Damsel With Dreams

Her

Pune

" Pari beta, please consider this for one last time. The groom's side is very good and broad minded. They also told they would allow you to work after marriage. You're not getting younger anymore dear. Please meet the boy and talk to him"
Mrs. Shilpa Deshmukh was trying her level best to convince her daughter.

" But Maa, this is what I have heard for the last 9 matches that broker has brought home. Even before I could say my answer I would be rejected with a reason of my skin tone or my job. I don't want be materialized again Maa. Its really humiliating when every boy asks me about my cousin who is a shade brighter compared to me than talking to me about our future. "
Pari let out a frustrated sigh with her mother's pleadings.

Pari Deshmukh, a 26 year old IIMB graduate working for Tech Mahindra Pune as business analyst for last 3 years. Born and brought up in Pune as the only daughter of Ajay Deshmukh and Shilpa Deshmukh, she is her family's pride. When she cracked the entrance for IIMB everyone in her family praised her, but as per her good-looking and dumb cousins, she was nothing but a looser who tries to cover her ugliness with academics.

Pari wasn't the standard fair and lovely girl from the commercials. But she had beautiful honey tone skin which was often regarded as the wheatish skin tone by everyone around her. Her lustrous mid-length black hair and prominent facial features were obviously ignored by her jealous cousins since they never managed to score like her in any of their exams.

While her cousin sisters decided to get hitched to rich men as soon as they graduated with their basic degrees, Pari decided to perceive her dream of studying in IIMB. As soon as she graduated, she was picked by Tech Mahindra as trainee and after the completion of training period she was recruited as business analyst. Though many international companies had shortlisted her in their list of final candidates, Pari decided to stay in her hometown for her parent's sake.

After working for an year, her parents started with the usual melodrama of 'Please get married, it's the right time '. Knowing her parents adamant attitude she decided to meet the matches that her family wanted to meet. But to her distress she would be rejected after a cup of coffee her parents forcefully let her serve to the boy and the stupid most reason was her skin tone.

Pari was never ashamed about her looks nor she had complains about it. 'I am comfortable in my skin and that's what matters the most' was her thoughts initially. But her so called family and relatives had successfully implanted the idea of beauty standards which sometimes made her feel inferior in front of her milky skinned cousins. But then too, she decided to ignore it as she lived at better situations than her cousins who still spent their husband's money unlike her who is independent in her mid 20's.

Today was one such day where her mother decided to convince her for the prospectus groom who is supposed to meet her in three days. Though she was tired of getting rejected all the time she couldn't be harsh on her mother. So finally after a long time of discussion she agreed to meet the boy.

If only her first love didn't betray her, she would have been happily married by now. Archith Upadhyay, her batch mate in IIMB was her first love. They were a cute couple, very much in love with each other when they were in campus. She trusted her love enough to loose her virginity to the man she loved. But unfortunately he backed out at the very moment she mentioned about marriage after she got placed.
" I am sorry Pari, I tried convincing my parents but you know they don't support inter caste relationships. I can't decide things on my own. So it's better for us to survive without each other than suffering together "
were his last words to her. She was broken at that time would be an understatement. But again rejections and lowly comments were nothing new to her. So she decided to focus on her career rather than her love life. That's why she ended up with the option of having an arranged marriage as she didn't have spare time to waste on impressing men with standard norms for beauty.