“Weight” For The Right Man [#Winner]

“But look at Pihu. Does her size even bother her? If they reject her who will marry her? At the age of 29, I had two kids and look at this girl. Does she want to remain unmarried forever?”

Here is the second winner of our November 2017 Muse of the Month contest, Priya Sharma.

The cue for this month was from the movie Dum Laga Ke Haisha. The woman who stands up to fat shaming. The protagonist is humiliated by her husband in front of his friends. She slaps him, packs her bag, leaves him, and goes to her parents’ home. They try to convince her to go back, saying that he must not have meant it, and should have kept quiet – to which she counters, “He insulted me and you want me to be quiet?”

“Chill maasi….I haven’t hit 100 yet” teased Pihu.

“Such an impudent girl” nagged Nalini maasi.

Pihu ignored Nalini maasi’s constant barraging and snuggled up in her cosy bed putting on her earphones to listen to her favourite playlist on her phone.

Nalini maasi’s next target was Pihu’s mother; Indu. “Indu, you have pampered your daughter too much and now she’s gone out of hand.” Indu couldn’t extricate herself from the situation; so she stood there helplessly facing all the accusations thrown at her.

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“Have you forgotten that the Mehras are coming to see your daughter for marriage tomorrow? I have done a thorough research. This is the best proposal I could find for Pihu. The Mehras are a very affluent and reputed family. Akash is very broad-minded and modern in his outlook and so are his parents. Where will we find such a family? Your daughter will be treated like a queen.” said Nalini maasi.

“But look at Pihu. Does her size even bother her? If they reject her who will marry her? At the age of 29, I had two kids and look at this girl. Does she want to remain unmarried forever? I’m fed up of finding new proposals for her every now and then” complained Nalini while Indu looked at her guiltily.

Prior to this proposal, Pihu had been rejected nine times. But this time, Nalini maasi left no stone unturned to impress the boy’s family. Pihu’s manicure-pedicure, facial session, bleaching, waxing, etc was all taken care of under the meticulous supervision of Nalini maasi. She kept repeating instructions to Pihu on how to walk, talk, sit, and behave when the boy’s family arrives.

Next morning, everyone in the house was busy getting ready for the first official meeting between the Mehras and the Bhatias. Though all the likes and dislikes of the Mehras had been taken care of, the fear of Pihu getting rejected loomed everyone’s thoughts.

Being overweight didn’t really bother Pihu Bhatia. Standing five foot seven inches tall, her silky brown hair and light grey eyes added charm to her pretty face. She was a carefree girl who loved herself the way she was. She loved to eat and her happiness mantra was “One life – Eat Good, Feel Good”.

“They’ll be coming any moment; I hope you remember everything that I told you, Pihu. Please don’t put us to shame.” chided Nalini maasi.

Akash Mehra and his parents had finally arrived. Akash looked very impressive in a light blue striped shirt and black trousers. His well sculpted body made it evident that he was a fitness freak.

After the guests seated themselves in the spacious living room and the two families exchanged pleasantries, it was time for Pihu to make an entry.

She was clad in a beautiful yellow salwar-kameez and dainty jewellery. Her tummy tucker tried hard to hold back her bulging fat but failed miserably. Pihu entered the living room with a sweet smile and a tray full of snacks and tea. She could see that how hard her family was trying to impress the Mehras just to get her married. She placed the tray in front of the guests and politely requested them enjoy the savouries and tea.

“Touch the feet of the elders and take their blessings, Pihu” said Nalini maasi. Pihu obliged and bent down to take blessings from Akash’s parents. But her stubborn belly fat intervened and made the task very strenuous. “Why is Nalini maasi putting me through such torture? I wish I would have done some yoga stretches before this people arrived”, thought Pihu.

Pihu was asked to sit with the guests so that the new family could talk to her and also take a good look at her. With great difficulty she managed to squeeze herself on the sofa between her mother and Nalini maasi.

Soon conversation between Pihu and Akash started. Pihu was asked general questions about her qualification, hobbies, interests, career plans, etc. Akash’s mother intermittently kept interrupting their conversation with her questions and incessant talking and chuckling. The whole chat session lasted for more than an hour. The meeting was concluded and when the Mehras were about to leave, Indu handed them a box of sweets with a hope that their potential relationship would materialize into a life-long one. The whole family escorted them to the door. “We will let you know our decision within two days” said Akash’s father as he left.

After two days, the Mehras promptly apprised their rejection. That evening the whole Bhatia family gathered in their living room again. Everyone was nervous. Nalini maasi was all charged up to attack Pihu. But before Nalini maasi’s temper could fray, Pihu confessed “I know you all are very disappointed that this proposal too didn’t work out. But I don’t want to marry into a family that doesn’t find me attractive just because I am oversized. I am an independent, confident and good-looking girl. I have a lucrative job and I can feed the Mehras all my life. But if my confidence and wisdom has failed to impress them, I feel that it’s their loss and not mine.” Nalini maasi stood with her mouth agape.

It was for the first time the family felt that they had been unfair to Pihu. Each and every word of what Pihu spoke had made sense them. They realized that indeed their daughter was the best with no flaws in her. It was time for them and others to change their outlook.

“Maa, I am not in a hurry to get married. I’ll “W.E.I.G.H.T” for the right man.” said Pihu. Gales of laughter filled the room driving away the fear and guilt from everyone’s mind.

Priya Sharma wins a Rs 250 Amazon voucher, as well as a chance to be picked one among the top winners at the end of 2017. Congratulations! 

Image source: shutterstock

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