Monday, September 14, 2009


I have always felt brides look the best on the "Baashi Biye" day, that is the day after the wedding-the day when she goes away to her In-Laws' place. It is on that day that i feel the strain of the wedding, that shrouds the bride for months, is gone and yet there is a sense of nervousness in her sleep deprived eyes. The loud make up of the previous night is washed away and the hair is freed from the tight bun held together with an array of pins.
There is hardly any trace of make up and her face sort of lights up with the tinge of vermilion in the parting of her hair and the gold of the jewellery she wears.
When my sister got married, she looked her best on her Bashi Biye, though she got herself dark circles from all the crying. But inspite of all the fatigue and all the money that was spent to doll her up the night before, I feel she looked the best without any makeup, in a bindi and those unsure eyes brimming with new dreams. There's a beauty in the way she looked that day.A beauty no stylist can reproduce with bottles and jars of make-up.
And that's the way my sister, as the bride, will always remain in my heart.

8 comments:

Neel said...

Brilliant piece. Very touching. You are so good with simple thoughts. I like the way you think about things which most people don't bother about.
God of small things...!

~Moo-lah Buz!nezzz~ said...

True,its such insignficant to the point of being insignificant but its such a microscopic observation.Beautiful.

Angika said...

Beautiful piece, Riya. I love the way you contrast the decked-up look and the sleep-deprived-but-full-of-dreams look. Bravo! And I totally agree; true happiness brings a beauty that nothing artificial can :)

sujaan said...

:) now that u say it, I guess I agree... bashi biye is the best wedding day as well...

Casuarina said...

I totally agree : even now, when I myself leaf/browse through my wedding photos, it's a pleasant surprise to find that I looked so nice even after a mere four hours of sleep, on the morning of the 'bashi biye'. It's a sensation I never paused to analyse. I think you may have hit on the reason - it's the beauty of a present that is poised, uncertain but expectant, on the threshold of a past that may pave the way to a fulfilling future.

Magically Bored said...

And she looks beautiful in the picture!

Not a grown up goblin said...

i've nvr realy thoght abt it dis way, bt an aftrthoght on readin ur blog ws must..i guess its d tireness and the tears which mk d bride luk prettier.n d realisatn of gtin married also leads to a more mature being whch reflects thru evry inch of her face i thnk..

Elendil said...

On my sister's baashi biye day I cried more than her :P