THE GROOM

This was his third wedding. He looked at the crowd and then the bride. She was beautiful as he thought her to be. He stood there, fixed to his spot, admiring her. `How did she become more beautiful every time he looked at her? ‘

He was shaken from his reverie by his `best man’. He smiled at him and then was handed the basin of rice. He looked from the rear end of the auditorium. This wedding ceremony seemed to be pompous. The groom and the bride were non residential Indians. Though this was only his third wedding, he felt like he had attended too many. Being a wedding waiter was not something new in his native place. There were three other boys from his native place, working with him in the same role. Of course, they had more weddings served than him. He let his hands press down his black coat. It was given to him on his first day of work. The coat was the finest piece of cloth he ever wore till now. Even then it reminded him of his soiled t-shirt he wore underneath it.

As usual, there was a need for a rush of activities. Serving the rice, curry and various other dishes all at once.  And of course not to forget the dessert.  The people seem to be gulping their food down, all at one go. It was like they were always running. When he thought about it after most of his day’s work, he chuckled to himself. He could never figure out where they were going in such a hurry. Maybe they had big jobs in big offices in those tall buildings which he saw pictures of in the paper. The paper; he could never really read much, but definitely worth looking through. Especially those special papers that came on the weekends. They never disappointed him in terms of excitement. There was no need to purchase one of course, he got a small colorful piece along with his bahji which he would buy cheap while drinking tea by the sidewalk near to his tiny room shared by five others like him.

Every one of his room-mates talked of those glossy women and big houses with those big T.V’’s they would own one day.

He had once an opportunity to see a glance of some Malayalam movie in the big T.V that his owner had at his house. The irritating part was he could not hear or see it properly because the two children of his owner who were close to his age where fighting over the remote-control. He tried to peer above them. Realizing eventually that there was no use in trying hard anymore above their heads.

When he reached back to his room that day, before he entered the room he heard laughter and dirty jokes being pulled upon each other. Yet everyone was joined in the laughter. He smugged to himself too on hearing it.

Something itched in his heart. There was more peace at this late night time in his room where they were smoking cheap beedi’s and passing around cheap liquor than he ever found in those big places with those big labeled drinks.

He wondered; was my world better now than the world I dream of? The rich and posh world? He didn’t have an answer, so he spread his mat out and went to sleep tucked under his thin sheet.