The next day, before Dipesh was about to leave for Pune, his mother was serving him his favorite breakfast - Thalipeeth with fresh home-made butter.
Suddenly, she said, "Beta, your father has fixed your marriage!"
The spoon filled with butter fell from his hands.
"What? How? I mean with whom? and without asking me?"
And then immediately his father came and put his mobile phone beside Dipesh's plate. On the mobile screen, was the photo of the same girl.
"Is it the same girl you were enquiring about yesterday, Dipesh beta?", Father asked.
Dipesh looked at the photo, surprised, "Yes, yes! Same girl. But how do you know?"
"In the marriage function itself, we noticed your eyes were following in every direction Dipika was moving. That day she was going with her parents to some nearby village to visit their relatives after the marriage function was over."
"Oh papa, thanks very much. So, her name is Dipika? nice name!", He said.
"It is the same girl we want you to marry! We have already talked to her parents. However, you don't know much about them because you were studying in a hostel and rarely attended any such functions before. Dipika had come to our home a couple of times! She had seen you in photos. Now we need a firm yes from your side!"
Dipesh's happiness knew no bounds. With a renewed sense of enthusiasm and colourful butterflies flying in his heart, he travelled to Pune.
He also had taken Dipika's number and biodata from his parents.
He was very excited to talk to her. Sitting in his room, he sent her a message at night "Hi Dipika, Dipesh here!" and waited for her reply.
No reply from her. Finally, after some time sleep engulfed him.
In the morning he got ready for work and checked messages. Yet there was no reply to his message and suddenly, his phone rang! His mother was at the other end.
After regular inquiry, she asked, "Beta, before we plan your engagement, we need to hear a final yes from you for this girl. Your papa and I are okay but want to hear from you!"
"Mom, give me a few days. Just a few days! Let me check from her. Let me interact with her and understand her”.
After initial hesitation, she agreed. She wondered and worried about the new generation's fickle mindedness. When she told this to her husband, he told her to give Dipesh the time he wanted and told her not to worry.
Now, Dipesh was eagerly waiting for Dipika's response. Calling her directly wasn't a good option, he thought! He wanted first to have a chat with her.
