PROLOGUE
The part of the world where I was born and raised—colorful India—is rich in culture, traditions, and ancient beliefs. People here believe in mythology, folklore, and stars.
Some believe that the stars have the language of their own, that they speak the language of the universe. It is said that when we are born, the stars and planets are aligned in a certain way that they hide the treasure map leading to our destiny. They believe that your stars could lead you to your treasure, whether it is wealth, peace, or love—but only if one can read them correctly.
It is also believed that if one person’s stars match with the other, they are born to sail the same oceans and discover the same horizons. Therefore, it is essential to match the stars before two people get married. Especially in a traditional arranged marriage, matching stars is the first step.
I wonder where and if love fits amid calculations of the matching stars…and its relevance to my life, for I am too young and in search of my niche in this world.
It matters, because as modern as my thoughts are, being an obedient firstborn to my conservative parents, I have chosen to follow the traditional arranged marriage, and let them find that special someone with whom my stars would match.
However, a part of me firmly believes that we get one life, and one should have a chance to find love, fall in love, be crazy. That very strong part of me is rebelling, constantly protesting my decision. What’s the point of living if one doesn’t have a mind-boggling tale of love and adventure to tell their grandkids one day?
I believe that everyone has a story, one that we live, one that is perhaps written in our stars. It must be true; otherwise, how is it possible to have countless mythological tales and folklore? So, I believe in my heart that I too have a story, and I am eager to unfold the story hidden in my stars.
INTRODUCTION
Matching Stars is set in India, in the bustling maze-like city of Ahmedabad. It begins in the year 2005 when two strangers—Mayuri and Raag—enter an equation set by their matching stars.
Mayuri is a young and witty girl, an engineering student, living in Ahmedabad. Regardless of being born and raised in a strictly traditional family where most of her life decisions are either influenced or chosen by her parents, she is in search of finding her niche in the world she thinks has endless possibilities.
Raag is a handsome young man, born in India, who lives in the United States and works at an IT firm. He is smart, talented, and an only child to a single mother. Raag’s poised persona and high thinking can melt the coldest of hearts.
What brings these two strangers together is their matching stars, a process that some Indian families follow before an arranged marriage. If two people are to have a happy married life, their stars must match and fortunately Raag and Mayuri are a perfect match based on their stars. This is a story of the possibility of their life together amid hurdles such as oceans of distance between them, Mayuri’s seeking for more than what is planned for her, the strict traditional culture that binds her within the boundaries of predefined norms, and Raag’s dreams.
Though bound by the social norms, Mayuri has her own ways to break free from them and writing her own adventure tale. Being a headstrong woman, we have our own fair share of struggles, and so does Mayuri.
This is a story that makes you wonder about the magic of love, the secret bond two people share, and the elixir of life.
CHAPTER 1
That One Call
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India – Winter 2005
Music is an essence for the dance of the souls. In the absence of music, songs are just words written in harmony, but with the right tune, they come alive, feed the soul. I wonder if it is enough for someone to be the music of your life if that someone’s name itself means music. Do you think you could dance to that?
My sweet mother believes that a guy I’m going to talk with tonight is going to be perfect for me because his name is Raag, which translates to music or a melody. According to my mother, soon I will begin dancing to Raag’s music. And here I am, searching for some mysterious link between music and love.
A complicated life turns even more complicated when one finds love, but that is if one has a chance to find love, fall in love. Some of us don’t get that chance. In most parts of my country, arranged marriages are still a big traditional norm. At a very young age, before even understanding this beautiful thing love and a mysterious thing life, we have to make a crucial decision—selecting one specific human being we have to live with, for the rest of the life…love or not.
We are labeled “life partners” only.
However, if there is any consolation prize, I should be happy that my parents are liberal enough to let me choose that one person. After all, it is me who agreed to follow the traditional way of marriage.
It is sad that in some parts of the country, people do not think that girls are smart enough to pick a person with whom they would like to spend the rest of their lives. However, the same people think that at a very young age, girls are strong and brave enough to handle the entire household and kids after marriage.
Tonight a young man living on the other end of the planet will call me. After that phone call, I have to decide if I would like to spend the rest of my life with him. My mother is melodramatic, reminding me how old I am and how I will be left with few choices if I keep rejecting every one of the young men my parents find for my arranged marriage—but this is the very first guy she’s found, and I am nineteen.
I want to wait a few more years until I get my engineering degree in IT—Information Technology. Like that’s too much to ask. I am too good at my studies, but at least if I have that one thing to focus on, I might get better at it. Eventually.
According to my parents, the young man they have found is almost perfect. In this case, Mr. Right has qualities and achievements that put him into that almost perfect category.
Raag hails from a socially respected and well-known family from the same city as I live in with my parents. He has finished his studies in the United States of America, and he is working there in the IT field.
His family follows the same religion as we do. They are the similar caste, and the most important thing is that Raag’s Kundali—a booklet specifying the position of the stars and planet based on our birth time and place—matches with mine. Yes, the matching Kundali, the matching stars, is a must-have! At least, for my parents. My mother says that according to our matching stars, a total thirty-four points match out of thirty-six, and I tell you, that is something! That also means positions and angles of the stars and planets in Mr. Right’s Kundali and mine are in near harmony.
Yes, the matching stars.
Our matching stars spoke that if Raag and I were to get married, our married life would be in good harmony.
Since Raag has passed all the accepted standards of arranged marriage, the only formality left is to talk to each other and agree to get married. In a typical arranged marriage, I would be given a chance to see him in person, but since Mr. Right lives at the other end of the planet, our only option is to talk over the phone.
Traditionally in Gujarat, India, people get married or engaged when they are close to finishing college, or so I have observed. Otherwise, age and time won’t comply. Maybe it’s only in India. No, perhaps it’s just in Gujarat, a state of vegetarian non-alcoholic—by law, on paper—people. However, dear Bapu—Mahatma Gandhi—never introduced a law on marriage timelines. Neither on nor off paper!