The Engagement - II

For part I please click here.

By popular demand, I am forced to write this post much earlier than my lazy self would have normally done. For those of you coming here to read some more 'masala', I am sorry folks, this is a typical girl meets boy - boy likes girl, girl says 'yes' and they unite in wedlock. But something that simple and a few words does not make a post. So shall go into further details...

So dad and I wait outside the 'boy's' house, wondering if he was living upstairs in that bungalow. But dad clearly remembered that he had mentioned no such info and so we look for a calling bell. Its quite dark and we cant really trace one, but sensing some commotion outside, the boy comes over to open the door. And I forgot to mention that prior to this actual meet, photos of the boy and girl were exchanged. I had the priviledge of opening up the envelope containing his photo(bcos mom and dad were out of town that day). I vaguely remember telling my parents that the boy is too fair and I would be no match, so we shall delay this meet. The actual reason being I was least interested in marriage, when something as nice as an onsite proposal was beckoning me with open arms. But stubborn that my parents were, they convinced me to 'atleast' meet the guy before I fled from the country.
Back to the Thursday night that we waited outside his home in Chennai, the boy dressed up in formal attire opened the door. At first sight my jaws dropped. My thoughts raced and I realized that the photo did no justice to the actual person. I saw in front of us a fair, smart guy - politely welcoming us into his living room. After intial pleasantries were exchanged, and I was less carried away by his 'looks', we discussed abt our families, his future plans, his education and much more. No we did not have a one-to-one girl-boy session as is the norm. There was no kesari, vada, mixture as is again usually the norm when the boy & his family visits the girl. But we had enough of banana chips, biscuits and juice for company. Mostly dad did the talking/questioning and he patiently answered them all. We left after probably an hour and called mom(who was away on training in Manipal) to discuss about the boy.
When we reached home, grandparents were already fast asleep, but who would not like some gossip, especially because we went to meet the boy. Grandmom got up and settled herself into a chair and my cousin S sat on the floor waiting to hear about the boy. I had literally no negatives to talk about the boy given that we never spoke to each other much, but still had to say something wrong. So here was my conversation at 10 PM with my Pati and cousin.
Me: Pati, the boy is too fair.
Pati: So what, atleast your child will be as fair as he is. And this my grandmom believed so sincerely that even when I was pregnant, she would always remark that the child will be as fair as her father.
Me: Pati, He never spoke a word in Tamil(my mother tongue). How could I marry someone who never spoke my language.
Pati: I never spoke Tamil until I was 12. Yes, my grandmom was born and brought up in Andhra Pradesh and had no knowledge of her mother tongue until she was 12. She was later sent to her aunt's place in a village in TamilNadu to learn Tamil so she could be married off.
Cousin: My bro lived all his life in Mumbai. When you listen to his Tamil, will you call him a Tamilian? We call him a mumbai wala. Language is no bar.
Me: The boy will definitely not say 'yes' to me. He's too good for me.
Pati: Thats not for you to decide. Wait until he comes back. Go and change and sleep now.We'll discuss the rest tomorrow morning.
So saying grandmom goes back to sleep and cousin goes back to her books. Its already late and I have to leave early the next day, so I dash off to catch some sleep.
The next day dawned bright and clear. Dad tells me that he's too good a boy for us to loose, so I better agree. To be honest, I found nothing wrong with the boy, so simply agreed. Just one meeting and one simple decision. Dad spoke to my in-laws and told them of 'our' decision. They very sweetly requested for some more time for their boy to give an answer.
On Saturday, mom is back from her training and we are off to finish some last-minute shopping. We are still waiting for an answer, but travelling onsite is top priority for me. That evening my mom-in-law calls home, speaks to my grandmom for a long time and finally revelas her son's decision - that he has actually agreed. My pati is excited - she tells Thatha and my cousin. Pati calls us and we are busy gliding our way through crowded Pondy Bazar. We can hardle hear Pati what with all the buzz around us, but Pati conveys the happy news to my mom, congradulates her and tells us to buy some sweets on our way back for thatha.
I can hardly digest this fact. Thousands of thoughts run through my mind. I can barely speak to my mom. We just hold hands tightly,smiling at each other and return home. The next morning I receive a call from the now familiar number and then happens our first actual conversation. I left for Germany the next day, but thanks to email and occasional chats, we 'learnt' a little more of each other.
After my return, and although we lived in the same city, we were always busy with work that we hardly actually met during courtship. And was finally united 8 months after I first met him. Incidentally August is when I first 'saw' the boy and we shall celebrate the 5th anniversary in a couple of weeks time.

PS: This is supposed to be my child's blog, so her 18 month update is WIP. Will be coming soon. So watch this space.