The Sweet Bomb!

30th October - It was a normal day just as any other day. The sky is bright and the weather is pleasant. My father left for office. I and my mom were at home busy as usual with our daily activities totally oblivious of the events that were to unfold before me.

At 11am the phone rang.....Tring...Tring...I ran to pick up the phone. It was my father."Hello Manu!Come to my office"I asked "why?". He said "Come immediately"and ended the call. I ran and got my bike keys and drove to his office wondering what it might be. (my father's office is just 5 minutes by walk...but I was very curious so I drove down - a small justification for going by bike)

 

I entered my father's room and he welcomed me with a big smile(as usual). I was curious. He told me to sit down and said he was very happy. I was even more curious now. I asked "what happened nana" (nana in telugu means father). He said "I have a very good news to share with you. And you will also be pleased to know that". Telling this he started smiling more and he was happy (very happy indeed). Curiosity was getting the better of me.

He asked "Do you remember Gayathri aunty's son-Arvind?". I replied "yes" vaguely remembering HIM. Their family and my parents family were close friends for 20 years but I never got a chance to meet their son. Then my father said that they had liked me and had asked for my horoscope. My parents had sent my horoscope and our horoscopes had matched-which is the first step in  the marriage process.( All these were done without my knowledge because tradition has it that only after the horoscopes match the other events are set into motion - and that includes telling to the girl also!).

So now I knew the reason behind my father's happiness. It was a bolt out of the blue sky as I was not even aware that my parents were planning my marriage. My father told me that it is a very good news...and he asked my opinion. I was in a state of shock and was upset that I hadn't been updated about  these proceedings. I was not at all prepared for anything of this magnitude. My mind had many questions when I heard the term 'marriage'....what will happen to my dream of entering the Corporate world??My MBA??My aspirations?? I know about their family... a very nice family. But what about the boy? I had  never met him. And our professions were different. Here I was - an engineer and there he was - a plastic surgeon. How could this possibly work out?? While my mind was engrossed in these thoughts, I noticed that my father was waiting for an answer. I answered that I want time as everything was unexpected - all these events rapidly unfolding before me. My father said "Fine. Now you go home, think and tell me at 3:00p.m today". I hesitantly nodded and went home confused,scared,worried and had my lunch.

As the clock ticked my heart skipped beats! It was 3:00 p.m. and I had never seen time to run so fast. Those were the days in school when we would eagerly wait for the 3:00 pm bell to go home, but time would crawl at snail's pace especially the last period. Time was unfair and I prayed to God that I just vanish into thin air (at least for today). The phone  rang again... Tring...Tring ...but this time I wasnt ready to lift the phone. My mother pestered me to lift the phone and it then dawned on me that my mother too was in the know-how of this entire issue (obviously). I reluctantly picked up and I heard my father's voice on the other side. He asked my decision - he was expecting my answer to be 'yes' as the boy's family was known to my parents for over 2 decades and he was an obedient,highly qualified boy and to sum up, in my father's view he was Mr.Perfect - A typical father's wish for the apple of his eye. But I was not ready for him, for marriage, but wouldnt dare to disappoint my father at this moment as he nurtured more dreams for me and my good future. I thought of a way out for the moment and told  my father "Nana! I want to talk to the boy and only then would I be able to decide. I want to get to know HIM. So for now I cannot give a positive reply. Only after I talk with the boy would I be able to give you my reply". My father heard everything patiently and said "Ok". Experienced as he was and knowing his daughter well, he had seen through my thoughts.

So at last it was decided by both our parents that Nov 30th would be the day for our first meeting! So now I am keeping my fingers crossed happy that the issue was solved for the moment but was wary of what was to come. Lets see!!!!