An Arranged Love Marriage; Part 1

"Meg,wake up!",Abhi hissed beneath his breath and kicked her lightly in the ankle.

"Abhi,cant you see I am sleeping?I was busy the night before",Meg replied without even bothering to open her eyes.

"Busy?Her highness was busy!Doing what precisely?"

"As if that is any of your concern"

Abhi's reply died on his tongue as the prof's searchlight of a gaze fell on him.Of the thirty people in the class,you have to look at me,haven't you,Abhi fumed silently and sat still like a rabbit caught in the tiger's eye.He waited patiently for the blow to fall.Either it was the prof's good mood or maybe Meg decided to change the arm she was sleeping on,whatever be the case,Abhi could feel the gaze sliding from him onto his neighbour and dear friend,Meg.The tiger however lost his battle with his new prey even before it had started.How do you fight with a prey that chooses to ignore you and goes to sleep right under your nose?His shoulders slumped because he knew there was no point in waking up Meg.Irrespective of whether she slept in class or not,Meg would emerge trumps in his tests.He went back to his teaching and preaching to the poor souls who had to listen to his monotonous sermon because they either had no option or were too scared to wander off into Dreamland like Meg.Abhi let out a sigh of relief.Ten minutes later the class ended and the class let out a collective sigh of relief.

"The class has come to an end.Will her Highness please get up and bless her subjects with her undivided attention"

"Umm..Good morning..What time is it?"

"Time to get up and get your royal self to the canteen for some chow",said Abhi as Meg stretched like a cat and flexed her fingers.

Both picked up their bags and started walking towards the canteen.

Meg and Abhi.Or Meghna and Abhishek as their parents had christened them twenty years back were engineering students in their second year.A chance meeting in the college canteed some two years back had blossomed into a beautiful friendship that showed all the signs of developing like wine-the older it gets the better it tastes.Initially both had been wary of each other.Abhi was a the model specimen of a geek who believed that hard work gets one to the top while Meg was the exact opposite who believed that taking life easy is the only way to the top.While Abhi hacked and chopped away at the course work Meg preferred to waltz her way through it.Both emerged very quickly as tough contenders for the top spot and a healthy competition brewed between them.And instead of driving them apart from each other it pulled them towards each other.Hearts and minds go where they are appreciated and both of them found intellectual and emotional appreciation in each other's company.It amused the profs to see the contenders to be always together arguing about something or the other.Abhi would invariably throw his hands up in the air and raise his hands to the heavens when the realisation that his logic was utterly useless against Meg's combination of feminine instinct combined with her sharp wit.They argued on almost everything and anything.And the latest one under scrutiny was the question of a love marriage and a arranged marriage.Abhi vehemently held on the view that love marriages work best while Meg took the diagonally opposite stand and held on to the view that arranged marriages work best.

"How can you let your parents decide your life partner?!"

"Because they are more experienced and know what is best for their children",said Meg picking up a spring roll and inspecting it closely.

"Who is getting married?You or your parents?Dont you want to have the choice to deicde whom you want to come home to?",asked Abhi as he drove his fork into the plate of noodles.

"Love marriages make up for the major chunk of failed marriages.Look around and you will realize."

"That's because people fail to realize that being in love and being in holy matrimony because of the love are two different things.The relationship still needs the care and understanding that it needed some time back because now it's in a totally different context-of a husband a wife not two love struck individuals.They just assume things will work ."

"Thank god there are no such assumptions in arranged marriages.Here it's a fact that both have to work hard for the bond to stay."

"Tell me please,"asked Abhi keeping his fork down with a great show of pateince," because it escapes my sense of understaing that how can you marry a person you have known for a couple of weeks?Dont you want to understand your future life partner better?"

""And love marriage helps the situation?You might be in love with a girl and not know everything about her.For all you know she might be a total nutcase",said Meg over the rim of her orange juice.

"The same can happen in a arrange marriage.Might be worse too"

The duo argued endlessly over this and neither was ready to give up.They never came to any conclusion.

Two years of engineering flew past on the fast wings of time.Their frindship blossomed into a relationship that went beyond the boundaries of "just good friends".Neither however made a formal proposal.

And too soon it was time to bid adieu to each other.Abhi had landed a heavy package with a MNC while Meg had decided to go for higher education abroad.The call letter for Abhi and the acceptance letter for Meg arrived for the same time.Two months of hectic preperation followed.

The night before Meg was supposed to leave,Abhi was sitting in his room going through four years of frozen memories.The good times tinged by the lows, the dissapointments shadowed by jubilations.They had shared everything;except for one thing that Abhi had never come to face with.He felt a stinging feeling behind his eyes and snapped the album shut.Switching off his table lamp he fell into a deep sleep.

Half the town away Meg too was going through the same roller coaster ride of emotions.She kept wondering if there was something Abhi had not told her.And she kept on wondering if she should have him what was on her mind.

D-day dawned on two individuals who wished that they had just one more day.Just one more day to ask and say something.The ride to the airport was uneventful as both maintained an oddly self imposed silence.The security check and immigration check went off smoothly.

Just as she was about to go in,Meg turned towards Abhi and asked him,"One question.Will you give me a frank answer?"

"Actually I too have something to say to you",said Abhi.

"What?"

"Ladies first."

Meg decided not to argue on this one.

"Abhi,tell me very frankly,did you ever think of me as somebody more than a friend?"

Abhi raised his eyebrows pretending not to understand.

"Oh come on!Dont act so naive..You know what I mean..Did you?"

Abhi smiled,"How does it matter now?Anyways you dont belive in love marriages.For you,you want to settle in holy matrimony with the boy chosen by your parents".

"Abhi,thats not the answer......",started Meg as Abhi propelled her towards the gate.Meg turned back as the glass doors hissed closed.Abhi was backing away.His shoulders squared and hands dug deep into his jacket.Meg had found the answer to her question and the question Abhi wanted to ask.She raised her hand to wave a goodbye.

TO BE CONTINUED.......