After this, the baraatis (groom’s party) disappeared to the nearby, local school, which Rekha’s father had borrowed for the occasion and where food was being served. Rekha hurriedly undressed in the side-room surrounded by fussing didis (‘sisters’ – of various description), re-washed her hair, and re-dressed into one of her new saris. This time, she wore the elaborate shardi jewellery Helen and I had bought her as a present. I was honoured to have provided something so beautiful and significant; it felt as though a part of me had been admitted into the inner sanctum of this alien, age-old ceremony.
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