I have known Sikandar since we were children. Ever since, he has been my greatest companion. My little brother, Raja, was less excited about us getting married. He would strike something of Sikandar's everyday with a bow and arrow. It was usually something inconvenient but not too serious. Sikandar knows how much I care for my little brother, so he would push away his feelings of anger.
My parents for the first time were able to look Raja in the face without fear. They did not wish to punish Raja. They finally started acting like parents, and as soon as that happened, Raja would not listen to me.
Today, Raja decided to strike a present Sikandar had hoped to give me.
"I'm just joking," Raja would explain as always.
I could tell that it upset Sikandar more than usual. He opened up the present, and in it, was a red wedding dress.
In South Asian weddings, there are usually many wedding events (like 3 big days and a couple small days depending on the family) and numerous outfits with different colors. The groom's family may provide some of the outfits.
Raja's bow and arrow had torn the wedding dress. My parents said it was fine and thanked Sikandar for bringing the dress over.
"How can you do this everyday and never apologize Raja? If this is what I will have to be dealing with everyday, then maybe I shouldn't be here," Sikandar suggested as he was walking out the door.
"My sister loves you, and I just don't know how to share her attention. Don't leave. I'm sorry," Raja begged not too convincingly, but it somehow worked.
Sikandar walked backwards and said, "I love your sister too. No more bow and arrows for no reason. " Both Sikandar and Raja shook on it, and the wedding proceeded.
The Wedding Day...
I was able to get the traditional red wedding dress sewed back together. We danced and sang songs. We did all of the traditional events. For instance, played a traditional wedding game called Jutti Chupai (meaning Shoe Hiding.) In it, the youngest girl cousin of the bride's family will steal the groom's shoe.
The groom must pay (usually a lot) for the shoe for the girls to let him marry the bride. There is usually a funny joking bargaining process. The money that the groom gives goes is divided to all of the bride's unmarried sisters or cousins.
Raja even helped with the bargaining.
"Only $1,000? My sister, she taught me how to use a bow and arrow. If you think I'm good, then you're in for a shock," Raja bargained.
This wedding day was one of the best out of the hundred other wedding days.
Author's Note: In the original, Raja was around a bunch of girls. One of the girls told Raja to not leave. He said he would marry this girl. He had to do a ritual for the girls to let him marry that girl. I wanted to connect my last story with this one. I made the same bow and arrow present from the last story as well as the marriage proposal from Sikandar. I also discussed how the parents could not look at his eyes, so now they are lenient parents. Rather than Raja getting married, I made the sister get married. Instead of Raja being told not to leave, Raja told Sikandar not to leave. Sikandar had to do a ritual with the girls during the wedding in order to marry the sister. This ritual in the original reminded me of Jutti Chupai which is one of my favorite parts of one of the wedding ceremonies. It is really funny, and I'm not married, so I get some $$. I had a difficult time switching to the actual wedding from Raja's story. I feel like it ended up being two chunks, two separate story. Also, I had a hard time ending the story. If anyone has suggestions, please let me know.
Image Source: ("Red Indian Wedding Dress;" Web Source: Needpix)