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All the experiences with Nirmala left a scar in each of these brothers’ hearts, wounds that probably never healed. Sashank’s primary goal in life was to educate Akash and Deepak and get them settled in life. He never got married and was forty-nine years old. Akash and Deepak felt very secure with Sashank; he was a fatherly figure to both of them. They had a very high regard for him, and Kaki and Lakshmi became a family to these brothers.
Akash graduated in accounting and started working, but he continued to stay with his brother, Sashank. Over time, Akash became very introverted and diverted his attention towards spiritualism. His favorite pastime was to attend satsanghs (spiritual gatherings) or read spiritual books, and he never showed any interest in getting married. He was thirty-five years old.
Deepak grew up into a very handsome, six foot tall, very loving and affectionate individual. He was very aware of the sacrifices made by Sashank to get him and Akash educated. Deepak was very attached to Sashank, and Sashank always treated him as his child. Deepak graduated in engineering and decided to come to the US to obtain his master’s degree, and continued to stay in the US. Deepak was very simple and believed that both Indian and Western cultures had a lot to offer, and never forgot the importance of a family or traditions. He secured a job with a good company in California, got his green card, and eventually became a naturalized citizen of the US.
Deepak was thirty years old and started thinking of a life partner. Of course, with the ‘bad’ experiences with Nirmala, his older sister-in-law, he cared less for arranged marriages; he believed ‘love marriages’ were more successful when it came to compatibility between partners. Although the topic of his marriage had come up in his telephone conversations with Sashank, he plainly refused or ignored the topic because he wanted to find a life partner for himself.
~ ~ ~
Introduction to Gupta Family
Mr. Prashant Gupta was a colleague of Sashank Verma at State Bank of India. Prashant and Sashank had been very good friends for several years. Prashant’s wife passed away in a car accident when their daughter, Roshni, was five years old. Since then Prashant had been a mother and a father to Roshni and raised her. Prashant was fifty-two years old and had health problems. Prashant did a decent job upbringing Roshni, and she was very close to her father…he was more a friend to her than a father.
As time passed, Roshni grew up into a very beautiful girl, five foot five inches tall, with long hair. She was brought up traditionally and was very loving and affectionate. She was very outspoken and honest – one of those women who thought well before speaking and always made rational decisions and judgments. After graduating with a Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering, she worked for a computer firm in Mumbai. She was twenty-eight years old. Professionally, Roshni was well settled with a decent job and compensation. She was well respected by her colleagues and friends alike. One quality that separated her from others was her maturity and simplicity.
In addition to her job, Roshni was involved in charity work, one such charity was an orphanage that was managed by Ms. Kusum Dixit, who was a very good friend of the Guptas. Roshni was very close to Kusum Dixit and always addressed her as ‘didi’ (older sister). Kusum was forty-five years old and never got married. Kusum was a frequent visitor to the Gupta residence and treated Prashant as her older brother.
Prashant Gupta was aware of the troubles Sashank and his brothers had gone through because of the older brother and his wife, and he was always very supportive of Sashank and his family.
Sashank had watched Roshni grow up into a very responsible individual. He always felt that Roshni would be a good match for Deepak if he ever expressed interest in marriage. Over time, Prashant also developed similar feelings to propose Roshni for Deepak. However, since Deepak was in the US, Prashant had no idea what type of a person Deepak was, or if he was interested in getting married, especially since Sashank and Akash remained single.
Both sides had some inhibitions, and nobody took any initiative to proceed.
~ ~ ~
During one of the most recent telephone conversations, Deepak expressed his interest in marriage in preparation for his conversation regarding Karen; however, Sashank had a different idea – he became excited and approached Prashant for Roshni. Since Prashant knew of the family, he agreed to this proposal after discussing it with Roshni. Prashant assured his daughter that a meeting would be arranged so Deepak and Roshni could meet before they proceeded.
Although Roshni honored Sashank uncle and her father, she had a desire to talk to Deepak before the wedding was finalized. She wanted to understand Deepak’s expectations of a ‘wife’ and his views on marriage. On the other hand, Sashank was confident that his little brother Deepak, whom he had treated as his son, would never go against his wishes; he firmly believed that since Roshni was educated, good looking and from a family he knew, there was no reason for Deepak to disagree.
Unfortunately he had no idea of Deepak’s views on marriage.
Several assumptions were made on both sides, and it was all planned out by Sashank and Prashant;
the biggest ‘unknown’ was Deepak’s approval. Deepak had no idea that his marriage was being discussed in India and that Sashank had made a promise to his friend Prashant.
Chapter 2
Marriage Proposal for Deepak
Deepak woke up early to the sound of birds chirping near his window and the beautiful Indian divine chanting in a temple near his house. He tossed in the bed, covering his ears with the sheet to avoid any disturbance from the sounds around, but could not sleep. He could not avoid the jet lag and eventually decided to get up. Sashank and Akash were asleep, so without disturbing them, he went downstairs to the kitchen to make chai.
Lakshmi aunty was already in the kitchen getting ready to make chai for her and Kaki. “Deepak beta, why did you wake up so early? You could have slept longer.”
“Lakshmi aunty, until I get used to the time here, I will wake up and eat at irregular times.” The aroma of cinnamon and cardamom in boiling water in the kitchen drove him closer to her. “Are you making chai? Can you make some for me, please?” He took a deep breath and inhaled the aroma that was emitting from the boiling chai.
“Certainly, do you want to eat something?” She smiled. “Bhabhi made some special snacks for you. Do you want to try them?”
Before Deepak could reply, Kaki entered the kitchen and was also surprised to see Deepak awake so early.
While waiting for breakfast, Deepak walked into the family room and flipped through the channels, hoping to find something interesting to watch on the TV, but most of the channels showed some divine chanting or yoga, and he was not interested. He turned off the TV and returned to the dining table and started a casual conversation with Kaki as he sipped chai and enjoyed the snacks. A few minutes later, Sashank joined Deepak at the table, and they started chatting about Deepak’s lifestyle in the US while Sashank glanced over the headlines in the newspaper.
“What do you eat for breakfast every day?” asked Sashank.
“Usually cereal on weekdays, and I very often go to Indian restaurants during the weekend.” He smiled. “We get a lot of variety at the Indian restaurant, like idlis, dosas and medhu vadas.” Deepak paused and looked at Sashank. “Bhaiya, do you remember Vivek and his wife, Vaishali?”
Sashank nodded, still holding the newspaper and reading an article.
“They invite me over quite frequently.”
