Yett another marriage

“Anusha, yett another marriage?” Lucy teacher asked me with her eyes popped out and shaking her face up and down, when mummy had come to request leave for Sandeep anna’s marriage. Two months back we had been to Kolhapur for Shekhar anna’s marriage. I never have to lie when I take a leave. My school is better than Amit anna’s. He always lies that he has fever when he takes leave. Wish he was in my school. My school is near our house and they always give leave.

Amit anna is my own brother. All the other annas are my cousins. Amit anna doesn’t talk much. He does not laugh also. But when he does he laughs without making any sound. I cannot laugh without making sounds.

For some reason Sandeep anna’s marriage happened suddenly. Mummy doesn’t tell me anything. But I know. Uncle and aunty were not ready for his marriage. Tanu didi is a Bengali and we speak Marathi. But I like Tanu didi. She always gets me chocolates when she comes home.

The marriage was in a place somewhere near Kolkata. It was called something like Kharagpur. Though some people called it Khadagpur. It was a very very long train journey from Pune to that place. Pune is our home town. But we are not from Pune. My native place is Athani in Karnataka. Papa has his office in Pune. He is a engineer and he builds buildings.

It was my first train journey. But mummy says it was my second. She says I went with her from Pune to Belgaum in a train when I was very small. I loved the train journey. It was like a moving house. Beds, food, AC and toilets. Chetan anna and I played cards on the top most berth where no one could disturb us. He can’t play only. I won all the times. I love climbing up and down the berths. We used to get down at every station and buy something, dip chai, samosas, fruits, idlis and Frooti. I love Frooti and I can drink it every day.

Rohan anna had come from the US. We did not know he was coming for the marriage. He told me he will take me with him when I reach 7th standard. So only 3 more years to go. 

Amit anna was busy playing games on Rohan anna’s mobile. That phone has no buttons. We just have to touch it, it seems. They never give it to me because I will spoil it, it seems. Everyone knew about what Lucy teacher said and they would ask me to keep saying it again and again. I would pop my eyes out and say it in her style. And everyone would laugh.

My best friend’s name is Ayesha. She gives me her notes whenever I miss school. We eat our tiffin together and share it. I like her mom’s Biryani more than mummy’s pulaav. But she loves mummy’s pulaav and I don’t know why. She has never sat in a train and never gone out of Pune. I missed the lesson on Shivaji in the Hindi class. But I know everything about him as we have that lesson every year. Shivaji was born on 19th Feb 1630 in the Shivneri fort. His father's name was Shahaji and mother's name was Jijabai.

I have a lot of pet names. Shekhar anna calls me with many pet names. Dummi, Dummakka, Chimukli, etc. I don’t know if they mean anything. But I like to have so many pet names.

That lady who was Tanu didi’s aunty kept moving her tongue very fast and shouted loudly during the marriage. I used to laugh whenever she did it. We all tried to do it. But we could not. We ate a lot of rasgullas and pani puri.

I was in all the photos standing beside Sandeep anna wearing the new blue dress and the Baalika Vadhu jewelery set.

Rohan anna was about to leave to Mumbai for his flight and he asked me to do it again. I popped my eyes out, shook my head and said -

“Anusha, yett aanother marriage?”