"What the f*ck is this?! I just don't want to get married. But I was looking for accommodation from the groom's side. Am I crazy ?" Laya grumbled under her breath. Nevertheless, she walked around in search of the room. It all started a week ago.
A week ago…..
Laya Pasupuleti, a twenty-one-year-old graduate, was looking for a job. She just graduated three months ago, she was looking for a job but her parents called her to return to Hyderabad from Chennai as there was something urgent. Laya set off to Chennai the moment she got the call. When she attempted the call from her mother she looked tense and scared. Laya doesn't know what to do, so she stopped her job hunt and started her journey. Laya studied interior design at the Madras Institute of Fashion and Technology, in Chennai. Laya's parents were too orthodox to the point she can't even have friends in her life. She felt suffocated when she lived with her parents. That's why she decided to live far from them. When she applied to the best interior design college in Chennai after her intermediate, her parents opposed her. Only her big brother and her little brother supported her. And just like any other Indian family, Laya's parents listen to their son only. Her elder brother assured them he would take care of Laya, as he was also staying in Chennai due to his job. Only then Laya was spared by them. But when she was leaving her home, she got an earful of instructions or maybe it would be better to say orders from them. She only returned home once a year, but in her final year she didn't even go to her house. This was her first time returning home after nearly a year.
Laya sighed at the thought of her parents as she continued her journey. She was glad that her older brother came to drop her off at the railway station. She saw how the train looked like a big snake and the compartments looked like a tail to her. She saw them taking u-turns every now and then. She doesn't know that not only the train but also her life took a u-turn after she returned to her home.
After nearly a day of the journey, Laya felt sore all over her body. If not for her mother's call, she would have attended an interview. Even though she knew she might not get selected, she badly wanted to try as she felt like trying and exploring her life. She saw her elder sister-in-law marrying her brother at a young age itself. They both have eight years of age gap between them, her elder brother is thirty-one, while her sister-in-law is only twenty-three and a mother of a child. Her parents got her brother married three years ago. They only cared whether her sister-in-law had enough dowry and had good connections and wealth. They didn't give a damn about her age or her feelings. Her sister-in-law, Durga, came from a village. She only did her intermediate. She wanted to do a degree but her parents didn't allow her. After giving birth to a daughter, she asked her brother whether she could study or not, as she did one of the most important duties of a wife and a daughter-in-law. Even though her brother agreed, Laya's parents didn't agree. Because they wanted a grandson, but she gave a granddaughter to them. Durga was now trying to get pregnant and give birth to a son. Even though her brother was cold looking and aloof, he made her study distance education, without his parent's knowledge. After all, they were living in Chennai and her parents were in Hyderabad, Telangana. How would they know about this?
