A Day to Remember for the Rest of My Life – Part 4

In case you missed, read Part 3 here.

The day was moving ahead too quickly.

Event 3. Briddhi – a ritual to offer our homage to our past seven generations and seek their blessings for the holy matrimony. Baba was seated at the ground floor room with the priest. The centre of the room was marked and bounded by four decorated pillars. This was going to be the wedding zone.

I sat beside Baba. And the mukut (bride’s headgear for the wedding) sat on top of my head. The priest chanted hymns that we repeated after. It felt like a reverie.

Event 4. Gaye Holud – A turmeric and mustard oil paste is smeared on the bride’s face and arms by the married women of the family. This paste is the leftover from the groom’s Gaye Holud ceremony that had arrived with the Tattwa. It is supposed to brighten the bride and groom’s skin so that they look the part for the evening’s proceedings. Shine bright like a diamond!

For the Gaye Holud, I had changed into a yellow saree with red borders on both sides running along the entire length of the cloth. I felt pampered. My thoughts wandered to the countless images of my friends’ Gaye Holud ceremony on social media. And I had finally joined the club. With this thought, I closed my eyes and smiled as everyone poured water over me.

This concluded the morning rituals. It was time to freshen up and get ready for the evening.

A shower and a power nap later, I took some time off for myself. So, I sat down in the dressing room and looked through the open window. I was going to be married in a few hours. I was going to start a new life – different from what I was used to. The most pivotal change of my life awaited me downstairs. What would it be like? The gravity of this realization gripped me. I hadn’t given this much thought before. It felt a little unnerving. My heart felt a little heavy.

That’s when the door opened and in strutted Tutul dada (cousin, Mitul didi’s brother). He pulled up a chair and sat beside me. We sat quietly looking through the open window. Not a word. It felt comforting, assuring. Like he understood.

After some time, he broke the silence by playing Harley-Davidson videos on his phone. We watched a few. I’m not a big fan of motorcycles, but at that moment, nothing else could have felt better. After some time, he looked at his watch and stood up. It was time for him to leave for Tathagata’s house to accompany him to the wedding venue. Before leaving, he said, “Tension korish na, shob bhalo moto hoye jabe” (Don’t worry, everything will be alright).

This is probably what brothers are for. They know. And they know how to make things better too. In silence.

All photos in this blog have been taken by Srejon Imagery.