The Wedding Trials [ A Harry Styles OU ]

The Ganesha Pooja

The Ganesha pooja is done before Indian weddings. Lord Ganesha is the remover of obstacles, therefore before wedding rituals can proceed and go smoothly, they pray to Lord Ganesha. They offer him blessings. Due to ancient Hindu scriptures, Ganesha's father Shiva granted that he would be honored before all other deities.

It's so early.

That's the only thought that's been playing on repeat through Anushka's mind for the past hour. Despite the fact that she'd passed on the morning chai for her regular, beloved coffee, her brain still felt like it was barely kicking on and her eyes feel heavy as she watches people buzz around Aryan's house. She and Aryan had sat around at his kitchen counter for a while, watching all the older members of the family prepare the temple for the pooja that was to happen in an hour.

Anushka had come to Aryan's fully dressed and ready to go for the day. She was wearing a light sea green anarkali suit that was patterned with gold and cream floral pattern through the fabric. It gave it a elegant dimension, but not overly so since it was a house pooja. She's got her hair piled into a bun at the back of her neck, a few tendrils of her hair curled and framing her face to make it look like she hadn't woken up late and give zero thought to her hair. She dressed up the outfit with some silver embellishments and she was ready to go.

"Wooooow, look at you," Aryan had announced with a low whistle, smirking at her.

"Shut up," Anushka had grumbled. "You look good," she'd added, noting the light blue Indian suit Aryan had on.

"It's itchy," Aryan mumbled, pulling out a stool for her.

"I know," Anushka whines back, scratching at her collarbone with a frown.

They had sat there for a while until Aryan's mother had come in and whisked him off towards the temple.

Once Lizzie had arrived, in her own lilac anarkali, Anushka had helped her settle down next to Aryan in the temple and helped some of the relatives get the flowers and fruit ready for the offering. Then she'd taken a step back towards the far wall of the temple after slipping her silver heels off outside, and taken a seat on the cold marble floor. The smell of the incense was strong, and if she stood too close to the mandap* then she'd be bound to get a headache.

She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling under the exquisite fabric as she watched the pandit* begin the ceremony. He was speaking the Hindu prayers quickly, going through the pooja steps. She scans her eyes across the temple, the murtis* of the various Gods had been cleaned and dressed up for this occasion. But one specific murti was front and center, sitting right before Lizzie and Aryan in all of it's golden glory. Lord Ganesha was wearing a purple and red peony lei that Aryan's grandmother had stitched by hand the night before. Anushka holds her gaze on the murti for a moment longer before she folds her hands and closes her eyes, lifting them to rest against her chest.