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| image by ChatGPT put together by Latha Warrier |
The wedding party stood at the exit of the Guruvayoor bus stand. The two newly married couples, Ramchandra & Ammini and Appukuttan & Shreedevi were newlyweds. All four of them had just been part of exchange marriages that had secured the marriage of one sister of each of the men Appukuttan & Ramchandra. The men were both the breadwinners and the decision makers of their families. Ramchandra had married Ammini, Appukuttan's sister and Appukuttan had married Shreedevi, Ramchandra's sister. It had been a smooth morning with the ceremonies being celebrated at the auspicious moment, decided according to the position of the stars.
Normally the two parties would have gone their separate ways after the marriage, but Ramchandra's mother insisted that Appukuttan and his bride come and spend a couple of days at their home. Appukuttan, who was very practical in nature knew that in this way, he would be able to run a couple of important errands in the area before heading back to his house. So they all started walking to the bus stand to take a bus to Kottarakara.
In Ammini's heart though the wedding had created a distinct break between her old life and her new. She was still a bit intimidated by her older brother Appukuttan but she knew that her focus was now her new family. As she stood with these strangers who had their new shiny labels of family members she suddenly took in the whole experience. Till this morning, the people she'd known would be less of her family than the faces she now looked at. For a minute, she wanted to cry as she remembered her mother, her home, the temple in her home, the pond where she took her bath and the room which she'd called her own. Then she remembered the elation she'd felt hiding in the inner room of her home observing her husband when he had come to see her just six days ago. She suddenly realised that she was now the centre of attention of the group and this made her feel beautiful. She was wearing the best ever saree and even had a gold chain and her 'taali' or symbol of marriage tied to the sacred thread. She felt like a queen for just this one morning of her life. The flowers on her hair had a heady scent and she realised that she was feeling light headed. She reached out and held on to her husband's arm as she felt her body start to buckle over.
Ramchandra responded immediately and arrested the fall. He realised that his new bride was probably exhausted by the activities of the morning. Her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law Subhadra immediately gave her some water to drink. Her mother-in-law cooed her name 'Ammini' in the softest tones. Her husband held a hand towel over her face to block out the heat of the Sun. She realised she'd been transported to another world. Looking at her husband's silhouette with the sun shining above him, she smiled. Everyone nervously smiled back. Her brother and Shreedevi and the rest of her maternal family watched what was happening. Ammini avoided looking at her brother Appukuttan. She didn't want the attention she was being showered to get diluted in any way. When she was better, the group headed once again to a tea stall, insisting that she eat something again. She prayed to the deities back home, remembering their images as she ate a fried lentil ball or a 'parippu vada' with coconut chutney and sambar. She sipped on the glass of tea and then saw Ramchandra was sitting across her on the simple wooden bench. She smiled at him and lowered her eyes. The others including her young brother-in-law Achutan were busy eating and talking about when the next bus back home was arriving. They knew they would take the bus, but there was not so much of an urgency to reach anywhere. Only once her mother-in-law was satisfied that Ammini seemed strong enough, they made their way to the bus station.
She saw the bus, they were to travel in, arrive. It was written 'Kottarakara' on the front. She immediately started imagining what Kottarakara would look like. She entered the bus with Ramchandra behind her and got a seat by the window. He was close to her and her new and maternal families were scattered in the seats ahead. Shreedevi looked relieved to be sitting not far from her own mother. She had the good luck of having her own mother around and going back to her maternal home for another couple of days. The bus started and the journey began. Before she knew it, Ammini had dozed off, her head nestled on Ramchandra's shoulders. She slept a deep sleep, one like that of a newborn who has had their first feed after the excruciating experience of having been born. Happy, pulled inwards unsure of their new surroundings and exhausted. There were no dreams in her sleep, she was now living her dream.
Like this story? You may not want to miss any new post by
You may like the first two parts of this story here under if you've missed them.
How my Daddy met my Mummy - Ramchandra & Ammini - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child
or you would maybe appreciate stories from my mother's childhood
or this one about my father and me when I was a teenager
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