The marriage was amazing! Held in one of the largest halls available, the parents of the bride had gone to great extents to ensure pomp! The bride glittered, decked in jewelery while the parents of the bride n groom flaunted all the accessories associated with the marriage. She met a lot of cousins, old friends, "interesting' people and of course uncles,aunts, grandpas n grandmas who never failed to use the same exclaimation " Oh my! uv grown sooo much! i remember when u mother smaller than u!"( *SIGH*, they haven't shrunk either) ...
The best part was the food... innumerable items were served, irrespective of whether it was it would be consumed by the guest or thrown away! she had her share of good food, refusing nothing and tasting all delicacies. Not liking something was not an issue, she could leave it on the "banana leaf", no questions asked. After attending everything other than the first night, she left with her parents in their car.
"We will be having guests at home tomorrow, are there sweets at home?", her dad asked her mother. Her mother dutifully replied that it was better to stop at the sweet shop and get some "stuff" while going home... Her dad stopped the car outside a huge sweet shop . " Stay in the car, let me go in and get the sweets" he said...Thinking of nothing particular, she looked out of the window...
Three children were sitting on the platform, wearing nothing. Their parents were sitting near them, engaged in a heated discussion. The three children were bickering over a plate, with some left over food. the youngest kid dropped the plate down and everything there came to a standstill. The father lost no time in slapping the child hard and grabbing the little hair on her head. The child screamed in pain... the father was now in a rage, verbally abusing all the three kids who were crying loudly.The mother intervened and got slapped immedeately.That did not prevent her from sticking up for her kids. Then, she picked the little food that had fallen down and put it back on the plate, consoling the kids. The father, now, distracted had starting drinking contentedly from his whiskey bottle.
She wondered.. would the children get decent meals everyday? would they ever even have a chance to get educated? or would the legacy continue? with them bringing up their kids on the platform? see their grandchildren playing on the same platform? be devoid of basic amenities? Would they ever get a chance to look beyond their small world?
Her father was back with the sweets... Kaju Katli and Mysore Pauk! YUM!
