Arranged

Arranged

It was 1974, and Priya was getting ready to get married to Rahul; a boy she barely knew. Her father and his uncle knew each other since childhood and worked at a factory together. The families were meeting together in their homes this weekend, and her mother asked Priya to cook the meal. It felt like an interview. She felt like her paneer tikka masala was going to be judged by her future mother-in-law, husband and future father-in-law as the last assessment before tying the knot. 

Priya’s mother, Darshana, prepped her for months so that she could dish out a five-course meal that would captivate everyone’s hearts and cause everyone to salivate. “Happy tummy=Happy Husband=Happy life” her mom would say. Priya rolled her eyes.

Priya disagreed. She did not sign up for this. She dreamed about her childhood actor crush, Aamir Khan and she had a degree in Economics. She had planned to take over the world, and now she was wearing a traditional sari and breaking out in a sweat in the kitchen. She smelled like coriander. Was her life going to just be slaving away in the kitchen?

Priya did have a say. She could have run away and hid in her best friend’s hostel in Europe. She could have eloped with the troublemaker in the neighborhood who wanted to date her on multiple occasions in secret. But for some reason, she didn’t.

Priya secretly believed that Rahul would be a good man to her. He had kind eyes, and he was soft spoken. He seemed loyal. He seemed like someone who would be willing to deal with her.

Priya and her mom arranged the dinner table as everyone slowly entered the house. Rahul looked handsome, dressed in a casual Indian kurta. His hair was wavy and thick, and his big eyes slowly drifted towards her and let out a grin. Rahul was lean and very tall. Priya felt knots in her stomach as she slowly looked over at her future in laws.

It was time for her last assessment. She was ready to serve her future arranged family her home cooked meal. She looked over at Rahul. He closed his eyes as he was going to sink into her paneer tikka masala and looked as if he was about to kiss it. Priya blushed. He looked at her with approval; he liked her dish. It appeared her in laws did too.

Her in laws let Priya take Rahul to a separate room to talk and gave them privacy. They sat across from each other and stared at each other. Then Priya slowly asked, “What did you think of the food that I made?”

“It was delicious”, Rahul said.

Priya smiled. She could smell the turmeric and cumin emanating from Rahul’s mouth. She thought it was funny. He slowly moved towards her and held her face in his hands.

“Do you still want to marry me?”, he asked. “Are you sure about this, and us?”

His gentle eyes gazed at Priya with affection. 

“Yes” Priya said, “But only if you let me work, and only if I have to cook 3 days out of the week, take out the rest!”

Rahul started laughing hysterically. He said, “Yes of course. I can also make us some Maggi noodles, and I would like to take you out to dinner sometimes”.

Rahul edged in with his turmeric and cumin scented lips, and he pressed them against Priya. Priya did not mind. She was going to marry Rahul. She kissed him back and together they smelled like the spicy masala at the Indian restaurant next door. “We are going to work” Priya thought. She did not mind kissing Rahul at all. She felt bold and slowly stuck her tongue in Rahul's mouth and swore she could almost taste all of her dinner in there. Rahul was pleasantly surprised. He was going to find that Priya was not the shy traditional wife that his parents hoped for, but he was intrigued by Priya and the fact that she did not follow the rules. He rather preferred it this way.

The next morning, Priya got dressed in red. She wore gold earrings, bangles, and anklets on her feet. She wore a red dot. (bhindi) on her forehead, and red lipstick to match her outfit. She covered her face with a bay leaf so that Rahul would not see her until they both sat around the fire at the alter. She fasted that morning as it was the traditional thing to do. Tonight, she would be traveling to Delhi to live with Rahul and his family. Somehow, she did not feel nervous. She felt like she was just going home to another family just like hers.

Her mom was pacing around the wedding venue, and her eyes looked sunken and tired. She knew that it would be different once Priya left the home and married into her husband's new family. Priya was ready. She sat at the alter and saw Rahul approaching her. He wore a white kurta with a turban, and he looked handsome. They walked around the fire together and held hands. As customary, they fed each other sweets after their union. Rahul grabbed her after the ceremony to a hidden spot in the hallway and kissed her deeply. "We are married now", he said shyly. Priya grinned. She loved the innocence that Rahul exuded. She was going to be his forever. He loved Priya with a certain care and caution and made sure not to not hurt her that night. She felt safe with Rahul.

The next morning Priya made Rahul uthappam, a traditional savory crepe topped with tomatoes and onion. They quickly packed some clothes and departed for the local train station. Her mother had prepped her well as Priya had nonchalantly also packed a tiffin for her and Rahul for the ride to Goa, which was filled with lemon rice and lentils, which were apparently Rahul's favorite.

Food and love would become the center of Priya and Rahul's lives, and a year later, Priya would give birth to their first child.