Haldi ceremony
This incident happened some years back. It was my younger sister's wedding. The Haldi ceremony was on in the morning. We had organised this morning's Haldi function in our Apartment building's terrace only. A part of the terrace was covered up with a brightly colored shamiana (decorated tent). This was basically a ladies' event. My cousin sisters, bhabhis (sisters in laws), aunties, friends of sisters and most of the ladies of the different flats in our apartment building were assembled there. What a ruckus they were creating. Music going on, laughter and jokes…everything at high volume. They already had one session of dancing in tune with Bollywood songs. The Haldi ceremony was currently on. They are planning to have one more round of dancing after they anoint the bride, that is, my sister and themselves with Haldi.
I am Sumit, I was 32 years then. I had gone to supervise if everything was going right in the function. I was actually managing the whole show for this wedding ceremony. It's a long three-four days affair. My father was old and he wasn't always keeping well. He had spondylitis, so could not move around much. My mother also had health problems. Both of them could attend to the guests and generally mix around. But all the managing and running around was my responsibility.
But everything had been pre-planned and organised by me. The morning Haldi ceremony was not such a big function. The marriage in the evening would be the big show. But we were organising that in a Banquet hall near our house. Decorations, Lights, flowers, Catering had all been finalsed. Now they have to be monitored and orchestrated to perfection.
After this Haldi ceremony gets over, the lunch for all the guests present in the morning function was to be organised. The caterers were already preparing the food. I just went and checked and monitored with the catering supervisor. Everything was going to plan.
As I was coming through the area where the ladies and the girls were putting haldi on each other, some of my Bhabis and cousin sisters caught me. They were bent upon putting haldi all over my face and body. Some of the Bhabis were especially hell bent on putting Haldi on me. I pleaded with them that I'm extremely busy today. I have to run around and manage everything. They said, "No…you are next in line…we'll get you married after your sister's marriage is over. Within six months we'll get you a beautiful bride. So you must put Haldi on you today."
I reasoned with them that I have to go to the groom's house right after this. If they put Haldi on me, my clothes will be spoiled. Luckily for me, one of the seniors intervened and I was spared.
I smiled to myself that the one about my going to the groom's house worked. Actually that wasn't true. There were some items to be sent to the groom's house which I had already managed to send through one of my cousin brothers. So I wasn't going anywhere. I actually needed time at home to manage things here for the evening function.
I was about to turn back and get away from the scene fast, when I found that somebody had hugged me from the back. It was a very tight bear hug. The person who was holding me seemed to be much bigger and taller in size than me. He had actually hugged me in such a way, that both my arms were pinned to my sides and I couldn't move them.
Here I must tell you that I'm rather a small sized man. Although I was a fully grown up young man of 32, I was only 5'3" tall and I weighed around 60 kgs at that time.
I tried to free myself, but the person who had caught me seemed to be much stronger than me. With both my arms pinned to my sides, I just couldn't move. Then the person who was holding me called out to my Bhabis and cousins who were busy playing Haldi with each other, "Come girls I've caught Sumit for you. Come put Haldi on him."
The sound of the voice shocked me. This was not a man's voice. I turned my head and was astonished to see Puja Bhabhi grinning down at me from behind me. Puja Bhabhi was one of our neighbours. She lived in one of the flats in our Apartment complex. She was a robust lady, 5'8" tall. I didn't know exactly but she definitely weighed 80 kgs or more. She had a rather dusky complexion, her skin was smooth and looked well maintained, although she was 42 years of age. She had a rather roundish face, not very beautiful, but sweet to look at.
Now that I knew she was a woman and that too, much older than me, I was sure I could get out of her grip. She might have surprised me initially by her bear hug, especially because she had wrapped her long, fat arms over my arms, pinning my hands to my side. But I was sure that if I exerted pressure with my back, I'll be able to open out her grip on my arms and body.
Now all the other girls and women in the haldi ceremony had their full attention on this intergender fight. They were obviously all routing for Puja Bhabhi only, just because she is a woman. I didn't have any supporters, except that I saw my sister was not cheering for Puja Bhabhi.
The girls were all insisting on bhabhi to bring me near them. Actually I was about to get out of the shamiana, when she caught me.There was already about a space of 20 feet or a little more between where the girls were putting haldi on each other and where this bhabhi held me captive. Between that area, the decorators had already laid down the red mattress where the tables for the lunch were to be placed a little later. So the girls were not able to come near me to put Haldi on me, as they would then soil the newly laid out mattress.
When I understood that the ladies can't come to me, I had the confidence that given some time, I would be able to tire out Puja bhabhi. Actually this lady had the advantage of both height and weight over me. Just because she was 5 inches taller than me, her arms were longer. Also her shoulders were wider than mine. So she used her long arms to wrap them properly around my slim body. That is, even though her arms went over my arms pinning them to my sides, she could clasp them together in front of my chest. And she was putting pressure on my body because of her heavier mass. She was 82 kgs and I was 60 kgs, a difference of 22 kgs. With the constant pressure she was generating through her fat hands on my arms and chest, I was weakening.
I was not able to loosen her hold around my body, my hands being locked up under her arms. So I tried to push her with my back, so that her tight grip on my body slackens. But just because she was 22 kgs heavier than me, I wasn't able to push her back even an inch. On the contrary, while trying to push I was extending my legs to get better leverage. Which in effect was bringing my body sliding down her solid body. After some push I found that my body had slid down so much that she was now over a foot taller than me. Looking back up I saw her head was now so much above my head. Also with my feet now extended before her, I had lost balance of my body. I realised with shock that I was not standing on my feet now. But actually Puja Bhabhi was holding my body up with her strong arms wrapped around my arms and chest. Her tall and heavy body was supporting my back. If she lets go of her hold, I would fall to the ground.
There was constant cheering coming from the girls and ladies in support of Puja bhabhi urging her to bring me over to them. I took it as a personal ego fight between Man and Woman. I, being a fully grown up young man of 32, was constantly losing ground in a physical strength contest with a middle aged woman of 42 years. This was not only my prestige fight but the honour of my manhood was at stake.
At that point I realised that my body had slid down quite a lot and was being totally supported by Puja bhabhi. But with my legs extended so far ahead, she was not in a position to even push me from the back and take me to the ladies' den. It was then I saw some ray of hope. It was now clear that I am not going to win this fight, the way Puja Bhabhi is holding me captive. But it was also evident that Puja bhabhi can in no way push me to the girls' side. And that would mean that the girls won't be able to put Haldi on me. That would in effect be a moral victory for me.
Once I realised this, I also knew that now Bhabhi has no option but to let me free. There was a possibility that she might just let go of her hold over me. In which case, I would just slump to the ground at her feet. That way she could claim victory. But if she does let me fall at her feet, I was just preparing myself to run. Otherwise she might just stoop down and catch me again. I felt like a mouse trapped by a cat, waiting for an opportunity to get free and run for my life. Not a very manly sort of thought, planning to run away from a taller, bigger, stronger woman. To make it worse, this woman was 10 years older than me.
I was feeling now that bhabhi was allowing me to stand up on my own feet. She was slowly loosening her vice like grip around my body. And with her heavy body behind me acting as a wall, she was in effect supporting me to stand up. I knew the fight was over. She had obviously won the fight, but could not forcefully take me to the ladies section for putting haldi on me.
Finally, she released me fully and I stood up on my own feet. I wanted to show a true sportsman spirit and congratulate her. I turned around and smiled up at her. Now that I was standing so close to her body, with her being 5 inches taller than me, I had to crane my head high up to look at her eyes. She was looking down at my face smiling sweetly.
I said, smiling at her, "Wow Bhabhi ! You are so strong even at this age."
Looking down at me, there was suddenly a mischievous look in her eyes. Before I realized what was happening, she stooped, slid one arm under my armpits and around my chest and her other arm, behind my knees, and then she swept me effortlessly up off my feet to hold me tightly against her, cradled securely in her powerful arms.
Finally it was all over. She had me conquered. I struggled to free myself, thrashing my arms and legs around. But she held me tightly on her breasts, with a steady pleasant smile on her face. I suddenly felt that I was making a fool of myself in front of all the women present there. I was thrashing about with my hands and legs like a boy crying to go to school on his first day, getting carried away by the school attendant maid, struggling helplessly in her arms.
I stopped struggling. Instead I wrapped my arms around her neck and buried my face in the crook of her neck, just to hide my face in shame from the other girls and ladies. It was a total shameless surrender by a young man of 32 to an older woman in a contest of strength. There was a loud cheer from all the women present there. A victory for the woman over man. That too a middle aged woman capturing and lifting a young man helplessly in her arms.
Puja bhabhi started walking with me. Slowly, a confident victorious walk. I had to take my face out of hiding from inside her neck just to see where she was carrying me to. She was walking towards the ladies and the girls waiting with Haldi in their hands and cheering her at every step.
When she saw that I had taken my face out of her neck, she stopped. She pulled my body a little up in her cradle, so that my face was right under her face. She smiled, bent down and planted a big wet kiss on my forehead, a stamp of victory. Then she looked up to the girls and said, "To the victor belongs the spoils !!"
This was greeted with another loud cheer from the girls. Then she slowly walked towards the girls and stood in their midst still holding me up in her arms.
Then there was chaos. I could feel so many hands all over me. They were putting haldi all over me. My face, my hands, my legs, any part of my body they could lay their hands on. My younger cousins even pulled up my t-shirt and painted my bare chest and belly with haldi.
Puja bhabhi did not for once put me down. At last when the girls had all their fun and they realised that there was no part of my body left to be painted yellow, they backed out.
Some of the younger ones were so excited that they wanted to bathe me there itself with water. My sister came forward. She told Puja bhabhi quite sternly, "Enough of this fun, Bhabhi ! Everybody knows that you are a tall and big woman. But you didn't have to show off your strength by defeating my brother in an open fight and carrying him like a little boy in your lap for such a long time. You shouldn't have embarrassed him like this in front of all the women here. Now since you have done this to him, you only have to help him to get cleaned up. He has a lot of responsibility for this marriage and has a lot of work to do. Now just take him away from here and get him cleaned up."
Everybody was silent. Puja bhabhi turned around and just walked away with me still cradled in her arms. With the rebuke from my sister, she even forgot to put me down from her arms.
She walked out of the shamiana and carried me in her arms down the terrace stairs. With the long fight with bhabhi and then the attack on me by so many women; with all the haldi smearing all over my face and body, my strength was totally drained off. I lay exhausted in Bhabhi's arms with my face resting on Bhabhi's big full breasts. I didn't even know where she was carrying me to. I didn't have the energy to even protest why she was carrying me even now and not putting me down. In fact I felt relieved that I didn't have to walk and that she was carrying me like a child in her arms. She was constantly apologising to me all the way she carried me down, "I'm extremely sorry dear…I got so excited with all the girls cheering for me. I should have realised that I was embarrassing you in front of all the women. I don't know what came over me. I know I've hurt your ego in front of all the girls. Please forgive me, Sumit."
Puja Bhabhi's flat was just on the top floor. She walked down the flight of stairs from the terrace and came in front of her top floor flat. She had a small sling bag hanging from her shoulders. Since she was carrying me in both her hands, she asked me to open the chain on her bag and take out her keys. I took out the keys and gave them to her. Holding me cradled in her arms, with me hanging on to her body like a child, having my hands wrapped tightly around her neck, she opened the door and carried me inside her flat.
She smiled down at me and said, "Now my dear I've brought you home. I can see that you are too exhausted after your fight with me. I forgot that I'm so much taller and bigger than you. When I finally beat you in the fight and lifted you up in my arms, only then I realised how small and weak you were against my strength. How helplessly you were lying in my arms hiding your face inside my neck." She started walking in her flat, slowly carrying me from room to room, as if in a trance and talking to me, smiling down at me lying helplessly cradled in her arms, tightly pressed against her full breasts. She continued talking to me, "Please don't feel bad but even now I feel as if I've conquered you and I own you now as my prize. It was a great feeling, you know, especially when I finally lifted and captured you in my arms and you were thrashing about with your arms and legs hopelessly struggling to get free and I was just holding you up there on my breasts, smiling down at you casually. And then the final surrender, when you knew that you were conquered by me and you put your arms around my neck and hid your face in my breasts. That feeling I'll never forget ever in my life. It was then I knew that I've won you for myself and you were totally mine forever."
She was rocking me slowly as she walked around her flat with me lying in her arms. "Then your sister told me to take you away with me. It was as if she was giving you away as a prize to me. And when I was carrying you all the way down from the terrace down here to my flat, I was feeling as if I was bringing home the love of my life after winning him in a fight and capturing him for myself. You are now totally mine for me to do anything I want with you.
Come let me start by cleaning up all the haldi those naughty girls have put all over your face and body."
She carried me towards her bathroom….
