Page 48 of A Kiss in Kashmir

The voice of Rami Sarkar snapped Alina back to the present. “Alina, why are you out here? You should be getting ready. I just sent Emilio to get ready too. You kids! This is your wedding day, why are you outside? We will take care of everything.”

“Yes, yes, I am going to get dressed,” she waved and smiled at him as she disappeared into her room.

Rami Sarkar had been a surprising godsend. After Alina and Sharmila apologized to him for not being more patient with him, they had asked to reengage his services for the finer details of planning the wedding. Rami agreed to organize the trips of friends and family coming into town and staying on the Sukoon, and he helped organize artists for Alina’s henna.

In fact, the previous night, for Alina’s mehndi henna night, Rami danced the most during the ritual. Sharmila, radiant in her rose saree, had sat holding Alina’s hand steady to ensure that the henna lady could draw the intricate patterns. Suraj had sat by her side too, feeding her with his own hands as she sat with her arms outstretched for over three hours for the elaborate henna work.

Emilio’s mother admired all the ornate decorations as they sat in the sun terrace of Qayaam Gah. “This is just marvelous. I have never seen anything like this in my life.” The weather had cooperated, and several fire pits set around them were burning, dispelling the chill of early April.

Alina and Emilio’s friends, Vikram’s mother, Sharmila’s sister, and Emilio’s family all surrounded them and danced as the bride-to-be now waited patiently for the henna lady to finish the intricate patterns on her legs. Most of the henna dried quickly and Alina was grateful.

“I don’t think I can sit still much longer,” she said. “Ma, which patterns do you want?”

Sharmila refused. “Me? No way! This is for my dear child.”

“Sharmila, come on, you should get some henna. In fact, let me pick it for you,” Emilio said, and asked the henna artist to draw some peacock-shaped designs on Sharmila’s hands.

When Suraj stepped away at the end of the henna ceremony, for the first time in months Sharmila asked Alina if she had heard from George. But before Alina could answer, her friends pulled her in to dance with them. Family and friends rejoiced in the pre-wedding revelry as live music and feelings of joy and hope filled the air.

Chapter 23

Alina and Emilio made their wedding entrance at the same time from opposite ends of the salon. The room roared with sounds of “we love you both” as friends and family rejoiced.

Sharmila walked in with Alina, and Emilio’s mother accompanied him. The four walked in unison until they reached the center of the room.

Suraj handed the bride and the groom fragrant garlands of jasmine and roses. Alina took one garland and placed it around Emilio’s neck, and he did the same for her. The cheers went up again.

Dressed in a shimmering red silk lehenga and adorned with Kashmiri silver earrings from Archana and a Rajasthani diamond choker from her mother, Alina looked picture perfect. Her curly hair was tamed into a bun with tiny crystals sprinkled over it.

Golden bangles adorned her arms. But her favorite piece of jewelry had been provided by Wajid. He had gifted her a sparkling silver payal set, anklets with tiny silver bells attached, that jingled gently as she walked.

“Please come to the mandap, my children.” Sharmila beckoned them to sit at the official wedding mandap. Emilio’s parents sat on one side of the bride and groom and Suraj and Sharmila sat together on the other side. Vikram’s mother and Emilio’s grandmother sat next to the mandap on comfortable chairs, as they had a hard time sitting on the floor. And Archana, their cousin from Betaab Valley, had made sure that the grandmas were comfortable, and most importantly, had the best view of the wedding ceremony.

“I love you,” Alina whispered to Emilio as the priest began the wedding chants. The wedding ceremony was short but filled with custom and ritual. Emilio tied the symbolic mangalsutra around Alina’s neck, a necklace that signified she was now a married woman. Alina had opted out of the vermillion powder that would have been placed in her hair, a typical sign of being married for Hindu women. The priest didn’t object.

“I love you too, Alina.”

The priest asked the couple to stand up. “This is the most ancient of our rituals. You already see the holy fire burning in this small hawan kund, a metal pot. You will walk around this fire seven times as I recite the prayers. With this walk, the shortest of your life, you will be tied together for the rest of this life and then the next seven ones. We have made a change that the bride and groom requested. Usually, the man leads the walk, and the bride walks behind him. But Alina and Emilio have chosen to walk each step together.”

The couple rose and began to walk around the fire, holding hands as the priest recited prayers. Alina noticed her mother wiping away tears of joy. She squeezed Emilio’s hand.

They finished the final round, and Emilio leaned over and kissed his bride on her forehead, then pulled her closer to whisper in her ear. “I adore you. And I’ve gotta say, you must have a special connection to your God.”

Alina looked at him. “Special connection?”

“Yep. Look there.” He subtly nodded towards the side of the mandap.

Standing in a far corner of the room, where Sharmila couldn’t see him, was George, dressed in a black Nehru jacket, a rose in his right pocket. He caught Alina’s eye, smiled, and mouthed,Love you both.

We love you too, she mouthed back.

Chapter 24

“Everyone, please have a seat. I would like to say a few words,” Suraj said as the newlyweds made their way off the mandap and sat down just across from him. Sharmila was next to Alina, holding her hand.

“I didn’t know he was going to make a speech,” Sharmila said, adjusting her golden and peach saree. “Sitting on the floor in a saree is still hard, it messes everything up,” she feebly joked.

“Yes, he told me he wanted to say a few words on behalf of dad. He’s been working hard on this,” Alina said, then leaned over to Emilio. She kept her voice low. “I think it’s going to happen. Do you know if Wajid got—”

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