Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Riya's POV

My parents had been very tense and were relieved to see me safe and sound. My mom was so relaxed that she cried hugging me. Dad had his eyes moist. He hugged Parth and said thanks.

" Sir, please don't say so. I love her and we are to be married soon. But if any other girl was also in the same situation, I would have saved her."

" You are a rare gem, son. I am sorry, could not see your worth. I was prejudiced and biased, I am sorry. " Dad said.

" Sir, please don't say all this. You are like my father. I want your blessings, not your apology." Parth said immediately.

" You have all my blessings, son. Thanks for selecting my daughter as your other half in the journey of life. She is very lucky to have you. I would not have been able to find her on my own. " dad was getting emotional.

Parth's POV

" No, sir... I beg to differ. I am lucky to have her. She is so sweet, even my Dado Sa is very happy to have her in our lives. " I said, he just smiled and asked me everything, I told him in detail how he abducted her.

He was very angry and then I told him that I have given him a good beating and he was under arrest.

Her mom made dinner for all of us and we enjoyed the food as a happy family.

*******

It has been 15 days since that day and last week we attended Sid and Shruti's wedding. It was so much fun. All four of us were teasing each other. Both the girls were turning into strawberries.

We enjoyed every moment of their wedding. Sid suggested that they could wait for some time and then we all could go for our honeymoon together. But before I could say anything both the girls shook their heads.

" Why what is the problem?? " Sid asked.

" Please!! It is my honeymoon... I want you to see, talk and think only about me, not your best friend. " Shruti said.

Over and ever possessive girl...

I teased my clumsy girl too and asked if she would want to go with just me or doesn't mind us going with them??

" Why don't you go with just him?? Shruti and I will understand and can go on a friend's trip with other doctors of our batch like Disha, Tanvi and Kunal. " She retorted.

" Riya!!! How can you say that?" I got annoyed.

" Why do you ask stupid questions?? If you can't stay away from each other, why don't you both go on honeymoon? We will go on that trip, I will ask Kunal, but I know, he would never say no to both of us, after all, he is our friend. Right, Shruti? "

" Absolutely!! " Shruti said.

" Shut up, ok!!! " Both of us shouted.

" I will kill him before you even ask him. You are going with me." I said.

" And you, let's go, I have to teach a few new lessons to you. " Sid said to Shruti with an expression that screamed, what kind of lessons they would be. Shruti's face became red.

Even Riya blushed at that comment. " Awww... Just 15 days love and then, I will be teaching you those lessons as well. " I said and Riya turned into a cute red strawberry.

" You both are shameless. " Shruti said.

" Yes, and we are proud of it. " I said.

**********

Only one week was left and we all went to Bikaner for all the rituals.

This time also, I took her there in my private helicopter but she was not tense about its fare now. But was still embarrassed by my PDA. I could not help not keeping my hands to myself. She was making me lose my sanity. I was roaming around her like a lovesick puppy.

Sid and Bhai have been teasing me mercilessly. But I was enjoying the teasing game.

All the preparation was being done, The whole hotel and palace were decorated with thousands and thousands of tiny lights and diyas.

The rituals and traditions were being followed. And we were going to have our first function.

Byah Haath started almost seven days before the wedding. The women sang Mangal Geet while preparing homemade sweets made of lentils and Mangodi. Since there was no woman in my family. Sid's mom did all the rituals from my side.

Bhaat Nyotana was the first and one of the foremost pre-wedding traditions in a Rajasthani wedding.

The first invitation to the wedding was given by her dad to Dado sa and vice versa.

Bhaat Nyotana (to invite for the wedding) part is conducted later in the Bhaat Bharna ceremony where the bride's side feeds maternal uncles with jaggery and rice and asks them to be a part of the wedding. So her mom invited Riya's maternal uncle.

After that, the royal invitation cards were sent along with gift packs and silver coins.

Then we had our Nandi Ganesh Pooja for a hassle-free and scintillating wedding function. Both our families perform Nandi Ganesh Pooja to make Lord Ganesha an integral part of the wedding function as he is the lord of happiness and good omen.

Riya's POV

We were in awe of all the Royal rituals and celebrations. Everything was larger than life... Grand, vibrant, lavish, and glamourous. I could not even imagine things like that.

Parth wore a saffron-coloured robe and a holy thread known as the Janev while performing the Havan for a seamless and happy nuptial life, In the Janev ceremony,

While according to Palla ceremony, his family gifted me with a myriad of stunning clothes and jewellery which I had to wear on the engagement or wedding day. These were the most fascinating traditions.

My dad took gifts (sweets, clothes, and a sword) for Parth, dado sa and the Jindal family. He puts a Tilak on Parth's forehead.

Tilak ceremony was like the Roka ritual which actually means the official announcement of the wedding ceremony. But since we already had that, they just gave gifts and blessings.

I was fascinated by the meaningful and vibrant rituals.

No wedding function was considered complete without worshipping the Lord Ganesha.

Ganpati Sthapana was done to receive the blessings of Lord Ganesha

Pitthi Dastoor (Haldi ceremony) and Mehndi were celebrated more or less similar to the rest of the country. We had our haldi and Mehandi rituals. A paste of Haldi and sandalwood is applied to both me and Parth and we were not allowed to step out of their homes after that until the wedding.

Parth was going crazy to meet me, he tried every single trick in his book but Dado Sa proved that he was his grandfather.

And we enjoyed them a lot. Maurvi bhabhi and Shruti kept teasing me that parth is losing his mind as he was almost kept behind locked doors to keep him away from me. He was calling me every hour.

The teasings of Maurvi bhabhi and Shruti were increasing by every call. Most of the time, they didn't even let me talk to him. Then bhabhi had mercy on him and left us alone to talk on the phone.

He wasn't very happy that dado Sa made sure that he could not come and see me according to their rituals.

They teased me a lot while haldi and Mehandi.

We had a holy bath after applying turmeric paste, mustard oil and curd. Then I was offered to eat special jaggery sweets called Ghungra. After that, the maternal uncles gave the Shagun (money) for good luck.

The Mehndi is considered a Shagun (auspicious token) for any bride and as a bride, I was excited about this ritual. I selected a beautiful design for my Mehandi, it was traditional, intricate and elegant with a scene of the wedding on my palms. It was beautiful.

Mom, Tanvi, Shruti and Maurvi bhabhi also got their hands adorned with Heena.

But what I liked the most was the unique wedding tradition on Parth's side. Along with the bride, the groom must apply Mehndi on his hands too. So everyone was teasing him about it and he was getting annoyed but he had to follow the tradition of being the prince of the state. He told them to make just a Swastik in his hand and he got my name written on his palm along with him in a heart.

He sent me a picture of it. I loved it.

We had Mahira dastoor, palla dastoor, gharva, Korath & Ganpati. All were very interesting.