One Indian Girl(95)

‘It’s her father’s fault,’ my mother snapped. ‘He never said no to anything. Ahmedabad, New York, Hong Kong, wherever she wanted to go, he would let her.’

‘Can you keep dad out of this, mom?’ I said, my voice muffled. I turned to everyone and folded my hands.

‘All of you, I have a request. You are all my extended family. Yes, I take full blame for the debacle that happened. You can judge me all you want. But can you please not judge my parents for this?’

My aunts and uncles looked at each other.

I continued, ‘Treat it like a Goan holiday. That’s it. My treat. I need your support. My bigger issue is Brijesh and his family. They will be hurt much more. I need grown-ups from my side to be with me when I tell them.’

Nobody gave me a response.

‘Fine, I will talk to them on my own. Please enjoy your last day in Goa. Those wanting to fly out earlier, talk to Suraj to change flights,’ I said.

The tableau continued. I turned to leave.

‘Wait, I will come,’ Aditi didi said. ‘I don’t understand what you are doing. But I will come. Can’t let my sister do this by herself.’

She stood next to me and held my hand. I smiled at her and held back tears.

‘I will also come with you,’ Pankaj mama said. ‘Come, Richa, we can’t let her go alone.’

Richa mami debated between the roles of obedient wife and offended aunt, and chose the former.

‘No need,’ my mother said. ‘She does everything alone anyway.’

‘Dad, you should come,’ Aditi didi said. My father stood up.

‘Come, Aparna,’ my father said in his soft voice. My mother looked at everyone. With much reluctance, she stood up.

‘Yes, let’s go. Let’s get fully shamed,’ she said.



I rang the bell. Brijesh opened the door. He didn’t say a word and stepped aside to let me and my relatives enter. The room felt ice-cold, and not because of the air conditioning.

Mr and Mrs Gulati, Brijesh’s parents and my almost in-laws-to-be, stood with glum faces. Brijesh’s relatives, his father’s brothers along with their respective wives, sat gingerly on the bed. Brijesh’s mother’s sisters—Rohini masi and Gunjan masi—sat on the sofa. Everyone looked like they had had knives stabbed in their backs. Brijesh had already told them.

I struggled to figure out where to start. This is where age helps. For my mother seemed to know exactly what would be a mature reaction. She burst out crying and went straight to Brijesh’s mother to bear-hug her.

‘Somebody’s cast an evil eye, Sulochana,’ my mother said. Her lone hysterics made everyone in the room feel even more awkward. Brijesh’s mother didn’t hug my mother back.

‘We are ruined. I had no idea my girl would do this to us. What do you do when your own child is defective?’ my mother said, howling at top volume.

‘Sit down, Aparna ji,’ Brijesh’s father said.

I realized I had to take control. I went to the centre of the room and addressed everyone.

‘Hello everyone, I will just take a minute. To all in this room, I am sorry. I am really, really, sorry. I am sorry because I was not prepared for this marriage but I said yes. I am sorry because I brought shame to your relatives. I am sorry because I ruined your happy moment. However, I did this because I felt going ahead would not be fair on Brijesh and his family.’

‘This is fair?’ Brijesh’s mother said. Her voice had a sharp sting to it.

‘No. But going ahead would be even more unfair. Between two unfair things, this felt less unfair.’

I fought back tears as I listened to Brijesh’s mother.

‘In this room it is just us close relatives. You realize what we have to go through with all our acquaintances who are also here?’ she said.

‘I do. I am sorry,’ I said, tears flowing. I folded my hands. ‘I really am sorry, aunty.’

Brijesh looked at his mother and then me. He stood silent with arms crossed on his chest.

‘You look so good together,’ my father said. ‘Can’t we do something?’

I shook my head.

‘Our relatives are here. The arrangements are all done. We can still end this drama, Radhika,’ Brijesh’s mother said. ‘Nobody will know. The marriage can still happen.’

‘No, aunty, I am sorry,’ I said.

‘What kind of a girl is this?’ Brijesh’s mother said.

‘I told you. I have a defective piece. My other daughter is golden. Such a nice, good bahu she is,’ my mother said.

‘Enough, Aparna aunty,’ Brijesh said. Everyone in the room looked at him, surprised. ‘She may regret her decision to marry me. It doesn’t make her defective.’

Through my tears I looked at Brijesh. Despite what I had done to him, Mr IT guy could still actually stand up for me. It only made me feel worse.

‘And mom, she has made up her mind. We may not like it, but she has,’ Brijesh said.

‘But, beta, all arrangements are in place and everyone is here and. . .’ Brijesh’s mother said.

‘Mom, we can’t get married just because it is convenient,’ Brijesh said.

I gestured a thanks to Brijesh. He nodded. He handed me a box of tissues to wipe my tears. His kindness, even at this moment, killed me.