Milan - A Meeting

So, this was the day, finally. It would be a lie if Asha tried to tell herself that she was not waiting for this day. Over the last few weeks, she had not only come to terms with the idea that she would get married eventually, but she in fact was looking forward to this day, when she would finally meet the guy who was ‘interested’ in her.

She still had the major portion of the day remaining, for it was arranged they would meet for lunch so that they could give each other ample time to get to know each other, and spend some more time together if they so wished. She wasn’t sure she could sit through and lunch with some boring stranger, but then according to the descriptions she had heard of this guy, he deserved at least a chance where he could speak to her. She really hoped he wouldn’t be the spooky kind who would have already checked out on her background and her friends, spoken to her relatives and asked around about her; the first guy who came to see Mini was a really weird one in that sense.

Hurriedly pulling out her dress she had picked for this special meeting, she began to iron it out, all the while thinking how the meeting would go, whether they would find topics that would interest them both, and wishing that she shouldn’t bore the guy to his death, even though she did not necessarily want to make a good impression on this guy, she didn’t want to be remembered as the one who ruined a peaceful evening.

She was ready in no time – a clean, well pressed dress, a bit of lipstick and the kajal that she couldn’t live without. Her mom would have given her an earful if she saw Asha going out to meet a guy in a western outfit, but then, she didn’t want to give him any false impression of herself, she was going to present herself to him as the way she would be throughout her life.

Fate seemed to be in her favour, the afternoon sun wasn’t too harsh on her, the auto came fairly quickly and she didn’t have to wait for a long time as was the normal case. The time was just a few minutes past twelve, and she would reach the restaurant comfortably early as she had planned; talk about giving someone a shock!

Paying the auto driver, she stepped into the restaurant, asked the waiter for the table reserved for her; to reserve the table in her name was her dad’s plan as was the idea to meet him at this restaurant. She felt something amiss when the waiter pointed to a table for two, one of the seats already taken. Startled, she confirmed with the waiter again and walked up to deal with the man seated on her table.

“Excuse me, this is my table” The guy, standing up, “Asha?”

When Asha nodded in return, the guy smiled and offered to shake hands with her, “Hi! I’m Milan.”

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Girls in India are caught in the drift when they reach a particular age. They suddenly face a dilemma as to what to focus on in their life, whether to make a career and ensure a living or to get married and secure their life. Girls who remain single after the so called marriageable age are frowned upon by the society and are considered a burden for their families.

Throughout the month of April, thanks to the AtoZ Challenge, I am trying to portray the life of Asha, a common Indian girl with dreams and aspirations. Everyday we focus on one alphabet starting from A on April 1st till Z on April 30th. Stick with me till the end of the journey and do tell me what you think of my writing and my Asha.