Chapter 323

Akshar walked back with their drinks and Diya introduced the man sitting in the table as the bride's uncle. He shook hands with Akshar and said, "I am very impressed with you. My son refused to wear Indian traditional clothing for such a nice occasion. Look how handsome you are. I suppose he has become more Americanized. But you, as you are coming in for a Indian wedding reception, took the interest in wearing something that exhibits our tradition. I feel much honored to meet you. I suppose somewhere there is some Indian in you" and gave out a giggle. Diya smiled at Akshar. Akshar almost blushed and said, "Thank you sir. I am very obliged. As for the outfit..." He paused for a minute, looked at Diya and said, "... the credit goes to her." Then he looked at him and said, "Actually you are very true and only very few people know this. I do have some Indian gene in me from my ancestors." Diya looked surprised, so was the bride's uncle who then asked, "That is very interesting. I am very curious. Would you care to elaborate?" Looking at the curious look on his face and the surprising expression on Diya's, Akshar continued. "As you know, of course by my accent that I am from Britain. So was my great grandfather who was positioned in India with the East Indian Company. I believe he fell in love with one of the local maidens there and married her. I have heard many stories about her bravery which attracted my great grandfather to her but I have never seen her. He lived there for a few years and they had four children, I believe one of them died leaving two boys and a girl. When there was an epidemic, or some outbreak of some sort, he had privileges to all sorts of vaccinations and medicines so he was able to give it to his family and prevent them from dying. By my great grandmother refused to accept as she could get it because he was his wife and not because she was a human being and all the locals couldn't get it. So she passed away with a few days and in order to protect his family he brought his kids back to London with him and, my grandfather was his second son who married my grand mother whose grandfather was again from Kashmir. Well, my father on the other hand married a American of German origin and spent most of his life in Britain working as a Archeologist, well that's how he met my mom. So I grew up mostly in Britain and my mom's family is here in the US but my parents are no more."

Diya was even more amazed to hear his story as he had no feature resemblance or any trait indicating that his ancestors were from India. He was British in every sense of it, especially with his accent. She had always wondered about his name, mainly his first name "Akshar" which obviously was a Sanskrit name. It had always puzzled her and today it all made sense but as none of his parents were from India, she still wondered how he got that name, some how she felt that name was as perfect for him as he had turned so many occasions as new beginnings. Noticing the silence and the surprised look on both their eyes Akshar said, "Wow! You both seemed quiet surprised" and smiled and took a sip from his glass. Diya asked him, "So...." she paused for a minute trying to collect her thoughts. As if he knew what was on her mind Akshar said, "If you are wondering about my name, I was named by mom's sister who by the by is a researcher if ancient languages like Greek, Sanskrit and Latin. Other than that there is not much story in my name". Diya couldn’t help but smile. Someone came over and the bride's uncle excused himself leaving both alone at the table. Someone cordially invited everyone over to the buffet table for dinner. Time had passed by and both of them hadn't had a chance to get their hand on the starters so they were hungry. Diya asked, "Dinner?". Akshar nodded, "Definitely" and both of them walked over to get some food. There was a pasta station that displayed all the items along with their names. Garganelli bolognese with basil with parmesan volute, sautéed broccoli, plum tomatoes and asparagus with fettuccine alfredo, Stuffed shells filled with goat cheese and pears, Lemon Pepper chicken with orzo and all served with fresh grated parmesan cheese, Italian bread and Tarinesi breadsticks. Next to it was a cascading table display with a cornucopia of Whole and Fresh Cut Vegetables, mesquite grilled vegetables, whole and fresh sliced fruits and berries, imported cheeses and English crackers and breads, some dried fruits and deluxe Nutmeats. The line was long as they had to wait to get to the food. They could see the selection of salads and fresh grilled meats next to it but couldn't really ready anything. Diya turned around and noticed that there was relatively a much shorter line on the other side where Indian food was served. They both were very hungry and looked at each other and for a minute both their eyes were locked within each other and there was a tiny spark igniting in the corner.