"I don't believe in matches made in heaven... But I do believe in perfect matches that come with imperfections."

-Elegiac_Damsel
___________

26th November
Sampurnaa's pov:

Sridha and Priyanka have just arrived home. It is 8 p.m. and I just returned from the studio after on field reporting and editing. I am supposed to be on leave from tomorrow till the 30th.
26th November marks the anniversary of the ghastly Mumbai terrorist attacks at eminent places like Hotel Taj, Trident and the Oberoi. Our team at India Today had spent the day preparing a tribute for all those who became martyrs.
I was hell tired as I had been assigned the job of going to the hotels in order to interview the staff who had been associated with the hotel back then in 2008. And to top that fatigue, Priyanka was sitting on my head with her teasing. Sridha was slightly more considerate... But really, those two are way too excited!

Maa was grateful that they were here to help me. Boudi has already gone to her parents' place as she wanted to attend the first two days from the groom's side and the last two days from our side. Dada has taken leave from work for my wedding. He is busy instructing the decorators who have come to decorate the house, the building and the society clubhouse for the marriage. All the rituals are going to take place at home, the building needs to be decorated because the world needs to know that someone is getting married and the marriage ceremony will be conducted in the clubhouse where they are going to set things up that resemble a wedding altar.

My room is right now, full of wrapped gifts and Baba is running about with last minute orders of gifts that have not been delivered. Maa has all the new sarees arranged in my cupboard and I have clear instructions to not touch them.

Priyanka and Sridha are discussing what sarees they will be wearing. Sigh! The ambience really screams 'you are going to be a bride soon!'.

I was seated silently looking at the crazy girls who I had literally accepted as sisters.

"Sampurnaa! Samp! I am wearing that pink saree for the wedding ceremony. Is that okay?" Priyanka asked me

I looked at what she was pointing at. It is a Kanjeevaram. She would definitely look amazing in that!
"Yes. 100%. I am sure your fiancé would love your appearance." I said winking at her

Her cheeks got a tiny tinge of pink.
We girls had a lot of fun... Actually they had a lot of fun teasing me; whereas I helplessly begged them to let me sleep.
The Aashirbad ceremony was at 12 p.m. in Bandra! We had to leave my 10 a.m. and obviously wake up much earlier.

They obliged at 1 a.m. and I gradually drifted off to sleep with those two sharing the room with me.

...

27th November

"Sampurnaa! Wake up! You wake up early everyday... Why did you have to choose today for waking up late! Get up! It is 8 a.m." I heard Maa scream into my ear as I sat up in bed rubbing my eyes.

I was pushed inside the washroom and I decided to shampoo my hair.
I spent 40 minutes pampering myself and then came out wearing shorts as I can't wear saree inside the washroom.
...

Maa was waiting with my saree and make up items. She helped me do everything quickly and I decided to apply only kohl and lip balm.
My hair was still damp, so I put it down.

Final look:

Pic credits: google images

Once I was ready, she asked me to wait in the living room with Sridha who was already done getting ready; while she helped Priyanka and herself.

We finally started out at 10.15 a.m.

...

It took us 2 hours to reach Bandra as there was a lot of congestion on the road. Dada rang the doorbell and Boudi opened the door. She hugged him tightly and we hooted.

"Boudi! You just saw him yesterday! He dropped you here after all. Why are you so overexcited now?" I asked her amused

"I missed him!" she said cutely

"Awww!" Sridha and Suparna, who had appeared behind Boudi screeched together.
Aunty appeared just then and ushered us in. She led us to the living room and introduced us all to her brother and his family. Dida was in the living room. I wished her a happy birthday and introduced her to Sridha and Priyanka.
I had bought a gift for her, consisting of a few Bengali novels; 'Pather Panchali' , 'Chokher Bali', 'Shesher Kobita' and 'Chander Pahar'.
I know that she is very fond of reading and thought that this would be the best gift for her. She thanked me while receiving the gifts and then pulled me in for a hug.

"You look beautiful sweetheart. And you are the best gift that I could have asked for." she whispered in my ears

I smiled while Priyanka decided to hoot.
Dida took her seat on the sofa and asked me to sit next to her. She instructed her daughter i.e., Aunty to get things ready for the Aashirbad to begin. Later on Indrayan and I would have to have lunch at our own residences today in order to mark Ai Budo Bhaat (the last meal that the bride and groom are served at their homes as a spinster and bachelor respectively).

Zakir arrived 5 minutes later, armed with the registrar documents. He greeted me and I smiled back.
And then within 10 minutes, Indrayan and his Dad were down. A pang of nervousness hit me as the priest arrived and the rituals began.
...

Indrayan's pov:

It is finally the day that I'll legally be married. Dad woke me up at 10 today. He wanted me to get enough rest. I will have to wake up really early tomorrow because rituals on the day of the wedding begins before sunrise.
I was ready by 11.30 because come on... Boys usually don't take much time; even during festivities because they just have to wear a kurta with pyjamas, unlike girls who have to drape 6 or 9 yards of fabric around themselves!

Indrayan's outfit
...

I was called down by Maa and Dida at around 12.30. The Aashirbad has to be completed real quick, because we both have to eat at our own residences. The marriage papers will be signed just after the Aashirbad.

To say I am not nervous would be a complete lie. I am not in doubt... But am certainly anxious about what the future holds.

Sampurnaa and I were made to sit opposite to one another on the floor while the priest instructed the elders about the chronology of all the rituals.

Ashirbaad – On an auspicious day the elders of the groom's side go to bless the bride and vice versa, by sprinkling husked rice and trefoil on their heads and giving them gold ornaments. It is a kind of acceptance of the boy and the girl on both sides.

Dhaan or husked rice

Durva or trefoil leaves

Dida was the first one to bless us both. She gifted Sampurnaa a pair of gold earrings. Dad and Sampurnaa's father came next followed by our mothers. Mama and Mami were the next ones to bless us and Abhimanyu-Adrija followed.

Sampurnaa was gifted jewellery that she would wear on her Bou-Bhaat/Reception. I was gifted a watch and even a suit.

Sampurnaa's jewellery

...

Once we were done with the Aashirbad ceremony, Zakir brought the papers. We were required to fill out our details and then get our signatures in the end... Signifying our consent..

The first required fields were the names of the bride and the bridegroom before the marriage. There was another field which required the name of the bride after marriage.

I filled in my name and Sampurnaa's in the first two fields and then the names of our parents.

I looked at her. She was sitting across the table from me.

Taking a deep breath, I filled in the field that required the bride's name after marriage as 'Sampurnaa Roy'.
She doesn't need to change her identity after her marriage.
I signed at the end; giving my consent for the marriage and then passed on the papers to her.

...

Sampurnaa's pov:

From the time that I was a child, I always knew my mother's surname to be Roy. It was only when I was in my teens that I discovered that she had been compelled to change her surname after marriage.
Boudi also shared the same surname as us... But that was her personal choice. Priyanka came from a background where the girl's surname was her father's first name before marriage and her husband's name after marriage. She is already set on changing her surname later after marriage.
I had never given all this a thought... But the papers demanded me to fill in my name after marriage. I was in deep thought when the papers were forwarded to me by Indrayan.

That broke me out of my reverie.
I checked the papers that already had all the fields filled.
My eyes went over to the field marked as 'Bride's name after marriage:'.
It was already filled and the name written was 'Sampurnaa Roy', the same as my maiden name. I looked at Indrayan almost immediately. He nodded reassuringly.

I smiled and lifted the pen that had been given for signing.
I went to the same field that had been worrying me all along.
The name filled now read : 'Sampurnaa Roy Chakraborty'

A step forward from his side... And one from my side.

I signed at the end and then asked Dida to sign as the first witness. She happily obliged. Baba was next, followed by Indrayan's father. Dada signed after that.

The procedure was over... And my name has been modified; but surprisingly I don't feel like someone has taken away my identity... Instead, I feel like I have just given myself a new identity; a potentially stronger one.

...

We returned home at 3 p.m. after Dida's birthday cake was cut. Maa had woken up early today in order to cook my favourite dishes for Aai Budo Bhaat.

The Aai Budo Bhaat is the last meal that the bride-to-be has in her parent’s home as an Aai Budo or a young girl of marriageable age.

· It is the day when her favorite dishes are cooked and served to her for lunch which she partakes after taking the daily bath.

· There are also plenty of immediate friends and family members that are present to celebrate the occasion with her, and there are plenty of jokes that the aunts crack and share their experiences and tell stories of how life used to be then.

· All this helps the bride-to-be to assimilate well all that is awaiting her in her new life as the wife of the man waiting to marry her the next day.

· With the celebration of this luncheon, there is also the formal acceptance that the bride-to-be gives for the marriage which was significant earlier as all marriages were decided upon by the elders with the bride and the groom not knowing each other (traditionally)

Text credit: google

I was fed the first few morsels by Maa and Baba and then Dada also decided to feed me. The scenario became really emotional. I had a lump in my throat which made it difficult for me to swallow food.
Priyanka was quick to assess the situation. She is a really emotional person in reality; but she's got the ability to handle mushy situations well. She simply came and ate something off my plate.

"There is nothing wrong with the taste." she told me
I looked at her puzzled.
"Why the hell are you taking so much time to eat then?"

I hit her as she wiped the few tears that had managed to seep through my eyes.
The rest of the afternoon passed peacefully.

The evening was fun with the household lit well with lights and overflowing with people. Several school friends had dropped by as they were keen on attending all the functions of a Bengali wedding. We all chatted and played games for a long time.

Maa finally pushed me inside my bedroom and asked me to sleep as we all had to wake up before dawn the next morning.
I rested my head on the pillow and looked at the ceiling.

Sleep was far, far away. There was a weird knot in my stomach which was somehow frightening. I breathed heavily as I tossed and turned in my bed.
I heard the door click. Two people made their way towards my bed. It was Baba and Dada.
They both came and sat next to me. Baba took my head and placed it on his lap gently while Dada sat next to me and took my hand in his. They talked to me for sometime and gradually I drifted off to sleep, finding peace on my father's lap.

...

To be continued...