her worried. Shashank
uncle brought some tablets for her
and made her take them. He told
that she would be fine if she had
some rest for an hour or so. Sudha
aunty instructed everyone to leave
her room and asked Riddhima to
sleep for some time. May be Sudha
aunty was not as tough as she
appeared to be, I thought.
It irritated me when they didn't
allow me to meet Riddhima after the
Pooja. Mom pulled me upstairs to
our room when I tried arguing with
Sudha aunty to let me see Riddhima
once. "Why don't you understand
when bhabhi says that you should
not meet her before the wedding?"
Mom reprimanded me, once we
reached the room, leaving me
sulking. "Now sleep for sometime if
you want. It's going to be late in the
night after the wedding. Then
tomorrow early in the morning, we
have to leave for Indore." She
informed me before leaving the
room.
Rahul stayed downstairs at Padma
aunty's house, discussing the
preparations with Shashank uncle. So
I was left alone in the room.
Changing my clothes, I lay down on
the bed staring at the ceiling. It all
felt surreal, suddenly. Everything's
happening so fast. I wondered what
Riddhima would be feeling now.
Sighing, I glanced at the watch. It
said 11.45 am. I closed my eyes
hesitantly quickly aware of the fact
that someone would come to wake
me up for lunch. It, sure, is going to
be the longest day of my life, I
thought.
After a short nap and a quick lunch,
everyone was on their toes to get
ready for getting me married. Mom
made me sit in our pooja room,
where Sudha aunty did some aarti
for me. Then they left me alone,
ordering me not step out. Well, I
kind of found it funny. Was I
grounded on my day of wedding?
Because I wasn't allowed to do
anything -just sit and watch while I
found mom, aunties and uncles
running here and there. And Rahul
and Muski-I didn't even know if they
existed for I haven't seen them since
the pooja in the morning.
Finally, as if answering my prayers,
mom called me to come out. Soon
two big Innova cars arrived, fully
decorated with flowers. While
stepping out of the lift, I spotted
Rahul, Muski and Padma aunty with
Shashank uncle taking Riddhima to
one of the cars. I tried to sneak a
peek at Riddhima but in vain. She
was surrounded by all of them. Right
enough, Raghu uncle smacked my
head gently, asking me to look
ahead.
Finally, I sat in the passenger seat,
with mom, Sudha aunty, Raghu uncle
in the back with the other relatives
following us behind. As we
approached Sanjeevani auditorium,
my heart beat quicked in
anticipation. I am getting married!! I
still couldn't believe it. Six months
ago, I didn't even think I would get
married this early, let alone getting
married to an already married
woman. But with Riddhima's sudden
entry into my life, everything
changed drastically. First, I couldn't
stand that emotional bond between
her and mom. I still remember
complaining about it to mom and
Padma aunty. Then something
transpired between us that I went
ahead to take the decision to marry
here. Then came a jolt in our little
story. Those three months that I had
been away from her did some
strange things to me that I agreed to
get married to her in a week. After
that everything seemed to be in a
rush. But strangely, I don't have any
complains. My heart seemed to be at
an odd peace with everything.
"Armaan?" Mom shook me slightly.
That's when I realized that we have
reached the auditorium, with
everyone waiting for me to step out
of the car. Rahul grinned at me and
came forward to escort me to the
mandap.
"How is Riddhima?" I whispered in
his ear.
"Fine. Slight fever." He whispered
back.
After reaching the mandap, Pandit
asked Rahul to go ahead with the
ritual. I put my feet in a huge silver
plate and he washed my feet. He
then offered me the silk dhoti and a
silk kurta he had bought for me. He
was about to take my blessings as
Pandit had directed but stopped and
thought for a moment.
"No, you take my blessings. I am
elder to you." He declared, standing
to his full height. Everyone around
us laughed, with Rahul grinning
down at me. Shaking my head, I took
his blessings. After all he is elder to
me by three days.
Later, I was asked to change into the
clothes given by Rahul- my wedding
clothes. Raghu uncle helped me out
with the dhoti. Coming back to the
mandap, I was asked to chant few
manthras. Throughout the rituals, I
was waiting for my bride. I might
sound desperate, but my racing
pulse seemed to come down to its
normal pace only at her presence. As
if listening to my pleas, Pandit called
for the bride and I was asked to
stand.
To my utter disappointment, a white
cloth was drawn infront of me-
making us stand on either side of it
shielding our faces. So much for
wanting to have a glance at my
bride, I sulked silently. I could only
look at her saree, off-white and red.
Then after some more matras, Pandit
asked me to put my palm forward.
Reciting the mantras, he asked Rahul
to place Riddhima's hand in mine
and then asked me to pour water
into the fire through Riddhima's
hands after Rahul had done the
same. I understood it was
Kanyadaan. I glanced at mom. She
smiled at me with teary eyes. I was
somehow sure she wished dad was
there. I wished the same too. Sudha
aunty gave me a garland. Soon
enough, the cloth between me and
Riddhima was removed. I almost
gasped.
Riddhima stood infront of me, her
neck almost covered in gold, a waist
band adorning her petite waist and
hands totally covered with gold
bangles almost upto her elbows. Her
hair was tied back and a thin chain
was present in the parting of her
hair. She appeared so different, so
ethereal and so beautiful that I
couldn't tear my gaze away.
As I stood gawking at her beauty, she
raised her head and looked at me.
She smiled at me and that was all I
needed. Everything seemed so right,
so perfect with that smile of hers. My
pulse came back to its normal speed
and somehow I felt relaxed. She still
appeared tired and her eyes were
red, but that shy smile never left her
face. I could feel myself smiling
brightly. We placed the garlands
around each other's neck amidst
everyone's claps, cheering and
blessings. We were showered with
flower petals.
We then offered some more prayers,
with Pandit reciting some more
mantras. Later, I was asked to tie
mangalsutra around Riddhima's
neck. Pandit handed me the
mangalsutra made with yellow
thread, with two lockets.
"Beta, tie exactly three knots, not
less not more, okay?" Pandit
reminded me when I stood to tie it
around Riddhima's neck.
I nodded at him and placed it
around Riddhima neck tying three
knots. Again, there was a round of
applause and blessings followed by
more flowers. While drawing back, I
couldn't help but brush my fingers
against Riddhima's slender neck. I
felt her quiver slightly and winked at
her when I sat back beside her. I
then placed Sindoor on her forehead
and in the parting of her hair.
Finally, I am a man with my wife
sitting beside me.
Soon, the Pandit tied my silk stole
with Riddhima's saree end and we
took seven sacred rounds around the
fire, with me holding Riddhima's
hand in mine. It was still warm.
Glancing at her I wondered if she
could pull through the other rituals
left. She appeared more tired than
she was when she arrived at the
mandap. May be it was due to the
smoke around us or the crowd.
Finally, Pandit asked us to take the
blessings from our elders. With
Sudha aunty standing by our side, I
contemplated on taking her blessings
first or mom's. But thankfully, she
signaled me o take blessings from
mom. Mom beamed at us when we
took her blessings by touching her
feet. She pulled us into a tight hug.
We then took the blessings of other
elders in our family. Riddhima
insisted on taking blessings from
Rahul. He was slightly embarrassed
when we touched his feet but
blessed us. I engulfed him a rib
crashing hug. I was sure his eyes
held slight tears when he hugged
Riddhima affectionately.
Later, Shashank uncle arranged for
two huge chairs infront of the
mandap and asked us to sit ,there for
a while. while the guests arrived to
congratulate us and bless us
followed by the photo session. Muski
stood behind us to take care of all
the gifts.
That's when I noticed my colleagues-
Archana, Srinivas along with Ankit.
Ankit almost pounced on me when
he approached us. I introduced them
to Riddhima and mom. They handed
us an envelope and asked Riddhima
to open it. I had a vague idea what
it would be. And Riddhima's flushed
face confirmed it. It's a honeymoon
package to Kerala which we can avail
in an year from the date of issue.
That's the gift we give every person
who gets married in our office. It
would be on behalf of all the
colleagues.
Soon the guests left for the dinner
and the photographers insisted on
taking few snaps of me and Riddhima
alone. They made us stand in
different poses-sometimes with my
hand around her waist or me
hugging her. I had held her before,
but now that we were married, I felt
slightly different. Something did
change between us in the last few
hours. I, somehow, felt more
connected with her. By the end of
our private photo session, Riddhima
was red around her face blushing
profusely, standing close to me with
the photographers gawking at us.
Riddhima slumped, exhausted onto
the chair when everything was over.
She appeared extremely tired,
weariness evident on her face. So was
I but I had some stamina left in me.
I held her hand and squeezed it
when she closed her eyes.
"Are you fine, Riddhima?" I asked
her, worried.
"I am fine. Just feeling tired." She
replied with a small voice.
Rahul and Muski came running to us
with badam milk and fruit salad. I
smiled at them thankfully.
"Have them. After sometime, you can
have dinner." Muski said. "And
Riddhima, dad asked you to take this
medicine." She gave Riddhima a
tablet. Uncle might have noticed her
fatigue.
After sometime, they left us. Almost
all the guests left except for our
relatives. It was me and Riddhima,
sitting infront of the mandap, all
alone with her hand still in mine.
After few silent moments, I glanced
at Riddhima and found her staring at
the mandap with a lost look on her
face. I wondered what she had on
her mind that brought a shy smile to
her lips. She might be reminiscing
the last few hours. I cleared my
throat to catch her attention. She
looked at me slightly startled.
"What are you thinking?" I asked
softly. I haven't talked to her since
yesterday. I was glad that now I had
this little time for us.
She shook her head and turned back
to the mandap. "It all feels like a
dream. I was never this happy in my
life before. Thank you so much." She
whispered. I knew she meant the
words. And it meant a lot to me.
"The pleasure is all mine." I
entwined our fingers.
Before we could talk more, Muski
called us for dinner. When we stood
up, Riddhima staggered back into my
arms. She held her head and closed
her eyes.
"Are you fine? We can sit for some
time." I held her tight, supporting
her weight against my body. She
didn't answer me, just stood still for
few seconds. I checked her forehead
which was still warm and so was her
body.
"I am fine now." She opened her eyes
and stood by herself. "I just felt
dizzy for a moment."
"Are you sure?" I asked her, not
satisfied. She gave a weak smile and
nodded. Still frowning, I held her by
her waist and slowly guided her
down the steps on the mandap
leading us to the dining section. I
walked slowly, taking small steps to
make it easy for Riddhima.
Mom came to us almost running
when we entered the dining section.
She understood the scenario looking
at Riddhima's face. She quickly
ordered for the waiters to serve us
food. All our family members sat
around us, all of us eating quickly.
Mom said there was one more pooja
to be performed back at home. Muski,
being the nautanki she is, made us
feed each other. Amidst the teasing
from our cousins and the
embarrassments of facing them
amidst our relatives, we had our
dinner.
When we got ready to leave, Padma
aunty pushed Rahul ahead infront of
our car demanding money for him for
serving me as Riddhima's brother. He
just grinned at me and put his hand
forward. Mom came to me and gave
me a small box. I opened it and
found a gold chain. Smiling at Rahul,
I placed it around his neck and
hugged him tight. And it was 12.30
in the midnight by the time we left
for home.
Sudha aunty did the aarti for
Riddhima and me when we reached
home. Padma aunty brought a silver
bowl filled with rice. Riddhima kicked
it gently and finally entered our
home placing her right foot first as
my wife - Mrs. Riddhima Armaan
Malllik. Though her eyes were
dropping she patiently did all the
rituals. They took her us to the pooja
room and asked Riddhima to light
the lamp infront of the God. Later
mom gave me a mangalsutra made of
black beads and asked me to place it
around Riddhima's neck.
Then they took us to the balcony and
asked me to show some constellation
to Riddhima, apparently called as
Sapta Rishi Mandal. They told me
that we can retire to our bedroom
only if I found the stars. I was
mortified at that. How on earth am I
supposed to know where that
constellation was! Since it was a
summer night, the sky was brightly
lit with stars. I stood in the balcony
gaping at the sky wondering what on
earth I was supposed to do. I stole a
glance at Riddhima raising my brow
but she just shrugged her shoulders
stifling a yawn.
The aunties laughed out from behind
us. Sudha aunty smacked my head
fondly and pointed at some stars.
Neither did I understand which
direction she was pointing nor did I
find the constellation. Nevertheless, I
pointed the same to Riddhima who
looked ever so confused. But in dire
need of rest, we just nodded our
heads at the aunties. They laughed
at us again and Padma aunty untied
the knot of my stole and Riddhima's
saree.
Riddhima and I sat on the couch in
the living room. Sudha aunty and
Raghu uncle offered us new clothes.
We took their blessings and soon all
of our relatives left with only Padma
aunty, Sudha aunty, Shashank uncle,
Raghu unckle, Muski staying back
with us along with Rahul. Mom, with
the aunties, disappeared into the
kitchen.
Both the uncles sat on the bean
bags talking about the wedding and
the guests that arrived. Rahul and
Muski joined them chatting away in
glory. I wondered if they needed
sleep or not. I looked down at my
left shoulder when I felt some
weight on it. I found Riddhima
leaning onto me with her eyes
already closed. I checked her
forehead, it didn't feel warm and I
was glad. I wrapped my arm around
her and pulled her closer for a
comfortable position. Even my eyes
stung due to lack of sleep.
Just them the three ladies emerged
out of the kitchen with a sweet box
and something else in their hands. I
contemplated if I should wake
Riddhima. But mom signaled me for
a no. I let her be and took a bite of
the sweet they offered. Sudha aunty
kneeled infront of Riddhima and
pulled the mangalsutra out from
Riddhima's saree. She placed some
kumkum and turmeric powder on the
lockets.
Finally when mom said that we could
go and sleep, I tried to wake
Riddhima gently patting her cheek.
But she woke up with a start and
stood up immediately looking guilty.
"I am sorry. I don't know when I
closed my eyes." She apologized, her
voice almost choking.
Mom immediately hugged her and
rubbed her back. "Its fine. We just
sat in the living room till everyone
left." Mom consoled her. Looking at
them, I couldn't help but think what
Ekta Kapoor would do if she
witnessed the bond between mom
and her daughter-in-law. "Go and
sleep now."
Riddhima nodded at her and turned
to look at me. I smiled at her and
stood up to leave to our bedroom.
Muski let Riddhima go to the room
but stopped me, putting her hand
forward. I rolled my eyes and at her
and she grinned.
"I bought you a mobile. What else
do you want?" I asked.
"That's different from this." She said
frowning. Then a devilish smile crept
upto her lips. "Think about it. If I
don't get my money, Riddhima will
be alone in that room of yours."
Shaking my head, I looked back at
mom for help. Neither did I have my
wallet nor any money with me. She
smiled at me and gave me a bunch
of thousand rupee notes. My eyes
widened at the sight of the notes.
Muski made a good fortune out of my
wedding, I thought. But she pulled
the notes from my hand and ran
away yelling a cheerful 'good night'.
I blew her a kiss and made my way
towards my bedroom after wishing
good night to everyone.
Just before entering my bedroom, I
stood infront of the closed door and
took a deep breath. I didn't know
what to expect but I knew neither of
us were ready for anything above
what we shared. Everything felt
strange now that I was standing at
the door of room, one step away from
it. The reason behind it being my
wife was already inside the room. I
felt something weird, may be like
nervous and something else.
Nevertheless, I opened the door and
stepped in, closing the door behind
me. Looking at the sight infront of
me, I didn't understand how to
react. I stood still near the door for a
couple of moments and then
chuckled. My wife of few hours old
was sleeping, lying across the bed,
curled into herself. She didn't
change her saree. Neither did she
take off her jewellery. I guessed she
dozed off without realizing it.
All the nervousness, I felt a couple of
moments ago flew out of the window
and I laughed silently. Shaking my
head, I walked to the wardrobe and
pulled out my track pants and a
cotton T-shirt. I went into the
washroom to get rid of the dhoti. I
placed my clothes on the table
beside our bed and walked to the
bed.
Sitting beside her, I pondered if I
should fix her position. After a
thought, I moved her a bit so she
was sleeping in the right direction.
She moved a little but didn't wake
up and I understood how tired she
was. I checked her forehead once
again and it was of normal
temperature. I switched on the ac,
switching the tube-light off; I
switched the bed lamp on and lay
down beside her.
As Riddhima changed her sides, her
bangles made a rhythmic sound
which gave me an odd satisfaction. I
turned to face her and stared at her.
She appeared quite peaceful while
sleeping, except for the frown on her
forehead. Then I noticed the heavy
jewellery on her body and wondered
if he could sleep with everything on.
But she needed a few hours of deep
rest so she would be able to move
around tomorrow. Hesitating for a
moment, I moved closer to her and
slowly removed her waist band from
around her waist. She sighed and
turned to the other side with her
back facing me.
My heart went into a mad frenzy at
the sight of almost her bare back -
thanks to her deep neck blouse. I
closed my eyes and took a couple of
deep breaths calming my pulse. She
then turned around facing me, and I
noticed her tugging at the necklaces
around her neck frowning. Smiling at
her, I bent over her and tried to
open the knot of her necklaces. She
smelt of flowers, smoke from the
hawan and a faint perfume. Inhaling
it to my heart's fill, I removed her
necklaces from her neck. I placed all
of them on the table beside the bed.
She heaved a deep sigh and
snuggled up against me moving
closer. I froze when she placed her
head on my shoulder with her warm
breath kissing my neck sensually. It
was more than what I could bargain
for. Who would have thought that
this simple, introvert is capable of
creating such a havoc in my life,
mind and heart. Atleast I didn't;
when I met her. And now we came to
a point where we landed in the same
bed. I didn't know what was in store
for us in future. But I was sure, we
would be happy in each other's
company.
I eased my hand out so she could
place her head comfortable on my
shoulder and she almost immediately
adjusted her position. I turned
towards her and looked down at her
face which was slightly tilted up.
Overcome with some emotion alien to
me, I kissed her forehead and pulled
her closer wrapping my hand around
her waist.
I didn't know what we would have
done, had she been awake. Now that
she was asleep and snuggled up
against me, why not take some
chance!! Inspite of the ac in the
room, I felt warm with her body
pressed up against mine. Thinking
about the temptations that started
to take a form in my brain, I closed
my eyes ready to fly away to some
world where only my wife and me
existed.
Yay! They are finally married! :)
Bye. -Isha