Author's  Pov 

"Rishi… ki re holo tor?" (Rishi.. are you done or not?)

Saptarshi heard his father's voice as he adjusted his jacket over his kurta.

"Haa… aschi." (Yes.. coming.) He shouted back.

Switching off the ceiling fan , he picked up his goggles and walked out his room.

As soon as he reached downstairs, he saw his family waiting for him.

" Dada, why did you took this much time? Is there any special reason ?" Sanchita said wriggling her eyebrows. There was a teasing smile on the corner of her lips.

Though Saptarshi's heartbeat raised a bit for a fraction of second as he looked at his mother who looked at him attentively after hearing Sanchita's teasing remark ,soon he composed himself. 

" Obviously it is special...after all it's my best buddy's function today." He said to his sister, rolling his eyes.

" Okay enough, let's go...otherwise we will miss the event." Everyone nodded, hearing Siddhartha.

They went out of the house after locking the doors properly . 
Soon they drove towards Mukherjee house where the ceremony was going to happen.
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"Did  any of you call Saptarshi? Where are they?" Akash's mother asked . 

"Yes, I called him . They will be there any time." Priyansh replied as he took the right turn. 

They were also going towards Akash's in-laws house. Priyansh was driving the car as Akash was sitting beside him on the shotgun. Behind them Akash's mother was sitting. There were some gifts beside her. 
In another car Priyansh's parents and Akash's father was coming with the remaining gifts which were going to be needed for the ceremony.

Priyansh looked beside him to see Akash who looked a bit nervous. He chuckled silently.

After some minutes Priyansh stopped the car in front of Mukherjee house followed by Akash's father and Saptarshi.

They started to get down and took the gifts.

They walked to the entrance of Mukherjee house and soon they were welcomed humbly by the bride's family.
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"Bro, Don't roll your eyes around so much….otherwise your eyes will be rolled out of the sockets ." Priyansh teased Akash as he saw him looking around the hall in search of Kanika .

They were made to sit in the living room where the ceremony was going to be held.

The hustle bustle was evident. The ladies , Sudeshna and Binita and Promita were looking after the arrangements whereas Mukherjee brothers were busy in chatting with the guests who were none other than The groom's family and Saptarshi's family.

Saptarshi's mother, Pimoni, Akash's mother, Priyansh's mother and Sanchita were talking with each other. 

The younger members of Mukherjee family weren't anywhere to be seen.

Akash rolled his eyes and said ," I will see when your time will come." 

Priyansh chuckled, shaking his head.

They were so busy teasing each other that they failed to notice that their best friend's eyes were also rolling here and there in search of a certain someone.

Saptarshi was sitting restlessly on his seat. The amount of anxiousness which he never felt before was running through his veins. The anticipation of seeing her was something which was making him feel a mix of some emotions all together. 

Anu who was sitting silently beside Akash nudged him. Akash looked at her sister who pointed at Saptarshi as she was the one who noticed a restless Saptarshi. 

As Akash's gaze fell on Saptarshi, he frowned. He couldn't understand the reason for his friend's restlessness.  

"What happened?" Priyansh asked as he saw the thoughtful look on Akash's face.  Akash asked Priyansh to look at Saptarshi who was standing at the corner of the living room away from everyone's eyes.

Priyansh looked at Saptarshi with raised eyebrows. Suddenly he smirked, making Akash shake his head. He understood that something was cooking in his mind.

Without making a sound Priyansh tiptoed to Saptarshi and stood behind him. Akash and Anu kept looking at the scene in amusement. In the very next second they chuckled in amusement as they saw Saptarshi jumping in his place as he didn't expect Priyansh's hand on his shoulder.

Saptarshi's concentration broke and he turned around only to come face to face with Priyansh .

"What are you searching with rapid concentration?" He asked him.

Saptarshi cleared his throat and said , "No..nothing..  just thinking when the ceremony will start." 

Priyansh looked unconvinced but still nodded as he knew that Saptarshi won't open his mouth until he himself wanted to.

Without saying anything he left Saptarshi alone.

Saptarshi sighed in relief and went to sit with his friends. 

Suporno joined them after some time.

"Shall we start the ceremony as the Priest said 12 pm will be auspicious?" Sudeshna asked to which everyone nodded. 

Soon Smita brought Kanika downstairs for the ceremony. She was greeted by her in-laws warmly .

A shy smile graced her features as soon as her eyes met with Akash.

"Why didn't Aratrika come?" Saptarshi thought as he didn't find a trace of her till now.

" Kanika, where is your sister?" Akash's Mom asked.

The Mukherjee's looked at each other.

"Actually, it's an auspicious ceremony...so how should a widow be here?" Kanika replied with an awkward smile.

" She is a child .. moreover her being a widow has nothing to do with this ceremony. She has every right to enjoy her sister's wedding. So please call her here. " Akash's mother said.

Saptarshi noticed how the Mukherjee family looked unhappy with this decision except Sudeshna and Suporno. Kanika's expression looked neutral.

"I will go and bring her here." Suporno said and ran upstairs. He was waiting for this .

"And one more thing, Biplob da, we will really love it if Aratrika takes part in the wedding of her sister. I know you guys believe in the widow thing so if you don't want her to work for the wedding, Don't do that. But at least let her be present during the rituals. She deserves to be a part of her sister's wedding no matter what." Akash's mother said.

Though the Mukherjee family didn't want to ,they agreed for the sake of saving their "good image" in front of the groom's family.
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After Aratrika joined them, the ceremony started.

Akash and Kanika were made to sit beside each other and the ashirwad started. 

Aashirwad ceremony denotes the beginning of a bengali wedding. This is a ceremony where the bride and groom are formally accepted by both the families. All the family members shower the blessings on the would-be Bengali bride and groom. They put husked rice and trefoil leaves on their heads. Gifts like gold jewellery, clothes, sweets and other things are given to the bride and groom by their respective in-laws. 

Aratrika was standing along with Suporno and looking at the rituals with a small smile on her face.

Unknown to her there was someone who was looking at her from the time she came downstairs. 

The person was none other than Saptarshi. 

Saptarshi was looking at the beautiful lady who was standing in front of him looking gorgeous in a white churidar with embroidery and stone works on it paired with a green dupatta. 

He was trying hard to not get caught by anyone while checking her out but still he couldn't control himself. Time to time he was glancing at her. 

Unknown to him a small smile appeared on his face as he saw her smiling face. But soon it turned into a frown when he saw her face being crumbled up a bit.

Suddenly she sneaked out of the ceremony and silently walked towards the backyard of the house. 

Saptarshi followed her behind with a thumping heart. 

He didn't fail to notice the tears in her eyes.

How's the chapter?

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Next update on Tuesday.