Author's Pov:
They landed in Rajahmundry and are on the way to Surya's house. Everyone is excited coming to new place, except one person Aarav, he is afraid for Indu, Afraid if she is going to alright coming here. She may not remember what happened but deep down he knows she is going to remember.
"Stop the car" Anvi shouts. "Why bujji" Aarav asks curiously. "I want see the river. What river is it?" Anvi asks.
"It's Godavari River. let's go then, if you want it see it" Aarav stops the car on the river bank. Everyone gets out to admire the beauty of Godavari. They are on the bank clicking photos then they observe that some people are gathered near bank around a person who is doing some puja(ritual) in the river.
"What are they doing there?" Indu asks. "They are doing puja for the goddess Godavari. Think something important happened" Her mother replies. The person in the river comes out and look at them. Indu's parents and brother greet him from afar. He goes away in his car after greeting them back.
"Do you know him?" Anvi asks. "He is Surya's brother Eeshwar" her father tells them. "What he is Surya's brother?" Indu is shocked by seeing him, she felt a familiar yet distant powerful aurora from him. Aarav nods yes. "So, are we going to his house?" Anvi asks. "No, we are going to our house" Aarav informs them. "We have a house here?" Anvi asks them. "Yes, we do its nearby Surya's house. It is used as guest house by Eeshwar when we are not in India" their father tells them.
When they all entered through the main gate of a beautiful traditional Manduva house, Indu and Anvi are in awe looking at the exterior walls, crafted from compacted mud and clay, rise from the earth with an organic grace, their smooth surfaces bearing the imprints of skilled hands that shaped them. Intricate patterns and designs adorn the walls, each stroke telling a story of tradition and heritage passed down through generations.
As they step inside, the cool, dim interior envelops you like a comforting embrace. The air is redolent with the earthly scent of the mud and wood, infused with the fragrance of the herbs and spices stored nearby. Shafts of sunlight filter through the thatched roof, illuminating the space with a warm, golden glow.
"This is soo cool" Indu and Anvi say in a union. They are still stuck with the beauty when Surya came "Why don't you both go and checkout" They both ask him "why don't you give a tour"
"Great now I am going to give a tour of your own house" The trio look at every corner of the house enjoying themselves.
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"No, amma we can't, just leave us" Anvi is protesting her mother.
"No, you both are coming with us" Her mother declares finally. "Mumma, we can't get up in the morning please understand, we will just do bath here, it's weird to do there." Indu tries to convince her mother to not include them for nadhi snanam(River bath).
"Indu it's our tradition to do this, we need to make Sudhi (it's a process of cleaning, it means getting ready for the important events) when we start the marriage rituals." Her mother explains.
"But why wake up at 4am we can go at 8am na" Indu asks. "We need to start the marriage preparations at 8 it's the time the priest fixed to start so we need to wake up at 4 and get ready in 30 min and go for river bath, Mahira and Surya's family is also going to be there and we come back get ready by 7:30am. That's it I don't ask more you can enjoy after that." She goes out of their room.
"We are doomed" They doze off to their dreamland.
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