Chapter eight

ANUSHIYA VISHWANATH

Once we were done with our exams and college we girls and our boy classmates gathered in our college ground and threw our ID to air and shouted, "Yeah!" for our independence. We all celebrated by throwing color powders and water balloons like Holi with our friends and our classmates as if we were showing our happiness, love and how much we are going to miss them.

While I was in the party mood I didn't see that moon has arrived and it was my time to get home before appa come on his bike to search for me.

"Sorry, Malini and Akash. I've got to go. And thank you for your pani puri. I enjoyed my time with you guys." With those exact words, I was gone from there.

Malini and Akash was my only friend in that college where the students were studying in and around the world. And the secret that two of them told me to keep quiet was, they were going to propose but they don't know so I thought why standing there like a third wheel. That was the real reason and secret they said to keep it myself.

When I got back to my house I usually unlocked our door with the spare key and entered myself in. But when I heard Jo shouting, "Anu's here!" I was frozen in place couldn't even take another step because I know they must be staring at me. How can I say them to stop starring at me because I was a shy type?

Jo was going on with her words but I couldn't concentrate on anything.

I was still standing in that doorway, eyes to floor and brain to amma to drag me somewhere but not here. That was the most awkward situation I'd ever been in lately.

"What's this?" amma asked, whispered. But even while she was whispering, the tone of scolding thing has done a great job.

And that's when I realized that I might be looking like Zombie. The colors and waters, I imagined myself how I'd be looking at them and that was horrible. I imagined standing hair, wet uniform with multiple colors combination which should exactly portray me as a joker who escaped from the middle of the circus show.

I was embarrassed.

"Amma last day of college..." I tried to say but she cut me off.

"Come with me," she dragged me to my room upstairs.

While ascending the stairs, I felt those unfamiliar gazes on my back.

Once we were in our room, she pushed me into the bathroom and threw me a towel to clean up myself, and closed the bathroom door from the outside.

I placed the towel on the hanger, twisted the shower knob. The cold water slides throw my skin. While showering a sudden thought hit me up because I didn't see any of them. How many of them were sitting? Why they were here?

Wait, no... way. They were here for me means they were here to see me and ask my hand in marriage? I was shocked by those thoughts and twisted the shower knob off and wrapped the towel around me and knocked on the door. Jo opened it with a smug smile on her lips.

"Jo, what's going on here?" I whispered.

"Oh! You don't know anything, do you?" She asked totally surprised.

"That's the point," I said.

I don't know what she saw in my face but she gave me that perfect answer which I don't want to hear. "They are here to ask your hand in marriage, I guess. And when I saw a small velvet box on that aunt's hand I started to think that it wasn't going to just a meeting or asking your hand in marriage." She was taking too long to say the fact.

"So if he said "yes", the next second they'll put the engagement ring on my hands. And then I'll be engaged?" I asked.

Then she points me to the bed where the saree and the other ornaments were eagerly waiting for me to wear them. I don't know how to wear a saree. I need my amma's help but I couldn't go search for her with only wearing a towel. So I asked Jo to call amma for me. She let out a breath and walked to the hallway, I thought she was going to search and bring her here but what she did was, "Amma, Anu doesn't know how to saree..." her voice echoed in our house.

I dragged her back into our room and scolded her when she gave me that, "I'll deal with you later." Look.

Then amma came and told us to keep quiet and helped me with wearing the saree and hairstyle. Once I got readied with my new bride costume, I stared at myself in the mirror and realized I was that beautiful. I thought I wasn't beautiful enough but compared to western dresses I wore traditional dress have that connectivity by our birth.

Amma kept looking at me with wet eyes, at any time the water can leak from her eye's dam and run through her cheeks. When I turned back she smiled, to be honest, I don't know she was smiling or crying I think it was a combination of both. That was the first time I saw her with proud eyes in me and the worst part was I liked that. And though I could do anything for that face to stay a little longer.

"You look beautiful da Kanna (sweetheart)" said amma.

There was a pause.

"Once we got downstairs you have to greet them with respect and smile on your face. Look." I stared at her eyes. "The first impression is a must. So behave yourself and don't open your mouth to argue. Okay?" she gave advice.

I rolled my eyes at her.

They'd already seen me in the worst side of me. I wonder if they will still say "Yes" to this engagement. I know the answer what they'll be going to say, "We'll call you later" and that was it, my amma going to kill me with that. May Anushiya, rest in peace, I thought while descending the stairs and to the living room where the groom's family were already waiting for me before even I got from my college.

I remembered what amma said before we leaving my room, "It's your life and your choice. We aren't pushing you into this marriage. It was just a meeting and if you didn't like him, you are welcome to cancel this meeting even this engagement." Those were her exact words.

But amma said they all were coming Saturday, why sudden visit and engagement?

Once we got to the living room all of their gazes were at me. I wasn't good with keeping or maintaining eye contact. I couldn't handle those gazes so my gaze was on the floor.

While standing there amma clears her throat saying that I was forgetting to greet them. "Vanakkam (Greetings)"

"I thought you were going to say, 'Namaste' instead of what you just said. That's how you people greet right?" asked that blonde man in his American accent, his friend, I guessed because he looks like a foreigner.

I thought, not bad about those stereotypes about India. Those peoples only know all about Indian and the Indians was who always greets, Namaste and eat laddoos and dance for Punjabi songs and speaks one language, "Indian", Sorry, "Hindi". And that wasn't their fault, this was what the western Media portraying us and there'd no wonder about that.

Appa points me to a chair to sit beside him. I felt shy and couldn't keep eye contact even with my family members, so as usual, I kept my eyes on the floor.

"Do you have anything that you don't know about India at all?" Jo mocked the blonde.

He grinned proudly.

"Hi, and ma. I'm Devi Smith. Your potential husband's mom." A woman in her late forties said. I assumed she must be his mother as she said. She was wearing a saree but not perfect as we wore, who knows when you were raised in a foreign country. Dark, messy hair was in a bun as the jasmine bud pinned on it.

"Hi, aunty," I whispered with a smile.

Then she pointed to a man in his early fifties who looks white sitting beside her. I wondered who that might be. His hair was black and some shades of white like a wavy style. "This is my husband, Steve Smith."

Husband?

Okay, that sounds sweet. Intercultural wedding!

That means their son should be half Indian and half American, right? I started to wonder how their son will look like. Just a curiosity even though if I wanted to see I can see him but the shyness inside me was holding me back, I just wanted to move my eyes a little left.

"Hi,"

"And meet your potential husband's friend, Charles." I moved my eyes a little right to say "Hi," as he smiled. This was the same blonde, his friend.

"And last but not least, meet my son, your potential husband, Arjun Smith." Finally! I moved my eyes to the left and when I was about to see his face, I noticed that he was already staring at me, I felt butterflies in my stomach, I shoved my gaze to the floor and I couldn't see him or his face. I felt sad and bad about my character. Why I wasn't like any other girl who makes scenes and does over-dramatically kinds of stuff.

I just nodded at the floor because modesty washes through my face. I can see he was gazing at me and notices my shyness. I thought that the whole room had seen it too.

"We don't expect any dowry. We just need your daughter to be our daughter-in-law." After, for some minutes our parents were talking about our engagement and marriage arrangements and stuff.

I was struggling to see his face I tried my eyes to lift and whenever I did that, I lift over high to see the ceiling and down enough to see the floor. What else I can do?

Suddenly appa turns to me probably the whole room does and asked that whether I was interested in giving my hand or not.

When did I ask him whether he was interested in giving hand? And guess what? He said that he'd already accepted for this alliances and engagement to marry me before they'd come here to meet me. That's weird but I somehow liked that. When I heard that he'd already ready to marry me now they were waiting for my answers, I don't know what to say.

I'd never get a chance to cancel this engagement. That was it, I was about to give my hand in marriage, my lips were half opened to say that but when I heard someone clearing his throat, I took that as a sign to shut my mouth. I thought that was my amma but her voice wasn't hard and manly rough throat would be.

"Ahh..." his father, the uncle, said like he was listening. "Arjun needs to talk with your daughter in private."

Appa thought for a moment and turned his head to me as she said to his father, "Sure. Why not? It's their history after all." He said nervously.