Anupam, an English teacher, is extremely sensitive & expresses her emotions in poems. She is pursuing Masters in Psychology at present.

An Enigma

I wanted to know about you,

But couldn't ask anyone,

I wished to listen to you,

But couldn't talk with you,

I dreamt of your face and figure,

As I'd heard about your allure,

I was told you're an engineer

Even when they knew my opinion

As I wished to marry a doctor,

They considered you as the best bachelor

Tall, handsome, qualified, settled and fair,

You became a kind of magical creature

I knew nothing about your structure

Just framed it in my imaginary nature,

Waiting for you to appear.in real figure.

The Day of Your Arrival

It took not much to spend the days of despair,

As soon from winter the time travelled to summer,

My hands and legs were painted in bridal colours,

And eyes were soaked in unexpected tears,

I was no more just a sister or daughter

But was going to your family to be a new member.

Shaehnai with the other instruments were played

Friends and relatives from near and far had come,

They all were blessing me for my nuptial day,

Finally, in the evening you as a groom arrived

With your relatives, friends and other company,

Whoever got a glimpse of yours in the crowd,

Reported me, you were the best of all the Gods;

For a special ritual, I'd to go out in the garden

There we married the tree Mango to Madhuka,

Expecting to have a blessed married life,

There I could see you sitting on the high chair,

From a little corner of my eyes filled with shyness,

And asked myself to have a little more patience

As we were to be tied in a knot to stay in sync.

At midnight I was called on the stage

To have a beautiful garland exchange,

And from there we went for the ceremony,

Where the priest chanted for our journey,

I felt on my face your continuous stare,

And died to spot the Cupid shot leer,

But within there lied a sort of fear

Of being noticed by the people near.

When my hand was given into yours

That was the first time I got the treasure

Of the immense prodigious warmth of yours;

In your hand, you held mine as a delicate flower,

As if you were really promising to care forever.

The First Night With You

The marriage ceremony was over

When the night's reign, the dawn took over,

The relatives and friends left us alone

In exquisite colourful flowers decorated room,

You were still looking uniformly at me

Asking the reason for ignorance from me,

"Why don't you want to look at me,

Is there anything that's troubling ?"

I just smiled and answered nothing

And that was enough for your feeling,

We both closed our eyes while dreaming

And didn't speak a single word orally.

As our Indian Maithil Brahmin culture's ritual

In the month of June, the mid scorching summer

We didn't have any other chores or even bathing,

Spending four days in the same nuptial clothing,

And living on just rice, ghee and sweet pudding,

For four days we rarely made any of the talking

And just looked at each other while sleeping.

The marriage of ours was solemnized on the fourth day

Since then we were the actual wife and husband,

I still remember your first word of that very day

When I assured you that I was not in any worry,

"You can fulfil your dreams I can never come on your way."

(Ironically You did the same my dear)

© 2020 Anupam Mitu

Comments

femi from Nigeria on October 12, 2020:

I dont see anything wrong in arranged marriage solong as their is no untold pressure on the people involved and concent of bride..However l draw a line to child bride, that is a crime in my own opinion.

FlourishAnyway from USA on October 11, 2020:

You should consider writing an article about arranged marriages based on your own experience. Many people don’t know they still take place, especially among educated women. Consider addressing practical issues such as who chose your husband, did you have any say, how far you had to travel outside of your community to marry, was there a dowry, etc.? It’s not my choice but if this is what you prefer I respect it.

Anupam Mitu (author) from MUMBAI on October 11, 2020:

Thank you Tony.

femi from Nigeria on October 10, 2020:

Nice l loved it

Vikas on October 10, 2020:

It's always good to read ur opinion...

Anupam Mitu (author) from MUMBAI on October 10, 2020:

Thank you Megha for reading and appreciating.

Megha Ginnare from BHOPAL on October 10, 2020:

Beautifully written poem. Thank you for sharing.

Anupam Mitu (author) from MUMBAI on October 09, 2020:

Thank you so much Millicent. Lots of love and blessings dear.

Anupam Mitu (author) from MUMBAI on October 09, 2020:

Dear Greaney, I bet you will love watching the rituals in our culture. It's so fascinating like some fairy tale. It is not so widely known in India because the origin of this culture is abandoned by most of its dwellers because of unemployment and lack of development by the local governmenet.

Anupam Mitu (author) from MUMBAI on October 09, 2020:

Thank you so much Manohar. I hope you got the irony of the poem.

MG Singh emge from Singapore on October 09, 2020:

It's a nice poem echoing your sentiments

Sp Greaney from Ireland on October 09, 2020:

This is such a lovely way of describing the ritual and how things went before and after the ceremony.

Millicent Okello from Nairobi, Kenya on October 09, 2020:

Wow. What a beautiful poetry. As i read it, i found myself so into it. Very interesting

Anupam Mitu (author) from MUMBAI on October 09, 2020:

Thank you so much Brenda for reading and commenting.

Lots of love and blessings.

BRENDA ARLEDGE from Washington Court House on October 09, 2020:

Interesting poetry.

I do not know much about other cultures & wedding ceremonies.

It seems your husband was chosen for you.

Having to wait 4 days is probably a good way to get to know one another if you had talked.

Great writing.