The Bridegroom

Satish was very nervous. He was going to meet another ‘girl’ .

So why was he nervous? Because now times have changed, in earlier times in good Konkani GSB families, the horoscopes would me matched, the boy’s side would go to see the bride taking care that they avoid Rahu kala. The elderly women would check if everything was fine with the girl, that she could talk, was not lame, that she was of sound stock ( meaning that she could produce an offspring/s), was fair and had long hair. Then the boy and girl would be left alone where the boy would ask questions like what was her hobby and she would ask if she could wear salwars. And that was it.

But times have changed, now boy meets girl in hotel lobby and its the girl who asks questions. An engineer was preferred. That too a software engineer working in the US of A was the most desired. The rest of the clan was asked questions like what was their income, how much bank balance they had and whether the parents would stay with them.

And so Satish was nervous. The previous two alliances had failed to materialise on these grounds. First he was just a bank employee. True he earned well but …… he was not a software engineer in the USA was he? Plus he wanted his parents to stay with him. Yes on and off they would go to be with his brother in Coimbatore.

And so they went to see Maya. He liked Maya’s parents. Very soft-spoken and loving. They apologised that their daughter was late, their daughter taught in a school for children with special needs and sometimes the one to one sessions were prolonged.

Just then the door burst open and Maya came in, dumped her bag and said ‘HI’

She was in a jeans and a sweatshirt and her entry made Satish lose all hopes of this alliance materializing. Sigh when will he get his soul mate.

 And because they were running short on time, they both were asked to move to the next room and before he could ask something, she started blabbering.

I am sorry about my dress but you see my profession demands that i be in this dress as it helps to be mobile, also I do not want to relocate to USA so if you have any ideas to mve, just say so now and we can stop everything right now. ‘

‘No I don’t have any plans but do you mind if my parents stay with us.’

‘No, why should I? It’s your responsibility to look after them? But does it mean that you like me even with my shabby appearance?

Satish with his history of rejections had realised that appearances were deceptive and it was the nature which actually mattered , nodded a shy ‘yes’.’ But don’t you want to know how much I earn?’

‘Amma told that you work in a bank which means that you must be earning well and what matters is that we like each other, our thoughts should match, what is money–it can be earned isn’t it?

Satish was so ecstatic, he could hear the strains of ‘shubhmangal savadhan’. Finally he had met his soul mate.