The scent of marigold flowers and burning incense filled the mandap, wrapping the air in a sacred warmth. And there I stood, draped in a red bridal saree… waiting for a man I didn’t even know... not even his name. How cruel, isn’t it?My mind was a storm of questions I had no answers to. Could I really trust him? Would he see me as a person… or just another object, like so many women are treated? Or perhaps, would he be gentle? Kind? I didn’t know anything about the man I was about to spend my life with.

A tear slipped down my cheek before I could even realize it. Around me, my dadi and her best friend ; who is his grandmother i guess beamed with joy, their laughter echoing softly… as if my silence, my fear, my pain didn’t exist at all. Suddenly, I felt someone sit beside me… it was him. Under the silent weight of his presence, I slowly sat back down in my place. I didn't have the courage to look up and meet his gaze. Lowering my head, I quietly folded my hands in my lap and sat there in silence.