‘Oh no papa! Not again. I
am just 25 years old. What’s the hurry?’ said Natasha. ‘Beta, at least see the
profile of the boy. The broker told me that he has done MBA from a prestigious
American university, and I know his father personally. Just meet him once and
it is not like as I am going to force you for anything.’ said Natasha’s father.
It was a routine in the Malhotra clan. From last two years, the dining table
conversations usually revolved around finding the right man for Natasha. Her
parents wanted her to settle down. They had sought all ways and means to find
the suitable groom for her- newspaper, matrimonial websites, and marriage
brokers, but no luck. Natasha had met several boys over coffee, discussed the
same old, boring topics, and as fate would have it, nothing worked. She had
almost given up on finding the right man. Right now, she just wanted to get
married, not for herself but for her parents.
*****
Natasha, like any other
girl of her age, dreamt about getting the perfect gentlemen. Her idea of love
was totally filmy. Somehow, that never happened. Natasha was a bright student,
focused on academics. She never actually had time for any ‘sightseeing’. When
it was time for her marriage, arranged marriage seemed to be the obvious
choice. Natasha wondered maybe she’d find love in the old school way. She
readily agreed and prepared herself to go through the grind.
She was eager to meet the
first prospective groom and his family. The meeting went smoothly. She was
herself, and the boy was a smooth talker, but it was difficult for her to take
the decision only in one meeting. With prior knowledge of the families, an
informal meeting was organized at the café. Everything was going strong, and
both of them were about to come to a positive conclusion until the topic of
‘women’ came up. Those next ten minutes were about to change her life. She
discovered that, even in the facebook era, men haven’t changed. This guy was a
total MCP who looked upon women no more than an object of desire. Natasha gave
him a kind smile, stood up and started walking towards the door. She didn’t
even feel like saying him a goodbye. She just realized groom hunting was going
to be a herculean task.
The next two years of her
life were spent on finding the right groom. There were meetings after meetings.
She was asked to dress in a conservative manner, speak in a diplomatic manner,
and transform herself into a damsel in distress. Natasha tried every trick of
the trade, but nothing worked. She had given up all hopes as boys in arranged
marriage thought that they were out on a shopping spree. They wanted the best
and would not settle down for mediocrity.
*****
So, when Natasha’s dad
showed her the profile of Siddhartha, she scanned through it, and agreed to
meet him. She knew it wouldn’t work because she and Siddhartha were about the
same age and he was a new entrant in the marriage market, but she honestly
didn’t care. The first meeting went as usual. Siddhartha’s family came to her
home to meet Natasha and her family. Pleasantries were exchanged, and they were
sent to the other room to discuss the typical, mundane topic of their likes and
dislikes. To her surprise, she discovered Siddhartha was different from the
other boys she met. He was sophisticated, pleasant and most importantly, openminded.
Next day, Siddhartha’s
father called up her father and dropped the bomb- that Siddhartha liked
Natasha. She was stunned at this revelation. She wanted to get married, but now
when it was happening, she was confused. The news spread like fire in her
entire family. Everyone was thrilled except Natasha. She liked Siddhartha but
wanted to be sure. Just when she was trying to digest this sudden bout of
information, Siddhartha called her up. She was apprehensive but didn’t let it
show. He asked her out for coffee, and she agreed. In those two hours, over
coffee, she realized that they had a lot in common and were perfect for each
other, but what about love? When would that happen? Or will that ever happen?
Over
the next few weeks, they were constantly in touch. They met on the weekends,
dined with each other’s families, and everything was going smoothly, but
Siddhartha didn’t say those three eternal words. Somewhere, Natasha ached for
that M&B romance. She convinced herself that perhaps, in arranged
marriages, there was no room for all the fiction romance. Nevertheless, she was
happy.
Meanwhile, to attend a
month long training in New Delhi, Natasha was selected by her company. It would
be a great for her career, and Siddhartha was extremely supportive.
First week into the training, she realized that she had to pull up her socks.
She was busy and hardly got time to speak to Siddhartha. She missed him and
wanted to meet him that weekend in Delhi, but was skeptical.
*****
On the lazy Saturday
afternoon, relaxing in her nightclothes, she heard a doorbell. With a mild
irritation, she opened the door, and what she was about to witness was going to
be the moment of her life. Siddhartha was standing outside her door with a
bouquet of flowers. ‘I missed you and couldn’t wait any longer to see you.’ shouted
Siddhartha excitedly. ‘I love you, Natasha!’ finally Siddhartha told her.
Natasha thought, it
certainly didn’t matter if it were a love marriage or an arranged marriage.
Each marriage was incomplete without love and each love story was incomplete
without an arrangement for marriage.
Note- This entry is for the contest LoveyaArranged on Indiblogger.in
The debate continues at : www.facebook.com/LoveYaArrange.
