Maryada: Vidya-Gaurav FF - Updates. p. 145 (6/29) - Page 7

Originally posted by: Calliope

Hmm...maybe... But then again Devi, the man who ignores his wife for most part of the day suddenly wakes up at gives a tour of the house and also shares something personal - one of his favorites places in the mansion.

Maybe its his way of welcoming her and telling her an escape from possible alienation in that big mansion just because of the massiveness in its scale.

Chapter 10 – The third First Night – Part 1

She had been right. Her mother-in-law did ask her to change into one of the lehengas that she had bought for her. Luckily, it was a manageable sort and if Vidya found that if she walked carefully, she wouldn't trip. The day passed in a blur as half-way through she moved into autopilot, smiling when she met someone new, nodding when they remarked on something that they were required to, and giving short and sweet answers to all the regular pleasantries of 'new-bride' conversation. Devyani and Uttara and Imli and Sweety were all much more social than she was; they thrived on people and festivities, while she herself found that she could do it only for limited amounts at a time. Her mind wandered off nowhere and everywhere at once and she wondered when she would be able to sit down. She saw her husband only once in passing during the day and aside from exchanging a nod, there had been no other interaction between them. The women who surrounded her at that time had made a big fuss about that nod as they took her off to the Haldi ceremony, which turned out to be one of the most embarrassing parts of the evening. These were not her people and she felt strange sitting amidst them in a frail white wrapping that left her shoulders, legs, and waist bare as they rubbed the haldi all over her skin. Their touch was not aversive, but just uncomfortable and disconcerting. What made it worse was that they kept up a steady conversation about what would happen that night, which was more of the same sort of thing that she had tried to escape unsuccessfully with her mother and aunts, but this time with more conjectures about how her husband would be… she didn't know how they could talk about things like that when her husband's mother and sister were right there, but they did not seem to mind. Many of the older women were of the opinion that Gaurav, being the quiet and serious type, would likely be a revelation in how he would romance his wife, as they were sure that still waters ran deep. She wanted to know what that proverb had anything to do with how her husband would be inclined romantically, but she did not ask. And soon after, she lost all her power of speech when she saw the outfit* that her mother-in-law had bought for her to wear to her suhaag raat. At her first glimpse of it, she had actually laughed, thinking that they had accidentally slipped Imli's clothes into her pile. And then she had stopped laughing when she realized that they were all smiling, but serious. It was a long lehenga, at least, not like the short skirts that Imli wore, but it had a most troubling similarity with Imli's blouses, with those innumerous ties on the back…

A memory of last night came back strongly then and she looked at Imli with a flushed face. Imli didn't understand the precise reason for her blush and mistook it for a virgin bride's shyness and quickly came around to pull the white wrapping off of her. Vidya was caught by surprise at this sudden disrobing and clutched the white cloth to her chest as Imli pulled on it. They did not realize that she was not putting on affectations and Uttara Maasi came up behind her to tickle her into letting go of her grasp of the cloth. She imagined what Panchali must have really felt like when Imli pulled harder on the cloth and it made her turn around and around until it finally came loose completely. There was no Krishna to supply her with unlimited cover to her modesty… although Devyani, Uttara maasi and Sweety surrounded her quickly as they made her put on the scandalous lehenga from before. She was glad that there was a dupatta; she could at least make sure that everything remained covered later when they left her. Then came the jewelry. As they put each piece on that weighed her down and made her think of her long run after the train just two days ago, she wondered why they bothered putting these on if they thought that her husband would take it all off anyways. Some randy grandma called out precisely that when she said, "Arey, make sure they all have easy clasps. Nothing ruins the moment like a heavy necklace that limits access and you can't take off!" That comment brought on much laughter and whistling and she stood there and revised her opinion. Maybe they should put some things on her that could not be undone without multiple locks and keys.

Finally, it was all over and she was brought over to the bedroom, which looked not a whit like the room that she had slept in last night. She imagined that there was some garden somewhere that had lost all its blossoms for this one night between her and her husband. As if all the flowers in the world would ease her anxiety and shame. It was all too much, the dress, the jewelry, the garden… she could feel a pounding headache starting to work its way through to her head and reminded herself that these were just the last few minutes before she would be alone… She took a deep breath as she turned around to face Devyani with a forced smile, trying to hide the fear that was now making her skin clammy and cold. On impulse, she hugged her mother-in-law for a quick moment, feeling choked up and wanting her mother. She quickly let go when she realized what she had done, but Devyani held onto her and whispered, "It will be alright. My oldest son has the most gentle heart that you will ever find. I promise." Vidya was surprised at this acknowledgment of her fright from her mother-in-law and even if she was not reassured, she felt her headache lessen from pounding to throbbing.

And soon enough, they were all gone and she was alone. She closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know when her husband would come in, but she would not wait for him in agony like she did that first night. If she felt sleepy and he still had not come, she would sleep. She didn't think he would mind. She didn't think he wanted to have such a ceremonious suhaag raat either and was almost certain that he would not initiate anything physical between them, but at the same time, she could not bank on her "almost certainness" so much that she would be caught by surprise if he did request his marital rights.

She walked around the room for some time before climbing into bed with her journal and made sure that her dupatta covered the revealing back of her blouse and her hair before settling down to write. She managed to write two and a half pages before she fell asleep next to her open journal in all her wedding finery, quite alone, exactly as she wished.

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* http://touchofbollywood.com/2/images/670_0_1090851_260074.jpg

Originally posted by: Calliope

Aaah... the sultriness of the 90s when it was all about bare backs and wide Lehengas 😆

I....skipped most part of the chapter D, sorry!!! 😳

Can I bribe you to write more from Gaurav's perspective? Please? Pretty please?
Will give you a hamper of virtual cookies if you do so 🤗

Calliope