Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag & Srinath Perur

Author:Vivek Shanbhag & Srinath Perur
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: null
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2015-12-09T18:30:00+00:00

I didn’t put up a fight when the family began efforts to get me married. None of my attempts at romance had gone anywhere. It was only Chitra with whom I’d got as far as having long conversations, and that too was over. My sister Malati’s marriage had ended badly, making Amma more circumspect when it was my turn. ‘Let’s not get entangled with rich people,’ she said, and so when we received word about the daughter of a college lecturer in Hyderabad, she was inclined to pursue the matter. The alliance was brought to us by a friend of the family named Sripati.

It was a Thursday, at about ten in the morning. I was about to leave home for the day when Sripati arrived. ‘Wait, wait, wait, don’t go!’ he said. ‘It’s you I’ve come to talk to.’ He chatted with Amma about mutual acquaintances, reported on his visit to the Raghavendra Swamy temple, delivered gossip from the attached monastery, ate dosas, proceeded by stages to make himself at home, and finally broached the subject. ‘Look, this girl is good as gold. She’s done her BA. The father is well respected. He has made his name in the university. We were actually looking at her for my sister-in-law’s brother, but he never turned up from the United States. There’s some talk he might have married there, but who knows … Anyway, if you all agree, I can put the matter to the girl’s father. Of course, I can’t guarantee they’ll say yes. Times have changed, it’s not like the old days …’

I looked at her photograph and found her prettier than the other girls I had seen. I decided to make her mine before other proposals came her way. It all went quickly from there on.

When we came to the matter of seeing the girl, I corrected Sripati with what I had picked up from Chitra’s feminist talk: ‘We should speak of the boy and the girl both seeing each other.’

He said, ‘Yes, yes! Of course! I meant exactly that. Is it even possible these days to arrange a marriage with only the boy’s consent? I must say you are both well-matched. Her father too thinks along these lines.’

A couple of days later, on Sunday, we booked a car and set off for Hyderabad. Sripati accompanied us. We met Anita and her parents at the hotel we were staying in, and it wasn’t long before the match was agreed upon. I took Anita down to the restaurant for a coffee; that was the only time we had to ourselves. The wedding date was fixed before we left Hyderabad. It had all gone by like a dream.

On the journey back, Sripati told us at great length about Anita’s father’s idealistic views. This was probably meant to soothe Amma, who had taken offence at something he said. When Anita and I were away, having coffee, Amma had announced grandly that we didn’t expect a dowry. It seems Anita’s father said, ‘I wouldn’t give my daughter to you if you asked for one.

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