Mangalyam thantuna nena..-5

The Wedding hall was bustling with people comming in and going out. The hall entrance had an elaborate Kollam( rangoli) in arisi mavu (Rice flour)
"patti must have been incharge of that " vishali thought smiling to herself. she had come for the viradham ( pre wedding ceremony in all Brahmin marriage) along with her parents.
on entering the hall she noticed both the bride and the groom,s family were chanting matra's .
on seeing vishali shankar a huge smile and came to greet her
" hello mama ,mami vangao ( come in uncle and aunty)" he said very formally.
Vishali smiled mischieviously at him " enna ( what) u wont give the invite for me"
"well vishali madam do come in " he said with a mock bow vishali's parents laughed along with her
" ennapa shankar akkaku kalyanama ( what shankar you sister is getting married today)" vishali's mom asked him . Vishali's parents were very fond of shankar and it was very evident in the way her mom and dad talked to him now.
By that time shankar's mom came over to greet them too and she needed some grown up help and both her parents went to help her.
" i thought you will comming in a saree today" shankar said
" well i dont want to wear it everyday ..u know the effect comes when worn on special occasions" vishali replied putting on false air and then burst out laughing " well i will wear saree for the wedding and reception" she replied seriously
" anyways amma has selected a saree for you ...for our wedding..errr i mean for sudha's wedding" shankar colored furiously..he could not believe he said that
Vishali colored too " oh that is sweet of her she did not have to..." she replied half heartedly and then both of them fell silent and thankfully patti came looking for her and asked vishali to sit with sudha during the ceremony to give her company
During the entire ceremony vishali kept thinking about shankar and about their future they both have never talked about them.. they had always been happy to be friends and have never discussed things beyond that...but somehow being in a wedding today made vishali wonder about her's
" this is foolish " she thought but everytime she looked up at shankar and their eyes met she blushed becos she could almost the same thoughts going through his head.
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The wedding was early next morning but before that there was Unjal( swing) ceremony which was a occasion for much good natured ribbing of both the bride and the groom. Sudha looked resplendant in her dark green kanchiveram silk saree . Her long black hair was braided with a jasmine and rose flowers interwined in the braid. she was decked with all the tradition jewellery like netti chutti( ornament on head) to uddiyanam( gold chain around the waist) she really looked like an angel to the vishali.
All around her people were dressed in their finest with tons of jewellery. Vishali looked very nice in her Red color silk saree that shankar's mom had bought for her. Many people actually told her she looked very beautiful that made her blush .
She kept looking out for shankar but he was very busy and was running all around the hall and she was little disappointed that he did not compliment her ...even though she understood that he had to work.
The wedding ceremony itself was very interesting with matras being chanted and with it the siginificance of the ceremony hit her
Durning kanya dhanam ( giving away of the bride) the significance of the matras brought tears to her eyes. she was with sudha through out the ceremony and as she saw divakar very religiously repeating all the mantras and all the small smiles that he gave sudha actually put vishali's mind to rest becos the way things have been before the wedding .
" may be things do get better after getting married.." vishali thought and at that moment she caught sight of shankar comming towards the stage and their eyes met and Vishali blushed ..
Shankar came and stood next to her and translated the mantra for her
"She standeth here, pure before the holy fire, as one blessed with boons of a good mind, a healthy body, life-long companionship of her husband ( Sumangali Bhagyam ) and children with long life. She standeth as one who is avowed to stand by her husband virtuously. Be she tied with this red-grass rope, to the sacrament of marriage"
And as her father offered Sudha's Hand to her husband and recited the mantra shankar stealthily caught her hand and translated the matra for her
"I offer ye my daughter, a maiden virtuous, good-natured, very wise, decked with ornaments to the best of my ability-; that she shall guard the Dharma, Wealth, and Love! "
Vishali was very confused and felt flushed and happy at the same time but she did not pull away he hand either and when he actually let go of her hand she actually felt a twinge of sadness
" well i cant expect him to stand here holding my hand" she thought
after kanya dhanam( giving away of the girl) came the mangalya dharam and the groom tied the mangalyam ( mangal sutra) to the matra
" magalyam thantuna nena mama jeevana hetuna ( with this sacres thread i accept you as my wife..)....." as the pandits recited these mantras Vishali felt like two souls were meshed together for this life
and then came Pani ghrahanam ( holding hands) and Saptha padhi ( seven steps) and as all mantras were uttered Vishali thought that she could actually see Sudha and Divakar actually becoming married.
Vishali suddenly felt the process no longer seemed like a ritual but a profound age old process of uniting two people in the sacred bond for eternity"..atleast for this life.. may be becos i am in love and that is why it all makes sense" the thought creeped up on her and the thought shocked her and with that came the some doubts as to whether shankar felt the same about her......