The Marriage - Part 1
The Journey to the Bride's House
Anjana went to bed, her mind full of the horror she had just read in the book. "How could any decent ruler humiliate a fellow Royal woman like that!" It was the most barbaric act she had ever known. It reminded her of a certain TV Series that she had watched back home in Bharat where a certain religious leaders of the church make a queen do a "Walk of Shame" for something she didn't remember. It was what these religious people considered a sin. She had remembered this scene where the queen walks naked among the streets and the people throws rotten tomatoes and all at her.
She also remembered reading that shaming women was a popular weapon to demoralise the enemy and was considered a good strategy by medieval armies. It showed the horrible superiority complex men had and the zeal to supress women through atrocities during war and through brainwashing inferiority complex in women was not uncommon. Even in Bharat some of the people had tried to do this but had failed miserably. She was shocked that this kingdom's history had something she had read only in history books.
"This is Earth calling Princess Anjana! Come in please! This is Ground Control, Planet Earth calling Princess Anjana. Come in please! PRINCESS!!!"
Anjana woke up in shock at the loud shout near her ear! She found her roommates standing round her grinning crazily! She groaned loudly much to their amusement and wild giggles.
"I Will Kill You All!!!!" she said picking up her pillow.
"Haan! Ok, Okay!!" said one of the girls in a Blue Silk Saree. "You are Laaaaaaaaateeee!!!!!" Anjana was confused. "Late for What?" That earned her a smack from behind from another girl standing her. "Arey, Stop dreaming about Prince Charming and get ready. If Lalitha finds out we were delayed by your lovely dreams, she's gonna roast us all and serve us for dinner to her guests!!" A look of horror crept on Anjana's face as she remembered that her best friend Lalitha's marriage was going to be held in three days and she was supposed to attend it without fail. The Shuttle to the Wedding Site would leave at 11.30 am that day.
"What's the time?" she asked apprehensively.
"Oh, it's just 9 am My Lady!" another one showed her impatience with sarcasm.
"Rama, Rama!" Anjana gasped as she jumped from the bed and ran into the bathroom to get ready. She finished at a whirlwind pace and was ready by 10 am. She really looked like a princess in her Green coloured, hand woven, Gadwal Silk saree and matching jewellery. Strangers passing by would certainly mistake her to be a Royal Lady inspecting her province.
The group of 25 young, teenage women left the safety of their hostel and stepped into the Taxi that would take them to the District Shuttle Terminus that catered to travel within the Province. Here Smaller Shuttles painted the official colour of white and green, would transport passengers to the deeper parts of the province. Anjana was reminded of the State Transport Corporation Buses that she was used to travelling in back home in Bharat.
She and her friends settled themselves comfortably in the Shuttle that had a "Samanthula Vari Vivaha Veduka; Lalitha weds Bhaskar" printed in a beautiful, artistic design on an A4 size paper and pasted on the passenger side windscreen of the shuttle. This shuttle obviously was reserved only for women and girls; so whatever fears Anjana had about her safety were dispelled. "Am I getting paranoid?" She thought. "That book is certainly messing up my mind."
The journey was pleasant and fun filled as they played a lot of games, sang and even danced! The kids in the wedding party also did their part adding to the chaos, running along the length of the shuttle. The older ladies even shared some mouth-watering dishes they had made at home. The shuttle sped smoothly along the countryside that was rich in green vegetation, hills, farmers and the like giving a beautiful panoramic view of the landscape. Anjana was impressed that despite the progress in science and technology, warfare and all, the country had managed to preserve its rural life so well.
The shuttle eased into the Suyodhana Domestic Shuttle Terminus after a three hour journey. They were now supposed to go to the bride's house to attend the wedding that was three days away. There were so many things to do before and after the marriage! She just hoped she was just in time and would find her friend happy. She was a bit nervous as she alighted in the not so brilliant Shuttle Terminus and walked towards the exit. The wide platforms had various stalls selling, tea, snacks, food, books, medicines and a lot of other assorted things that usually are found in such places. A few staff milled around the Information Centre going about their duties. A few others catered to the passengers who wanted to book tickets on the spot. Some others were shouting the destinations the shuttles would go to, trying to get passengers to take their shuttle. Anjana was surprised that despite the galactic scale tech, they nation seemed to follow some very ancient methods of filling the seats in the shuttles.
Anjana and her group were mobbed by the taxi drivers as soon as they exited the Terminus. It reminded her of the taxi drivers back home and it brought a smile on her face. "Some things never change!" she thought as she moved along with her group towards three beautifully decorated luxury buses parked a bit away from the Terminus. Each bus had the A4 poster proclaiming that it was a "Marriage Special Service". Two buses were filled with women and children while the third was occupied by men.
The journey to the bride's home was not so smooth as this was on the rough village roads. Still, the roads had no potholes to churn out your guts and make you lose your breakfast. But, there were some speed-breakers at important junctions; so the driver would have to slow down. After half an hour the buses stopped in front of an old palatial building. The compound was so big it had a separate area for parking heavy vehicles. The wedding party alighted and the buses went to the designated parking area.