Posted:
Though Anandi's smile had not waned since they walked through the door of his ancestral home in Udaipur hours ago, Shiv knew she was exhausted. Whether she said it or not she had missed the presence of her mothers during the wedding. Her birth mother had passed away after persuading her to marry Shiv. Anandi had yet to get over that loss and Sumitraji had been unable to return from U.S. in time for their wedding. Part of him had wanted to wait for Anandi to get over her divorce and grief at the loss of her mother, but daadiji and his parents had been unwilling to wait. Even he had been anxious to get the ceremonial and religious part over with... Anandi could take all the time in the world to become his bride in every way, but he wanted the official right to care for her in the interim. Now he had it. The HAQ to take care of her - to be there for her - to stand by her side.
With everyone in Jaitsar and his family in full attendance, what he had originally hoped would be a simple shaadi had become more of a mela. Moreover both families had insisted on performing every wedding ritual and then some. Anandi had been gracious about it all, but it had taken a physical as well as a mental toll on her. She had been so exhausted she had immediately fallen asleep during the long drive from Jaitsar. It was the first time she had physically leaned on him though in sleep. Glad for once to have a driver and be in a proper car instead of his jeep, he had stared to his heart's content. She was so beautiful - Jaitsar ki Rajkumari! Uski Pari! 😍
His fingers had itched to trace every feature of her perfect face...but, he had not wanted to wake her and ruin his dream! He had, however, been unable to stop himself from blowing away a stray hair that had come loose. Irritated, she had almost awakened but then clutched his arm and nestled even closer on his shoulder. His arm had eventually fallen as asleep as her, but he had never felt more alive and awake!😃 When he had finally woken her in Udaipur, she had crunched up her face like a child then smiled innocently before fully waking and backing away from him. Her exhaustion still palpable in the yawn she had attempted to stifle by turning her face away from him.
That had been hours ago - now even he was tired and nearing the end of his patience with all the rituals. He had asked his mother if they could go to bed a 1/2 hour ago, but everyone had misunderstood his question and laughed except Anandi. She had turned tomato red as had he after he realized what he had said. ☺️ He had tripped over his own tongue trying to fix his blunder, but it had been hopeless mission.😳 Finally, his mom had taken pity on him and informed him that there was just one final rasam - they had to find the ring in the bowl.
His buaji had brought over a ghamla full of milk and tossed his great grandmother's ring into it. She then explained that whomever found it would rule in the marriage. It made no sense to him. How could a ring determine the fate of their marriage? But, it was easier to do then argue. The sooner he found it the faster he could extricate them from the rasams and let Anandi rest.
With that though, he energetically searched the bowl as his family cheered him on. Anandi's search was much more lethargic. Her fingers shying away from his the instance they encountered his in the middle of the bowl. She blushed beet red and his own fingers stilled as he damned himself for once more becoming the reason for her discomfort. As he started to close his fist in frustration under the milky surface, he found the ring. In a flash of epiphany, he realized that she had found it first, but backed of when their fingers had touched. De facto letting him win. But, how could her loss be his win?
In the next moment of clarity, he finally understood the path to her heart. The ring would hopefully be start he had so desperately sought.
Shiv cleverly shifted the ring onto the top part of this index finger then stealthily placed his hand over Anandi's without breaking the opaque milky surface. She tried to gently pull away, but he held on and gazed into her eyes till she stilled, mesmerized.
Taking full advantage of her pause, he slipped the ring onto her ring finger and jointly drew out their hand still holding onto her ring finger with his index finger and thumb..their palms touching. Sighting the ring and their enjoined fingers - hushed silence rippled through the large Shekhar family living room. Draw - an outcome none had expected. Uncaring of the audience, looking deeply into her luminous hesitant eyes, Shiv boldly stated:
"Aapki jeet kabhi mera haar nahi ho sakta! Aaj iss waqt se - Aapki jeet hamesha humara jeet!" ("Your win cannot ever be my loss! From this moment onwards - your win will always be our win!")
****************************************************************************************************
Not sure I have done this concept justice! 😳 Also apologies for the sugar overdose😆
Edit - my hindi spelling capacity sucks... so feel free to correct me!
Health and Fitness
