Ishq Deewangi (Book 2)

28. Wedding Rituals Begin

One Month Later

The wedding invites were sent out, the venue was decorated, the clothes and accessories were all ready and so were the bride and groom ready to be tied in one knot.

All the relatives had started filling both the houses which shined in happiness and was bustling in laughter and teasing.

"Mayu" Jiya called Maitri who was dressed in heavy bandhej orange and red saree taking pictures of herself to send them to Aryamaan.

"Yeah?" She held her saree up and rushed outside in the living room to see why her mother was calling her.

"Dekhle sab. Your dad and all the male family members are going to Ranawat palace for Aryaman's tilak" Jiya was rechecking everything placed on the table. Maitri looked at her cousins confused on why her mother was asking her to check these things.

"But how is this my concern?" She whispered in Jiya's ear.

"This is the first ritual and I don't want anything to go wrong. Teri shaadi ki yeh pehli rasam hai" Jiya cupped Maitri's cheeks and said with teary eyes.

"Don't cry mumma. Am not that easy to be warded off. You all will still be stuck with me" Maitri hugged Jiya while Divya and all the other ladies and her cousins joined the hug.

"Acha acha, they are leaving, let me go help them" Jiya wiped her tears and got busy with checking things. Divya continued hugging Maitri knowing that she was still emotional but Maitri won't cry because she's the elder daughter of the house who has learnt to hide her tears so the rest of the family isn't hurt. Maitri saw all the items being given to her dad, mama, chacha and fufas as they held that and sat in the car. There was a golden sword, vermillon, sweet food items, dry fruits and a few clothes. The tilak ceremony held a great importance as it marked the beginning of the wedding and made the relation official.

Akshit and everyone reached the Ranawat palace where Aryaman sat in the centre of the living room on a wooden stool while Maitri's mama, Jivan sat infront of him and applied tilak. Both the families hired a professional photographer who would record each ceremonies and take natural pictures of it. Ranawat palace was decorated as a new bride and was as busy as a bee with kids running randomly in the huge spaces while the ladies helped in clearing things and setting up stuff for the next ritual. Rishav and Kaira looked at each other proudly.

"He grew up too soon" Kaira placed her head on Rishav's chest as they saw Aryaman bonding with Jivan and Akshit nicely.

"He did. We did a good job bringing him up" Rishav too got emotional seeing Aryaman dressed in a heavy cream sherwani, blending in with everyone.

"Let's go. You want to see your son's wedding rituals from far?" Rishav said kissing her forehead and making her stand straight. Holding each other's hands, they walked to him and sat on the sofas, looking at how earnestly he followed everything the Panditji said. Once all the rituals were done, Kaira and the ladies set up the table for lunch for Maitri's side of family. 

On the other hand, at Maitri's house, they were doing the Nandi and Ratari Jage rituals. Maitri was asked to cover her head with her saree end which she did gracefully and sat infront of the idols of the God as the panditji recited the mantras and asked her to recite a few. Ganesh sthapna (Nandi) was done to invite the gods to the wedding and pray for a happy and hassle-free wedding to take place. Nandi was done at both the houses. In Ratri Jagi Maitri and all the ladies close to the family were asked to stand up and they walked to the veranda of their house and the Panditji asked them to draw holy symbols on the wall.  This ritual is done to drive away evil forces.