The Marriage - Part 2

The Preparations

Anjana and her friends received the traditional welcome with a mangala harathi and breaking the Pumpkin to ward off the evil. A mangala harathi was given to special guests by the host to welcome them warmly. The hostess or a female representative from the host's family, who is dressed in a traditional saree or a half saree, would be ready holding a plate - usually a copper plate - with camphor balls. She would light the camphor balls and wave the plate in front of the host three times in clockwise direction. Sometimes this is done using a pumpkin also and the pumpkin is discarded. Using a pumpkin is considered informal and is used to welcome long lost relatives.

"Aunt, where is the bride?" Anjana asked looking around for her friend who was nowhere in sight. "She's in her room busy getting ready for her Haldi Ceremony." she replied. "You girls freshen up first. You must be tired after the long journey. Haldi starts after two hours."

The group went to their designated rooms. Anjana had not imagined that Lalitha was so rich that she owned a palace. "Is she Royal?" she asked her friend who nodded yes. "She belongs to a local Landlord who was very influential once upon a time. The influence is gone but the wealth remains. They are still the richest family in the nearby 40 villages and command respect even today among the villagers."

As the group walked wide eyed at the 2500 room palace that had corridors artistically painted and pillars that were sculpted exquisitely. There were wide open galleries that gave plenty of air and sunlight. It was magnificent and awe inspiring. But very tiring too as one had to walk long distances. One didn't need special exercises to maintain fitness. Walking through the corridors three to four times a day was an exercise in itself.

The room allotted to Anjana was large enough to accommodate ten women. The queen size bed was larger than the largest bed in any 7 star hotel. The lavishly decorated room, the wealth on display was mind boggling. It screamed class and refinement in taste. The Bathroom - what to say; Anjana was so stunned she couldn't believe her eyes. The bathtub was so large that she was sure it could at least ten people in it. The facilities in the bathroom were those she could only dream of. Never had she thought that she would live to see what she had only read in books and seen in movies.

It took her a lot of time to get used to the ambience and get ready for the Haldi Ceremony. If she hadn't known about her friend's reaction if she missed such an important ceremony, Anjana would have spent the rest of the day dreaming and savouring everything in the room. She somehow managed to regain control of her senses and get ready which was very difficult.

The haldi was being held in one of the courtyards where everyone from the family was present. The bride was sitting on a stool clad in a bath towel. Older women and youngsters were standing around the bride. Lalitha ran forward to hug Anjana as soon as she saw her approaching the venue. Anjana reciprocated the hug as she was meeting her after almost a month.

"I am so glad you came, Anju!"

"How could I miss your wedding idiot!"

"I would have killed you if you missed it!"

"I know the kind of Rakshasi (female devil) you are!" Anjana giggled. "So, I came."

"She almost missed it you know?" butted in Rajani. "We had to wake the princess before her prince charming took her away!"

"Yeah, she is next! We will definitely find her prince charming. That is my promise!" Lalitha kept her hand on her chest in a dramatic way making everyone laugh.

"Lalli! Your friends are not going anywhere. Come fast!" one of the Elderly ladies called Lalitha. She spun around and walked to the stool. In the process the towel she had wrapped around her body fell off and her assets were exposed to the world to see. Even Anjana was shocked for a while looking at Lalitha's beautifully sculpted body. Every part was so beautiful that it seemed Lord Brahma had taken great care to create her. She wondered how Lalli's husband would react when he saw her in her birthday suit when the marriage was to be consummated.

"Hey! Wrap this!" Anjana tried to give the towel to Lalli. "No, need kid. A towel that has fallen on the ground cannot be used now. Besides, we were going to remove it anyway." another lady responded.

"What! She will be naked during haldi?"

"Of course! How else do you expect her to be?"

"Perhaps, she hasn't attended haldi ceremonies before."

"Okay, girl. Watch carefully. This will happen to you some day." another lady chuckled.

And Anjana watched the ceremony with a open mouth. The bride was made to sit on the stool and one by one the ladies started applying turmeric paste to the bride's, face, neck, shoulders, hands, back, breasts, belly, thighs, buttocks and her pussy, in that order. The bride was blushing all the while. The unmarried girls and young women watched attentively as it would happen to them as well some day. The married women recalled their marriages which brought smiles on their faces. The bride had to get up several times when turmeric was being applied to her backside and then sit again as they applied the paste between her legs.

There was another young girl of ten who was the co-bride beside the actual bride. This girl served a ceremonial purpose only and would also go through haldi ceremony like the bride. She too was made to sit though not completely naked like the bride and turmeric paste was being applied to her as well. The focus was more on the bride and everyone was being as thorough as possible.

Then the bride and the co-bride went through the mangala snanam - a holy shower. A sieve was placed over both the bride and the co-bride and water freshly brought from the family well was poured over them through the sieve. This was done till all the turmeric was washed off. Then five ladies bathed the bride and co-bride using sunni pindi - a paste made by adding water to yellow gram powder. They made sure every part of the duo was cleaned thoroughly. After this, the bride dried herself while a few women helped dry off her hair. The co-bride being too young got the help of her mother to dry off and get dressed. The bride however had no such luck. She was wrapped in a towel and taken to a drier part of the courtyard and then she was helped to get dressed in a saree.