The Marriage - Part 3

The Wait for the Groom

The day before the wedding was usually the busiest. There were a lot of things that needed to be done. Since the marriage was being performed in the traditional way, the bride’s family had to make separate accommodation for the groom and his entourage. They had been informed that the groom would arrive a day before the marriage. The girls and relatives were very excited to see the groom. Anjana and the others were also excited.

“Hey Anju! Want to come to Kumudini Palace?” Raji one of the bride’s relatives asked.

“Yes. But what is this Kumudini palace?”

“I will tell you on the way. The groom’s side is arriving in one hour. We need to be there to welcome them. Hurry up!” Anjana hurriedly groomed herself a bit before following Raji. The latter took her to a waiting car. Well, car was too soft a word for the vehicle in front of her.

Anjana couldn’t decide what it was called. It had a sleek body, wide enough to seat two persons comfortably. The door simply disappeared as she stood near the vehicle.

“Come on! Get in! We are going to be late!” Raji’s words jolted Anjana from her surprise and she entered the ‘car’.

The seat was soft and smooth like the cheeks of a baby, yet it was as strong as an ox. The windscreen was partially covered with the same A4 sheet proclaiming it to be a marriage vehicle. On the right side of the ‘car’ Raji sat. There was no steering wheel.

“How can she drive without a steering wheel?”

“Like this!” Raji grinned, obviously enjoying Anjana’s open amazement. “Drive to Kumudini Palace. We want to be there in twenty minutes unharmed and without harming anyone in our way.” She spoke loudly to no one in particular.

To the wonder of Anjana, the ‘car’ moved forward smoothly, picking up speed as it went. The journey was so smooth that Anjana couldn’t help marvelling at the technological advances this nation made.

“How does this thing work?”

“it has an internal fuel reactor that propels this vehicle. The reactor is encased in a powerful containment field that protects it from itself and others. The body is made of advanced reinforced twenty layer protection to prevent anyone from blowing it up. It is vulnerable only to military grade Nano-atomic Rays which can vaporise it completely.”

“What! Such ultra security for a simple ‘car’! Is your family on the hit list of terrorists?”

“No! But dad is crazy about new tech marvels. So we got this. Besides he’s paranoid about our safety. So it makes sense.”

Anjana spent the next few minutes listening to Raji’s monologue about the issues the women faced in this part of the country. Had she paid attention, she could have avoided some of the unpleasantness that she was to face.

Kumudini Palace was situated twenty kilometres from where Anjana was staying. This palace comprised of three parts; The Kumudini Bhavan – where the groom and his close family would stay; The Seesh Mahal – where the groom’s relatives would stay; The Anand Bhavan – where the groom’s friends and colleagues would stay. Apart from these three buildings, there was a servant’s annexe – a small 1000 room building.

Anjana didn’t feel surprised at the word ‘small’. Considering that Kumudini bhavan had 2000 rooms, Seesh Mahal had 4000 rooms and Anand Bhavan had 5000 rooms; the servants Quarters named – Seva Mahal – had only 1000 rooms and hence was considered ‘small’.

If all this grandeur was not enough, the palace compound that made up the 1000 acre land was even grander.

“They used to have an army march in the parade ground behind the palace. They even had the army barracks and training areas!” Raji said flummoxing Anjana yet again. It seemed the people of this country were masters of understatement. Who would describe such an indescribably wealthy family as insignificant?

She watched as the vehicle silently moved to the parking are after depositing them before the Kumudini Bhavan. The ladies waiting there heaved a sigh of relief as they Saw Raji.

“She’s a close relative of the bride and is technically her sister. So it is a must for her to welcome the groom and his family along with the bride’s parents.” Soukhya explained. Anjana was surprised to see her there. In fact all the other girls in her party seemed to be there eagerly waiting for the groom to arrive.

The ladies started chatting as they waited. Views were exchanged and debates raged over the appearance and character of the groom and his family. Anjana felt that if they had weapons they would attack each other and there would be a gruesome battle. Such was the ferocity of the debates and the way the ladies made short work of each other using nothing but words.

Anjana though amused, tuned out her mind from this verbal battle and gazed on the road ruminating on the similarities and differences in the cultures of both Bharat and Sourabha Rajyam. She didn’t understand why Professor Kumara Swamy was so worried about this mission. In fact it felt like a vacation rather than a top secret spy mission – no danger, no murderous attacks, not even a hint of discrimination; what the hell was she supposed to find out? How to get married? Or how to marry-off a daughter? Or how sickeningly rich this nation was? She felt that the professor had been exaggerating to make her feel nervous. She couldn’t find any other plausible reason for this mission which was more a pleasure trip.

“Another ten minutes!” Raji announced adjusting her dress and touching her makeup a bit. The other ladies stopped their battle and started adjusting their dresses too. Anyone who passed by would only notice a party of young and elderly ladies colourfully dresses like angels. They would not even be able to imagine that a fierce verbal war had taken place a few minutes ago. The place that had reverberated with the sarcastic remarks of the women was now ringing with excited laughter of the fairer sex. The transformation was remarkable. There seemed to be a unanimous agreement that the groom was a prince of some unknown system in an unknown galaxy who was visiting their country to choose a bride. As if that was the only job a prince had – to choose a bride! Anjana shook her head as she heard the fanfare of a military band approaching the palace.