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Now here was the new daughter in law, competing and vying for the attention that had previously been lavished solely on the daughter.
The chicken curry and rice smelt delicious but she’d never eaten with her hands before. Vivek was out in the garden attending a telephone call and no one had offered her a spoon or fork. Looking down at her plate, Melanie wondered what to do. After all, it was the first time she’d ever entered his family home.
Too overwhelmed to say much, she just sat there in the chair and with wide eyes, observed the hustle-bustle around her.
It was like an entirely new world for her since she’d always lived in a small family, just she and her parents. Here, with three generations all living under the same roof, things were bound to be different. Getting married was a change for anyone but for her, it was going to be a tremendous challenge, trying to adjust to a new family and culture in a country she’d never seen before.
Looking around, Melanie tried to form some sort of an initial impression about the core members of Vivek’s family. She knew they were probably doing the same thing, sizing up the newest addition to their family.
First the father. Hmmm. Looked easy-going with an agreeable disposition. The mother seemed to be more reserved but she had a sweet smile that really seemed to reach her eyes. The grandparents looked like kind, gentle folk and Melanie knew she’d warm to them quickly. The paternal aunt though, had a gossipy look about her but thankfully, she didn’t live with them.
And finally, there was Priya, Vivek’s sister. A pretty girl with long, lustrous hair and dark eyes, she was the one who was bound to become the nemesis of Melanie’s life. After all, she was the same age as Melanie and until now, had been the only daughter of the house. Now here was the new daughter in law, competing and vying for the attention that had previously been lavished solely on the daughter.
Vivek had already told her that his sister was pampered and used to getting her own way. ‘Thank God she’s just started a new job,’ thought Melanie to herself then. ‘I’ll probably not see much of her. And as long as she doesn’t have the time to cause me any problems, it’s fine. After all, other than the fact that we’re the same age, we obviously don’t have anything in common. I don’t expect us to be friends anyway.’
Satisfied with her analysis, she looked down at her plate again. Her stomach was churning for she hadn’t eaten anything after that measly breakfast on the flight. Sighing, she was just about to plunge in with her hands when a shining stainless steel spoon was gently placed in front of her.
Melanie looked up in surprise. Priya had quietly slipped into the chair beside her. ‘I’m sorry,’ she apologized then with a sheepish look. ‘That was thoughtless of us. After all, this is your home now too. We should make you feel comfortable here.’
Melanie smiled. ‘Thank you.’ She picked up the spoon and started mixing the curry and rice together.
Priya smiled back. ‘Let me know if you need anything else. Oh, I also wanted to give you this.’ She rootled around in her pocket and pulled out a colorful piece of thread in a crisscross pattern. Smoothening it out, she then indicated to Melanie to hold her hand out. ‘It’s a friendship band,’ she explained as she fastened the thread on to Melanie’s wrist. ‘From me to you.’
And Melanie knew with the utmost certainty that from that moment on, the two of them would always be friends.
Image source: MaggiePoo on pixabay
Rrashima is a senior corporate analyst with over 20 years of experience in the corporate sector. She is also a prolific writer, novelist and poet and her articles, stories and poems are regularly published in read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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