"my daughter is coming to your house, please take...." aunty's teary voice was interrupted by trayee's (my best friend forever, my soulmate) buaji- 'dont say my daughter...say your daughter in law...". aunty looked up with moist eyes and put down the phone....trayee's status changed overnight from being a daughter to a daughter-in-law and it seems now she has to be called as your daughter-in-law than my daughter even by her own parents. i believe its not the case of just trayee. its with every woman on this earth!
i overheard the conversations and basant, trayee's ever lasting love and now husband, repeated the same lines and said that aunty has been crying and its becoming difficult to console her. while i am considered to be too good at consoling and counselling people at difficulties, i thought it is not appropriate to console a mother while her daughter is leaving for her in law's place. i went inside..and aunty saw me and held out her hands and said, "moonu (trayee's nickname) yeh karo...moonu woh karo...moonu bhaat khecho? moonu sojao...moonu moonu moonu...moine kabhi bhi moonu ko chorke nahi raha..ab dorr logta hai..moonu waha kaise reh payegi..bachchi hai". my eyes were moist, there was a lump in my throat and i realised - i was moved.
i attended many weddings. my cousins, my friends, relatives...many of them got married. but trayee's wedding is something different. it taught me how an institution called marriage is formed and how relationships change overnight! how a mother feels when her daughter leaves! how a father manages the whole wedding gala without a trace of tear! how relatives, though we dont see them for ages, turn out during our wedding and support us. how our in-laws, whether they like the wedding or not, try to maintain a compose and let the marriage materialise.
while parents are happy and elated that their kids are getting married, the change in the marital status equally bothers them.
happiness of getting married
excitement about the new status
frustration with the over work
irritation with the last minute errands
sadness of leaving our loved ones
anger of some unwanted happenings
a wedding has all the colours and emotions attached to it! a wedding of emotions should be seen not just as an occasion to flaunt jewellery, saris, cuisines and money. i see it as solemnising different relationships and networking of love and affection.
a wedding of emotions it is :)
