Teaser 1

She looked on helplessly as her father's second cousin fought with her soon-to-be father-in-law's third cousin over which kind of food was more nutritious, Maharashtrian poha or  South Indian idli.  It was the day of their engagement. But instead of being about the bride and bridegroom, the entire event had been hijacked by the relatives and they were busy snubbing and bickering amongst each other. 

She and her almost fiance watched on helplessly as the relatives that they had not seen in years turned their only engagement into a chaotic circus. Somewhere her mama (her maternal grand mother's second cousin's son) was busy complaining that the groom had no manners as he had not touched his feet when he passed him. At the same time, his bua's sister-in-law was busy criticising the bride for being too thin and wondering out loud whether she would be able to produce kids all the while trying to fit her large self in a chair. 

Elsewhere some random neighbour (his grandmother had been neighbours with the family at some point) was complaining that the food was not up to the mark as she gorged on a malai Tikki and a corn particle. A random uncle was complaining that there was no booze and the mocktails were watery. 

They both watched on as their parents went about trying to keep their own side happy while being mindful of the needs of the other side. She looked at the man beside her. He was almost a stranger to her. She was worried about what he would think about her seeing the way her side of the party was behaving. He was having similar worries as he watched his side of the party trying to boss her side around under the guise of being the boy's side. Their eyes met and they wanted to offer each other some comfort but instead, they exchanged a grimace. 

Finally, unable to take it any longer she took a deep breath and got up from the throne-like seat in which she was seated and offered him an apologetic look and shouted, "That's it! I don't want to get engaged!"