Foundation, Concealers and Shades: Wedding Atrocities

Rasathi sees her beautiful mehndi on her palms and smiled to herself. She looked at the wall clock and started feeling nervous, excited, sad, tired, and happy which formed a cocktail of mixed feelings served with a slice of lemon. For an ordinary woman like Rasathi who came from a middle class family; planning and organizing her weeding seemed hefty. It begun with surveying wedding halls, picking a talented photographer, choosing a unique wedding invitation and hiring a make-up artist seemed surreal.

Despite making all these arrangements for past 1 year, Rasathi still felt something chocking her throat as the clock ticked each second nearing her big event as if she was never aware of it. Sharp five hours before she step out of the room as the celebrated bride, she heard someone knocking on her room door, “Knock knock”. Rasathi stood up in her oversized shirt and underskirt and walked to the room door and welcomed the make-up artist.

“Sister, I want a simple and beautiful make up on my face. Don’t slap my face with too much of colours. Try to keep it as natural as possible but I want to look good enough to catch the attention of the crowd,” Rasathi said and giggled.

“No worries dear. You paid me to make you look outstanding and stunning. Just trust in me,” the make-up artist replied.

Each corner and nook of Rasathi’s face and neck was wiped off clear with some special liquid. Rasathi’s face was bare and natural. She could feel the soft cold air from the air conditioner in her room breezing against her soft cheeks. The make-up artist took one brush after another applying foundation, eye shades and lipstick. She carefully adjusted and drew my eyebrows and placed fake lashes onto my natural ones and I was looking radiant. After the baby roses were pinned nicely onto her bride hairdo, Rasathi stood up as it was time for saree draping around her slim waist. The maroon coloured Kanchipuram saree was tucked perfectly and the pallu felt blissfully over her shoulder and Rasathi made one of the prettiest brides ever seen.

Rasathi’s bridesmaid stormed into the room signalling that it was time for her to make the great entrance into the wedding hall. Rasathi felt her knee wobbling. She held the nosegay really tight and held her bridesmaid’s hand strong enough almost crushing her bones into pieces as she walked down the aisle to the stage. Rasathi blushed and smiled as the cameraman started rolling his camera when Rasathi made her way to the altar. She finally looked up and saw how all the guests’ eyes were gleaming at her as she sat next to her husband-to-be and gathered her hands to greet the members of the floor with a Namaste.

The priest started chanting mantras more loudly and Rasathi tried to catch the glimpse of the man she loved so dearly. Krishna was already looking at her but Rasathi could sense some sort of disappointment in his face. The priest handed some flowers to them and guided them to perform the godly rituals before the holy knot is being tied. Rasathi could not stand the disappointment in Krishna’s face and decided to whisper to him as she knew it would fade in the loudness of the kettimelam and the loud mantra chanting of the priest.

“Baby are you okay?” Rasathi asked.

“Oh yes!! I have been waiting to call you my wife all these years and its happening now,” Krishna said as he gripped Rasathis’s hand.

“It is just that, you don’t look like the Rasathi I dated. Your face looks different. You look “white,”” Krishna added as he waved at a guest walking into the wedding hall.

Rasathi smiled and looked down. He pulled her hand and whispered, “See baby, can you spot the difference? This is your skin colour. The shades of beautiful dusk I fell in love with.”

Rasathi had no answers. Her husband-to-be, managed to make her speechless for the very first time. The priest yelled “Kettimelam!! Kettimelam!!” signalling the musicians and the volume of the orchestra went up and the guests started throwing the flower petals in their hand towards them as Krishna tied the Mangalsutra around Rasathi’s neck. Rasathi teared out of mixed feelings unsure whether to be happy to get the hand of the man she loves so much or to feel sad about her suddenly fair complexion. Family and friends patted and consoled her thinking it was normal for a bride to cry after being married. Only Rasathi knew the reason. The couple stood up and vowed around the agni(fire) three times promising to be together until death does them apart. Rasathi learned that the measures of beauty doesn’t rely in fair complexions.

Adapted from: Radhe Krishna