Falling In Love With My Brother-In-Law ( M×M )

Chapter 5 : Marriage

Marriage

Marriage is like a vehicle and both husband and wife are their wheels. Like the vehicle, a marriage can't work properly without its two wheels.

The atmosphere of the temple was nothing but crowded, filled with joy, happiness and laughter. As the guests from the bride's side started coming in, the Sharma family got very busy attending them. Anil and a few of his cousins were in the front, personally welcoming every guest as they came to give their blessings to the new union. Anjali's friends and a few of her cousins were by her side like shadows as they made sure none of the guests overwhelmed her. The photographer was right on the point as he had to take a lot of pictures since a lot of guests were requesting him to take a picture with the bride. Amidst all this, the rest of the families were busy overseeing all the other things. While the ladies of the family were completely engaged in making sure everything was ready and in place for all the rituals in marriage, the gents were on their toes to make sure all the guests were enjoying the food and having a good time.

For the main course, they had Rice, Dal, Rumali Roti, a fine curry made up from mixed vegetables along with a wide range of chips, such as potato chips, banana chips and bitter gourd chips. For those who are vegetarian, a wide range of dishes made from Paneer and mushroom are available. For non-veg lovers, chicken, mutton along with many side dishes of fish were prepared. For starters, there were Panipuri and Dahibara along with Chaat and many street foods that are famous in the local area. Since Indian cuisine was incomplete without sweets, a special pyasam was prepared along with several other sweets and ice cream. Mr. Prashant Sharma, the bride's father, had a proud look on his face as he watched and heard how the guests were enjoying all the food and complementing the dishes. Being a clerk, and the only earning man in a family of seven, he had faced a lot of hardships raising his kids. Now seeing one of his daughters getting married, he finally felt some sense of achievement in his life.

" Mr. Sharma ", one of his guests called out to him and he smiled at Mr. Bachchan. As Mr. Bachchan praised him for arranging such a good wedding. Prashant felt prouder than ever.

By the time it was around nine o' clock in the night, the groom's side finally arrived with their baraat. The loud sound of Dj vibrated the whole area while the guests of the groom's side grooved on the music beats. It's kind of a custom for all the people on the groom's side to make a procession as they go to the marriage venue. Varun was looking like a full-fledged Rajput in his sherwani while his drunken friends danced their hearts out. All the people from the guests side were really dressed up so well as if they were soon going to walk on a red carpet. As the sound of the music approached nearer the temple, the brideside also got very excited. The whole Sharma family except the bride Anjali, stood outside to welcome the groom's side. When they all approached the temple, the sound of the music got even louder as a few guests from the bride's side grooved on the beats along with them. Finally, when the music stopped, everyone stopped as the groom, Varun, stepped out of the car for his welcoming ritual.

Mrs. Sharma stood happily with the Puja thali in her hand. The plate had several types of flowers along with some grains of rice and a diya ( a small oil lamp made from clay ) which was lighted brightly. As Varun stood in front of his soon-to-be mother- in -law, everyone from the bride's side who hadn't seen his face were left in complete awe and astonished. They were both happy for them as well as a bit jealous that Anjali got such a good looking guy as her husband. Ignoring the murmurs of the crowd, Mrs. Sharma started honoring Varun by throwing some flowers and a few rice grains at his head. Then she made a Tilak, an auspicious sign on his forehead, and Varun immediately bent down to touch her feet. After receiving blessings from Mrs. Sharma, Varun stood up and everyone laughed and now it was time for a funny welcoming ritual. In marriage, the mother of the bride is allowed to pull the nose of the groom and it's completely the groom's responsibility not to let her do so. This ritual often shows the endurance of a groom and the groom can only be entered after the ritual is over.

" Come on Rebati, now it's your time ", one of Anjali's aunts, said to Anjali's mother as she geared herself up for the ritual. She was shorter than Varun, so it was going to be a very difficult job for her to reach all the way up towards her soon-to-be son-in-law's nose. As the crowd cheered both of them for the rituals, saying the respect of their family was on the line, Varun surprised everyone as he lowered his head enough for Mrs. Rebati to successfully complete the ritual. While a few guests from the groom's side groaned, the bride's side were all happy and chirpy.

" That's my son, always considerate of others ", Mrs. Malhotra said loudly, while Mrs. Sharma agreed with her by nodding her head.

" Anil ", Mrs. Sharma called. Anil and a few of his cousins got ready to carry Varun in. Everyone laughed as Anil and two of his cousins had a very hard time lifting Varun up and Varun himself giggled a bit. Anil, on the other hand, even in the midst of this wedding, could feel his heart beating faster as he was lifting Varun from his thighs. But his fear and excitement were hidden in the crowd as all of them welcomed the groom all the way to the mandap and got busy attending the guests from the grooms side.

As the Priest started chanting Vedic mantras, the videographer was all set to record every essence of the marriage. The sound of the mantras resonated in the air as both Anjali and Varun sat beside each other. Most of the guests had already left, aside from family members who were all circling around the mandap to witness this union and give their blessings to the newly weds.

" Bride's father please come forward, it's time kanyadana ", the priest's voice boomed and Mr. Sharma stepped forward.

As the priest chanted his mantras, Mr. Sharma looked at his daughter. With tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, he gently took his daughter's palm and handed it over to Varun's palm. This ritual shows the giving away of a daughter by her father and one of the holiest things a father can do for his daughter. Many got teared up as they witnessed this. Anjali looked at her father's face affectionately and felt her eyes moistening. When Mr. Sharma noticed his daughter was about to cry. He slowly patted her on her shoulders as if he was telling her to calm down. Anjali smiled, looking at her father and composed herself.

The rituals went on for hours, one after another till midnight. While all the kids got exhausted and slept, a few adults also decided to take a nap. Only a handful of people were still awake and witnessing the ritual. Everyone applauded as the groom tied the Mangalsutra ( a necklace that serves as a visual marker for married Hindu women ) around the bride's neck. After that, they performed sindoordaan, where Varun took a handful of sindoor and applied it on Anjali's forehead. Both Mr and Mrs Sharma were in tears while Arohi held her big brother because she was tearing up. Even Anil couldn't control himself as he shed a few drops of tears, realizing from today his sister wouldn't be here with him. Amidst all this, both Varun and Anjali stood up as they got themselves ready for the final rituals of the marriage, saptapadi.

Saptapadi is the most important rite of a Hindu marriage ceremony. The word, Saptapadi means "Seven steps". After tying the Mangalsutra, the newlywed couple take seven steps, which is called Saptapadi. After the seventh step, the couple legally become husband and wife, rendering the marriage 'complete' and 'irrevocable' in law. Both Varun and Anjali stood up and started circling the divine fire which witnessed their weeding. The chanting of mantras, the power of fire and the blessings from everyone made their nuptials successful. After completing seven steps, both of them sat down and the Priest finished all the remaining rituals.

Both Anjali and Varun took their vows as husband and wife, witnessing the fire in front of them and welcomed each other as husband and wife.