Aruna comes from a middle-class family of six. Her father is a farmer, her mother a homemaker, but she helps her father with farming. She has two older sisters who are married and a younger brother studying in school. Coming from a village where women were married off early, she felt lucky enough to complete her 12th grade. Unfortunately, she was put into housework and farming after her 12th.

The marriage proposal came from a nearby village—a well-off family with wealth, land, and power. Her groom, Jaiveer, had seen her at a fair and wanted to marry her. The day her family received the proposal, they were beyond happy and assented to it.

Now, sitting in her red bridal lehenga, in her room, she couldn't help but feel nervous. Her mother and sisters had stepped out just a couple of minutes ago when they were informed about the arrival of the groom and his family. Before leaving, they gave her many instructions—' never say no to her husband,' 'please your husband in bed, otherwise he'll look for a woman outside,' 'listen to your in-laws,' 'once you get married, that house is yours,' and many more.

All these instructions only added to her nerves.

The wedding ceremony went well, and the newlyweds left the venue.

It was evening by the time they reached the groom's house. The house was filled with relatives, and all the rituals were done in front of them. She was taken to a room by his sister, Jayashri. "Bhabhi, your suhagraat won't be today. There is another ritual to be done tomorrow. This ritual is done in our family only in the presence of family members. Tomorrow, you'll know more about it. Tonight, you take rest, as it is going to be a long day tomorrow."

Saying this, she gave me a change of clothes and left the room. I changed, and I slept, wondering what the rituals could be.

***

The next day, she woke up early. She freshened up and was about to get ready when a maid came with clothes for the day—a beautiful red and cream lehenga with accessories. The maid helped her get ready and asked her to wait till she was called. Jaishri knocks on the door before opening it.

"Wow, bhabhi. You look beautiful."

Aruna blushed at her words. Jaishri covered her head and face with a veil before guiding her to the living room. Through the veil, she could see her husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brothers-in-law standing across the room with a bunch of ladies. She was made to sit on a beautifully decorated chair. They did her 'muh dikhai' ceremony, which went on for an hour or so. She was taken to a different room, and food was served to her by her. She was asked to rest for a while before the next ritual preparations were done.

A little while later, Jayashri came to take her down.

She was taken to a beautifully decorated room with a bed in the middle. Flowers were scattered all around the room. Candles were lit on the tables. The room smelled of roses. She was made to sit in the middle of the bed.

Her husband stepped into the room. He closed the door without bolting it. He walked towards the bed, sat beside her and removed her veil. He murmured 'beautiful' under his breath and pressed a kiss on her cheeks. She tightens the hold on her skirt, scared.

"Aruna. There is a ritual in our family. Today is our Suhagraat. This isn't just the consummation of marriage in this family. The first sex of the bride after marriage would be with her husband. It won't end there. She would have sex with all the men in the family. Of course, with the bride's consent. My mother did that, my aunt, and everybody has followed this ritual."

She got scared listening to the weird ritual. But her mother's and sisters' words echoed in her mind. 'You should obey and do everything that is told to you.

"Are you ready, Aruna?" asked Jaiveer.

She nodded her head yes. After smiling at her, he left to bring the rest of the family.

She kept glancing at the door, scared, not knowing what to expect or how the rest of the day and night would go.

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