Nostalgic Reflections

10:00 pm: Bedtime Meera knew that she needed to tell Akshay before she could tell mummy ji and rest of the family. Knowing Akshay, he didn’t care about the fast, but didn’t want to confront or upset his parents, understandably. Memories of 4 th standard thappads came rushing to him whenever he confronted, coupled with a respect for their age. Once they were in the room after dinner, they started to watch Bajirao Mastani on Netflix. Akshay cherished this time with Meera, it was his time to be himself, watch anything he wanted to without any inhibitions – whether they were chick-flicks or The Kardashians. There was a sense of freedom when Meera was around.   Without much thought, Meera told Akshay with a straight face that she loved him but didn’t feel that a fast was necessary to prove it. There it was…out of her system. Akshay’s face turned red. He knew that look of Meera really well – it was serious business and one of those rare moments when she knew what she wanted....

11:00am:  After the next day of karva chauth’s discussion with mummy ji, Meera decided to meet her friends from college for lunch. They were a group of five friends and all of them lived with their husbands’ families in South Delhi. Meera's friends were her support system at every beck and call. They shared everything from Sex and the City jokes to new hotspots in Delhi. Her hangouts were not only a way to vent sasural-related anxieties, but also to demonstrate the latest in fashion, jewelry and handbags - the best of Chanel, Gucci and Dior came out on these occasions. Meera got a kick out of the competition, it was about prestige, image and silly superiority complexes – everyone trying to prove they were better than others when it came to fashion.  1:30pm:  The first one to arrive at Oberoi was Meera, waiting for rest of them and hating to be the first one. Shortly afterwards, her friends started to pour in - Preeti, Esha, Sonali and Nidhi.  As they set...