Chapter 22: Chapter 22

"What..." Nick was sleeping but suddenly Maxwell started pulling his hand. "Get up. We need to leave now, get up Nick." He asserted.

"Why? Let me sleep five minutes more." Nick said with half sleepy tone. Pulling his hand again he proclaimed, "Your five minutes mean forever. Get up now. Em (Nick's mom) said we can not be late or do you want them to do the daybreak meal ritual here?"

"What ritual?"

"It's called dodhi mangal – The Day Break Meal ritual," Maxwell answered.

"Ohh then let them do it. Why are you bragging me?" Nick rolled to the left on the bed. "Both groom and bride are supposed to do it. So get up! I don't wanna get scolded, get up Nick." He kept bragging Nick until Nick got annoyed and getting up he sat on the bed.

"Yeh, that's my bro. Now let's go."

"What do they do for this ritual?" Nick asked grabbing a t-shirt.

"What I've heard is, the bride and the groom are fed soaked flattened rice or chuda mixed with sweet yogurt, something like that. This is the only proper meal that the groom and bride will be consuming till they get married. They are not supposed to consume anything except sweets and water." Maxwell explained.

"What? Are you kidding me? Only this and can't eat anything else till the wedding?" Nick narrowed his eyebrows. As Maxwell replied, "I am serious. This is what they do for this ritual."

"No way. Does all day eat nothing else? I will be hungry." Nick sat on the bed lazily.

"Sacrifice for one day, dude. It's your wedding. Now, get up." Pulling Nick out of his room he took him to Nick's parent's house.

**

"Wait, what's this?" Nick moved away as Maxwell's mother was about to smear turmeric on his skin.

"Purifying turmeric." She answered.

"Why are you smearing it on me?"

"Because it's in the ritual. First, it'll be smeared on your skin. According to the ritual, some of the same pasted turmerics that have been smeared on the groom’s skin are brought to the house of the bride by some members of the groom’s family." As she explained Nick sat on and did not say anything anymore.

Maxwell was filming everything. When Nick was sitting in his seat and everybody was dancing around him.

**

Sanaya, today's Bengali bride wore a red & gold banarasi drape as her sartorial wedding choice. Clara and some girls were in the room who were waiting to make her ready for her wedding. Sanaya sat in front of the mirror when Clara smiled looking at Raina who was there too.

**

"So let's start." Winking at Clara, Raina took the Bridal Crown that calls Topor in Bengali (Topor is the pure white crown worn by Bengali brides to complete their traditional look. This headgear is made of white cork or shola in Bengali, which adds a subtle flamboyance, delicate elegance, and panache to the bridal look). Then she put it on Sanaya's head and then she put a translucent veil over the headgear on Sanaya.

Clara put the shonar mukhut - The Bridal Tiara that's made of gold on Sanaya's head. It added a sophisticated and regal touch to the overall bridal outfit of Sanaya.

When another girl put tikli and matha Patti - The Forehead Adornments on Sanaya.

Next, Nolok- The Intricate Nath. A large, usually curved nose-ring, a Nolok conventionally goes all the way up to the year as an attachment. The jhumka (kind of earrings), Pola Shankha, Ioha - The Marital Bangles ( Another set of bangles, called the Ioha, which are made of iron, are also worn and considered to be auspicious).

One by one, Ratanchur - The Traditional Hand Trinket (Also referred to as a Haath Phool, a Ratanchur is a hand and ring chain that further embellishes a Bengali bride’s hands), Chic - The Elegant Choker (Chic is a broad bridal gold choker and is a Bengali bridal must-have).

Clara helped her put the Nupur - The Signature Anklet (A Nupur is made of silver with Kundan stones set into the chain).

Then the Flamboyant, traditional and stand-out, the wavy patterns of Chandan and kumkum bindi designs on her forehead to make her look absolutely stunning. A good match with heavy eye makeup and the full pile-on of gold jewelry. Sanaya was looking stunning and so beautiful.

Everybody besides the bride was looking at her with wide eyes. Sanaya blushed and was looking at her hands. She wore alta on her palms and also on her feet.

"Wow, this is my first time seeing a Bengali bride in real." Hearing a girl saying so Clara said, "Me too. I am so happy today. My best friend, my best buddy is getting married to none other than Nicolas Davis..."

"Yes, my brother will be lost once he would see boudi." Raina laughed. Sanaya blushed.

When they were laughing a guy walked there and screamed, "Groom has arrived, the groom has arrived."

"Groom... Let's go." All the girls ran out of there in a hurry when Sanaya was smiling. She sat on the couch.

There Nick was struggling with his groom attire. "I can't take this anymore. This dhoti! I want to wear something else." Nick mumbled while making an annoyed face.

"Are you okay?" Maxwell asked him when Nick was holding his Topor. He did not answer. Laughing Maxwell whispered behind him, "Having trouble with your crown?"

"Keep your mouth shut!" Nick grabbed a corner of his dhoti and murmured, "Ahh this! Hope it won't just..."

"Do you need a helping hand? Nick." Hearing Maxwell he looked at him angrily and Maxwell lowered his eyes still smiling.

Nick was looking so handsome, he looked handsome even in Bengali groom attire, though it was the first time he wore Punjabi and dhoti.

After welcoming the groom, Nick and some of the men were sitting at a place where they were told to sit. Nick was looking at his Topor when Maxwell asked him, "Ain't you nervous?"

"Why should I be?" Nick narrowed his eyebrows.

"You are getting married. I have heard that grooms tend to be nervous." Hearing Maxwell Nick felt something different. He was ok and confident until he heard him.

Nick said, "I am not nervous."

"I see. So are you imagining how your bride will be looking? Ain't you curious?"

Nick replied in the instant, "I am not. Can you sit still? Stop asking questions." As his eyes caught on the wedding mandap he asked, "What's that?"

"Chhadnatola which is actually the wedding mandap. Your wedding will take place under the wedding mandap, which is a decorated square area or stage." A guy answered aside from him. "Ohh." Nick kept looking around then. "Why can't I see Sanaya?" He asked subconsciously. Though Sanaya told him everything that night but he forgot half of it.

"Let's go." Getting up Maxwell said so.

"Where?" Nick questioned.

"To change."

"Again?"

As Nick was taken to a room a guy handed him a dhoti along with a piece of clothing that he was supposed to wrap around the upper part of the body. "What's this?" As he took it he looked at it.

"You need to change into this attire." As he heard it he sighed and said, "Ok."

"Are you ready?" Sanaya looked at Clara as she heard her voice. As she nodded her head there reached Raina.

"Your groom can't wait to see you you know? Oh my God, he was so desperate to see you." Along with Raina Clara also laughed. A shy smile left Sanaya's lips.

Then she sat on pidi (low wooden stool) and she was brought to the chhadnatola while some male friends held the pidi. The more closer she was going towards the wedding mandap the more nervous she was getting. Then she was taken around Nick in seven circles while she covered her face using a betel leaf.

It was the time when Nick was nervous unknowingly. He had a different feeling, making him nervous. His heart was counting when he would see Sanaya's face when he was stubbornly trying to say that he was not so curious.

Sanaya could hear everybody saying, "Show your face. Our groom can't wait to see you... See how nervous he is looking... " And then she heard laughter.

"Sanaya, move them off your face. The poor groom can't wait to see your face...." She heard Clara saying so and laughing.

Sanaya slowly moved the betel leaf away from her face but she did not look at him. She was nervous, she had her eyes down.

Nick's jaw dropped as he looked at her. His Bengali bride was looking so damn beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her.

"Sanaya, look at Nick. He is waiting for you to look at him. Look into his eyes..." Sanaya heard everybody to say so. With a shy smile, Sanaya looked straight, into his eyes. And this was the time when the bride and the groom looked at each other for the first time on the wedding day... Both Sanaya and Nick could hear laughter, how everybody was laughing and talking but they were looking at each other.

Nick's eyes were telling Sanaya, "My beautiful bride..." Even though he wanted to deny but he could not... He never felt this way before, so many girls he saw in his whole life but he had never been so lost in a girl's beauty before.

Sanaya smiled at him when Nick was unable to look at anything else but at her...

"Bro can not take his eyes off her... He is not even blinking... See..." Maxwell said while laughing...