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Html content: <h2>Marriage and Companionship</h2> <div class="marriage"> The wedding took place on September 9th, 1947. Time passed swiftly as preparations for the wedding commenced. It is worth knowing about the significant differences between contemporary marriages and those of earlier times. Apart from the traditional rituals and Vedic chants, many formalities have evolved over the years. During those times, hardly anything was readily available. Everything, from grinding various flours to preparing sweets, snacks, pickles, and even procuring ghee, had to be meticulously planned well in advance. Close family members, especially women such as the bride’s or groom’s sisters, paternal and maternal aunts, and other relatives with grown up children who did not require constant attention from their mothers, would arrive a month or two before the wedding to assist in preparing all these necessities. Gifts were exchanged only among the immediate family members, and they were typically modest and simple. Most of relatives were common to both families and lived in close proximity. Lakshamma, Kodandaramayya’s aunt’s family, came from Chandrala. The bride, Satyavathi, had many uncles, aunts, and cousins. The wedding of the Karanam’s (village karanams are like village heads with the responsibility of maintaining land records and revenue assessments) youngest daughter was celebrated by the whole village, marking the last marriage in the family. All the villagers were invited, along with some government officials. Satyavathi, the youngest child who had never known hardship, was a very intelligent and poised girl, pampered by all. The day before the wedding, all members of the groom’s family arrived. Satyavathi’s uncle’s house was prepared for the groom and his relatives to stay. That evening, the groom was invited to the bride’s house for some rituals. Satyavathi’s sister pulled her to the window and showed her Kodandaramayya, the groom, teasingly said, “See him now before it is too late.” Satyavathi had a quick glance at her future husband. ‘This is it,’ she thought. He settled in her heart from that moment, becoming her universe. The world changed for her then. The next day, during the wedding ceremony, when the veil between the bride and the groom was lifted, Kodandaramayya saw his wife for the first time. As he glanced at her, a smile spread across his face. He thought she was beautiful. “My father did select a beautiful wife for me, thank God,” he reflected. On the night of the wedding, both the bride and groom were taken on a procession in a palanquin all over the village. Kodandaramayya heard people saying, “Our son-in-law is very handsome.” He would later tease his wife, saying, “Even your villagers certified that I am good looking. So, you need not have regrets that you didn’t see me before the marriage.” Satyavathi would then ask, “What about you? Do you have regrets?” He would reply, “Of course not, I had full faith in my father.” Satyavathi would mockingly say, “Thank God for that. If you had seen me, perhaps you would not have agreed.” The next day, the groom’s party, along with the bride, her sister, brother, and aunt, went to Ganapavaram as per custom. A few more rituals took place there in the bridegroom’s house. All the villagers in Ganapavaram had been invited for a meal and to bless the groom and bride. The villagers were very happy to see the beautiful bride; she was now the daughter-in-law of their village. Kodandaramayya, along with his wife and her family, stayed in Ganapavaram for 3 days before heading to Kalavakur. After staying there for a couple of days, Kodandaramayya left for Vijayawada to complete the academic year. Before leaving, he asked, rather told Satyavathi that he wanted to study further and that she would have to either stay with her parents or with his parents. He said, “I will have to go to Visakhapatnam to study B.Com. That will take two years, and then we have to see. I will not be able to take you with me.” She asked, “How often will you be coming to see me?” He smiled and  replied, “Whenever I have holidays, I will come and see you.” Shethought, ‘There is no point in me refusing. This is what he wants, letit be. I will not give him any trouble. He wants to do something good, and I need to support him without grumbling.’ This had become her habit since then. She never argued or opposed him for anything. She was a very independent-spirited girl and followed her heart without complaining. In the later years, when one of her children asked her, “Amma, why do you always simply follow father? How come you never oppose him?” to that, she quietly smiled and said, “Why should I oppose him? Yes, sometimes I feel he is not sensitive to my feelings. He does have a short temper, and when things don’t get done the way he hopes, he gets unreasonably angry. I do feel hurt. But he is someone who is trying to follow the path of dharma. So, I want to support and follow him, which is good for me too.” She did that all through her life, giving him rock-solid support. </div>

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