Chaitra

As I walked down holding Dev bhai's hand, my eyes roamed around my home which was decorated like a new bride. Garlands are hanging from the staircase railings and from the threshold of every door. The hall is bustling with the relatives as they are all engaged in the talks about god knows what. The kids are running around trying to catch each other while the elders are laughing in groups discussing their lives. There are young couples sneaking glances at each other and a few old couples acting cute. The workers are on their toes serving juices and tea to the guests while my father, Maamu, and Mama along with Atha and Nanamma are busy talking to the guests.

Then my sight moved to my other two brothers who are dressed in kurtas similar to Dev bhai's. My eyes then moved to the temple which is decorated with garlands of marigold and roses while the mango leaves were tied on the top of the threshold of the temple. All the deities are adorned with jewels and flowers of different types. 

There was a grinding stone with an opening in the middle to hold the ingredients along with the long stick laid on a side(rolu rokali). After maa received a call from Daksh's maa sa saying they were done with the ritual, they moved the rolu and rolallu to the living room. First, they applied turmeric all over the stick and then tied mango leaves around it. Then they adorned it with a small garland made of flowers followed by a yellow thread with betel leaf tied to it.

Mumma applied turmeric and kumkum to the stone and then performed aarthi to both of them. Once they were done with Aarthi, Mumma, Atha, Maami, Naani, and Ishika bhabi added a few turmeric stems into the rolu, and then 5 of them started hitting the sticks inside the rolu with rokali. This is a ritual where 5 married women will make haldi powder which is considered a good sign and a blessing for the married life of the new couple. It is like a prayer to Maa Gauri to bless the couple with health and peace. 

I sat there along with my brothers and Bindu Vadina as the ladies continued with their work until the turmeric sticks turned into powder and then they took the powder into a plate. Vadina couldn't take place in the ritual given her health so she sat with us. This turmeric will be now used in all our wedding rituals. 

Mumma and Atha then made me sit on a chair and made me give taambulam to all the married women while they blessed me happily. Taambulam is betel leaves with a betel or sound packet along with a fruit. It will be given to the married women and they will take it holding their saree with both hands and then bless the person giving it with raw rice mixed with turmeric. 

Once I was done giving taambulam to everyone, I took blessings from my family in pairs and then 5 ladies gave me aarthi and applied a little kumkum between my brows and then I was free to get up. 

"You are free to sleep after breakfast now," Maami said caressing my cheeks and I smiled like a kid who just got his chocolate after listening to the word sleep. We all took a few pictures and then had our breakfast post which they all left me to my sleep and I took a good nap.

"Chaithu...wake up," I felt someone shaking me and a groan left my mouth as I tried to cover my ears and fall back into slumber but they were adamant about waking me up. I finally gave up and sat straight on my bed with a huff.

"What now?" I asked looking at my monkey brother, i.e., Hithu. He rolled his eyes at me pointing to the clock.

"Get up and eat. Malli aakaliki kothila egirithe nenu aithe thechhi pettanu eesari," He warned and I smiled at him sheepishly. Every time I skipped my lunch, one of my brothers would feed me when I woke up while I threw tantrums about food being cold or me being very hungry.

(I won't feed you this time even if you jump like a monkey saying you are hungry)

I got up and had my lunch along with my brothers as all others had their lunch and are currently preparing a list of people whom they need to invite.

"Vadina, did you add Mr. Rao's name?" I heard Atha asking Mumma to which she nodded in affirmation.

"Guys, are you sure it is going to be a close family wedding?" I whispered to my brothers as we settled on the couches with elders sitting a little away from us completing their lists.

"Whom all are we going to invite by the way?" Hithu enquires as he takes out his phone and gets engaged in replying to someone.

"Mumma said we will be inviting your grandparents, your uncles and aunts, Ishika's family, Dev bhai's eternal grandparents along with his uncles and aunts, Mumma's long-distance cousins, Ammamma's cousins(Chaitra's paternal grandmother), their kids, their grandchildren, then a few people from our village and a few close friends of you, Dev bhai, Akash, Ishika, me and Chaithu. That's all from our side. Oh and a few hotel staff who were with us from the start," Bindu bhabi explained and we all looked at her shocked.

"That's basically 100 to 150 people! And there will be people from Daksh's side. If we assume the same count from that side too, it would be 300 people!" Ishika bhabi exclaimed and we all nodded in agreement.

"But we can't cut out anyone. Technically, they are all family. If any there will be adding to the list," Annayya pointed out the obvious and we all nodded in agreement.

"So, we have to make arrangements for 300 people to stay and travel, if I am not wrong," Hithu exclaimed as he started searching for extra rooms in nearby hotels. We can adjust up to some 200 people in our hotel but we can't cancel any of the pre-booked rooms nor we can occupy the entire hotel for ourselves.

"I will see about the travel, I guess," Dev bhai took out his mobile to book the traveling arrangements while Ishika bhabi and Bindu vadina laid back relaxing. Akash annayya is handling catering and decorations. 

"Vadina, you want anything?" I ask as I see Vadina huffing, caressing her tummy. Her eyes lit up as soon as the words left my mouth and she nodded vigorously.

"I want black grapes with honey," She demanded and I tried my level best not to scrunch my nose at her weird demand. It is still better than having lays with honey which I saw her eating yesterday. She said it was awesome.

"I will go get them," I volunteered and turned to my brothers asking if they wanted anything. 

"Water would do," Hithu mumbled and I walked into the kitchen with Viv on my tail. I separated the grapes from the stems and poured them in a bowl then added a pinch of salt to it before washing them thoroughly with salt to get rid of any pesticides and other chemicals. Then I drained them and took out the honey bottle along with two water bottles and apple juice.

I poured the apple juice into a glass and gave it to Viv who started having it very happily. I took the remaining things to the hall with Viv walking behind me with his juice glass attached to his lips as he sipped the juice.

I gave Vadina her fruits and honey and passed water bottles to  Hithu and Nanna. After that, everyone was once again engrossed in the discussions but this time it was about our trip to Bhadrachalam which is going to happen as soon as my exams concluded which would be in 10 days to be precise.

Nanna asked me not to go back to the hostel but to stay in our hotel but Naksh bhai and Rohan bhai convinced him to let me stay at Chauhans until I complete my exams. Nanna has been particularly protective of me for the last 2 months and once he went hyper and called all my brothers to search for me when I didn't answer his call 2 times. Daksh says I am overanalyzing it but my gut feeling says there is something Nanna is hiding from me. 

For starters, he never wanted me to marry before I turned 25 but he was the one who insisted on getting us married as soon as we both agreed. He says he just wants to see me happy and doesn't want to lose a great man like Daksh but him being adamant even after Daksh agreed to wait until I was ready is not convincing.

What secrets is my father hiding now?

I know he never means any bad to me but this thing is not leaving my mind. There is something Nanna is hiding from all of us and it is definitely related to me but what is it?