Sunday Story "My Live-in Sasuraal" Season 1 - Episode 4

Read the previous part of this story- Episode 3 - Convincing Families

“Mom, I know that if I don’t fit into that family, I would be dropping Aakash’s proposal for the rest of my life.” Anika confessed her deepest fears to her mother, but she was adamant getting into the ‘arranged trouble’.

“This is not easy, Anika. You might get emotionally attached to them, and you will never realise that you have changed completely and have started adjusting into that family.” Her mother ironically remarked, recollecting her early days of marriage. “Do you want to change, Anika?” She asked again sternly. 

“Mom, I do not want to change. I want to grow, I want to enrich, and I want to prosper in life. And if Aakash is that kind of a person who is supporting me in this process, then I would be more than happy.” Anika smiled a bitter smile. She knew that her mother was not against her decision, but she didn’t favour it either.

However, her father encouraged her to follow her gut feeling.

“I think you should try and not fear the consequences. I am sure you won’t regret this decision in the future. If he is a good man and you trust him, you can go for it. There is nothing to lose.” His smile made Anika’s day and she called Aakash to know about his family’s reactions.

At Aakash’s home, he had a tough time explaining to every family member about their so-called live-in arrangement. Then, there was a question-and-answer session with each person who would ask further questions about their relationship.

“Aakash beta, should we have a wedding ceremony or not? It means she will not be our daughter-in-law, but will act like a daughter-in-law. Since we are having a marriage-demo, let us also have a wedding-demo.”

“Beta, we should call her ‘bahu’ or ‘beti?’”

“Beta, she will marry you after 6 months or she will leave you and stay with her parents again?”

“I hope you are going to live in separate bedrooms as you won’t be married.” His grandmother asked him with knitted brows and a sceptical expression on her face.

Aakash was overwhelmed with their questions. His voice was dull and exhausted and refrained from disclosing his family members’ reactions.

“Aakash, please tell me what happened at your home. I have already shared the situation at my house. My mother is okay with it; she neither hates nor likes my decisions. And my father is completely alright with it. He hasn’t raised any objections. But I need to know about you and your family.”

Aakash responded in a tired voice, “Anika, I am fed up with their questions. They have asked me at least a thousand questions about our arrangement. I can’t explain. I am exhausted.”

Aakash’s voice surely sounded as if he had run a marathon and he was fatigued with the constant questions raised by his family.

“My uncle even suggested that I go for a live-in, then get married and bring my wife to our home. He asked why to bring a daughter-in-law into the family without the marriage ceremony. Now, you tell me, how do I convince them?”

“I don’t know. I had to talk only to my parents. Tell me one thing. How many family members do you have? Are they in huge numbers?” She asked him curiously. She only knew that Aakash lived in a joint family, but how big was that family.

He cleared his throat and began explaining his family tree. “So, I have a grandmother who is more than eighty years old and she is the oldest member of our family. We call her Daadi.”

“Come on, Aakash. I know whom we call Daadi. I am not a family-illiterate person.” She said in an amused tone.

“Okay. Then, it is my father, the eldest son of the family. My mother, his wife.” He explained as he was drawing a family tree while chatting on the call with Anika.

“And you don’t have siblings. You are the only chirag of your family.” She gave a silly laugh.

“Yes. And I will be the pioneer of the live-in with in-laws system in our family and then, in overall India. I can even visualise people, YouTubers and TV channels talking about this drastic change in Indian culture.”

“You are on the right path, Aakash puttar.” Anika exclaimed in her Punjabi-Marathi tone. Yeah, her father was Punjabi, his surname was Narula but her mother was a Maharashtrian.

“Thank you, my love.” He smiled. He felt better as he talked to Anika. He knew that even though he was surrounded by several family members, he had a space within him that appeared like a vacuum. Only Anika could fill it and no other friend or colleague could do it well.

He added, “Then, my father has two younger brothers. I call them – Bade Chacha and Chhote Chacha. Bade Chacha has kids, one college-going boy and another school-going girl. Chhote Chacha got married five years back, and they have a little kiddo of three years. His name is Ayan.”

“Wow, and do your Chachas have wives?” She tried to amuse him.

He pursed his lips in irritation and realised that Anika didn’t seem serious at all as she was listening to him. “Of course, my Chachas have married first to have kids legally. Any other comments, Ms Narula?”

“So, you have siblings of all ages. It must be amazing to play cards at your place. You all can have a lot of fun on weekends and during summer holidays.” She suggested.

“So, how many players, oh sorry, family members are there in your family? Have you ever counted?”

“We are …hmm…let me recollect. 12.”

“12? No, not 12. I counted as you were narrating. It is 11. Sahi jawaab.” She laughed.

“12.” He said strongly, “You are the 12^th family member and everyone is waiting for your arrival.” He said softly.

“You will undergo a lot of interrogation again, my dear. It is going to be tough on you.”

“I am ready.” He responded indignantly.