After waiting for so long, it was as if God finally took pity on him. Suddenly, a marriage proposal arrived for Rakesh through a friend of one of their relatives. Rakesh shares a very close bond with his mother; they tell each other everything. Naturally, it was his mother who first broke the news of this proposal to him. At first, Rakesh couldn't quite believe it, but he eventually realized that a serious match had indeed come his way.
When he saw the girl's photo, Rakesh realized she was beautiful. He managed to find her on social media, and from browsing her profile, he felt that she was very "loyal"—exactly the kind of "refined and cultured" girl he had always hoped for.
To his surprise, the girl came from quite a wealthy family; her father was a businessman. Rakesh was completely bewildered. He couldn't wrap his head around how such a beautiful girl from a rich family could possibly like him. After all, her family must have done their background checks and seen his photos as well.
The Meeting at the Bride's House
In India, there is a common custom in arranged marriages where the groom's family visits the bride's home, and the bride's family visits the groom's. Family members meet, discuss things
face-to-face, and only then is a final decision made. (Just to clarify, when I say "boy" and "girl" here, I am referring to the groom and the bride.)
As I was saying, after a few days, it was decided that Rakesh and his family would visit the bride's home. A date was finally set.
The day arrived. When they reached the bride's house, they saw a luxurious three-story building. In front of the house was a massive garden filled with flowers of every color. Entering that garden was enough to make anyone feel like a romantic at heart.
Everyone went inside. The bride's family members were incredibly polite and cheerful. Despite their wealth, they didn't have an ounce of arrogance. Five people had come from Rakesh's side: his father, his uncle, his paternal aunt, an aunt-in-law, and a "big brother" from the neighborhood.
The bride's family had prepared an enormous spread of food. Everything was tempting and delicious; in fact, there was so much on each plate that it was almost impossible for one person to finish it all.
After they had sat and talked for a while, Rakesh and the bride were sent to a separate room to speak privately. The bride's name was Rani.