It was true that she liked worthless trinkets, but she could never wear 100 pounds of solid gold and live to tell the tale. If the weight did not kill her, the embarrassment would.

It was an eventful night. Bhairavi became a bride. Along with her, her weight in gold crossed the threshold of her in-laws’ home. Everyone smiled. She was a chubby girl. A few houses away, Kalpana, locked in her room without food could hear the disharmonious orchestra. A sour reminder of how little she had brought [...]