Hindi

Sunday lunch at the Sharmas' and the phone just put down: Noah reports what his parents said with the little word for that, and Mummy ji sends her answers back.

Before the lunch service, Noah asks Chef Khanna for five days off in December: may I have a minute, if you permit, and how to report a yes or no question with whether.

Delhi airport in the December fog, six in the morning: Rohan and Noah meet the flight from Frankfurt, and Noah passes his parents' words on: Mom asked me to tell you, Dad told me to ask you.

A marigold garland and a plate of sweets at the Sharmas' door: come in, come in, do sit, a sweet first, treat this as your own home, and the extra-polite please that makes a request softer still.

In the sitting room Noah's mother bends to touch Dadi ji's feet, and Dadi ji blesses a nurse from Oregon: live long, stay happy, keep coming, keep writing, with the verb for keep doing.

Dal, rotis, paneer and Dadi ji's halwa at the family table: do have more, I'm full, I made it myself, and one respected elder spoken of in the plural.

Noah and his father in Raju bhaiya's auto on the way to the market: sir, uncle and brother, I've heard that, people say that, and whether a sofa would fit in an auto.

A shawl shop in Lajpat Nagar's central market: looking costs nothing, where is it made, woven by hand, the colour made from a flower, at what price is it sold, and the passive that Hindi builds with the verb to go.

Papa ji at the counter of the family shop with Noah's father beside him and milk boiling for the sweets: since my father's time, for forty years, boiling since five, and since today he's family, so no money talk.

A foggy December morning on Gupta ji's stool at the corner store: come, sit, chai for everyone, both cold and wet, neither a monsoon nor a summer, the chai on me, and a guest who never wins that argument.

Rohan, Neha and Noah plan the Agra day for nine people: we'll have to hire a van, we'll have to leave at six, Mom asks whether we'll have to stay the night, and Dadi ji's pillow and sweets come too.

At the taxi stand Noah hires a twelve-seater for Agra: brother, we're going to Agra on Thursday, nine people, four thousand five hundred with the toll, when we reach you'll wait, as soon as you call I'll come, and grandmothers are the boss of every van.

Breakfast at a highway dhaba in the fog: sit by the stove, nine chai and parathas for everyone, butter on top, it seems that uncle has never seen a paratha, Mom says that she feels cold, Dad says that he feels hungry, and it seems we'll be late.

At the ticket window Noah buys nine tickets, three foreign and six Indian, and learns the rules said kindly: shoe covers come with the ticket, food is not allowed, water is allowed, a tripod is not allowed, you can take a camera, and eat the sweets here.

Inside the gardens the guide tells the story and Noah relays his parents' questions: it was built for a queen, Mom asks how long it took, Dad asks where the stone came from, it was brought from Rajasthan, it is said that it's pink in the morning, and Mom says it's the most beautiful.

On the bench in front of the Taj a passer-by takes the photo of all nine: excuse me, could you take a photo, come closer to each other, hug each other, not at each other, look at the camera, and two families, one photo.

Lunch for nine in Agra: today's special, dal and rice for my mother, not spicy, don't put chilli in her dal, rotis for everyone and the Agra pumpkin sweet after, Dad wants to taste the spicy dal, and Dad says that he just can't eat it.

In the courtyard of her old house near Mathura Dadi ji shows Noah's mother her world: this is the courtyard, Mom says that it's like a picture, sit like a village woman, she sits as if she has always lived here, she's like my daughter, and patience like yours.

A jam at the Delhi border in the dark: let me go through the village, let Dadi ji sleep, no horn, Dad wants to sit in front, let him, let that truck pass first, Mom says don't let her watch, tell her to close her eyes, and an hour, sir, and dinner at home.

Mummy ji moves the Bennetts from the hotel into Noah's old room: your parents are coming here tomorrow, Mom says that it will be a trouble, no trouble at all, although we're eight, still there's room for two, although the hotel has a lift, still no parathas, no ceremony among family, and although she seems strict, still she's soft.

Noah tells Rohan and Neha he wants to marry Priya and they tell him how an Indian family does it: it would be better if you asked her in Rishikesh, told no one, let Papa ji hear it from you, and had your parents in the house.

Noah buys a gold ring with a small diamond at a jeweller's in Dariba Kalan: the finger is thinner than this, we'll size it within two days, ready by Thursday afternoon, thirty-two thousand with the sizing free.

In the hospital canteen Noah asks Priya to Rishikesh for the weekend, just the two of them: she's on duty Saturday, will she manage to swap it, she'll try and ask Dr. Mehta, it'll be managed, but Noah is carrying both bags.

Platform twelve at New Delhi station before seven: the train hasn't come yet, Noah has already bought the tea, the chart has already gone up, and he's still a little nervous, for a reason he'll tell in Rishikesh.

Ginger chai on the river steps of Rishikesh at dusk: while crossing the bridge Priya held the rope, while holding it she was laughing, drink it while it's hot, and while sitting here a bell can be heard across the water.

On the river steps Noah asks Priya to marry him and she says yes, yes: he had asked Rohan first, only whether to ask here, and now he'll talk to Papa ji on Monday and meet Mummy ji right after.

Back from Rishikesh, Noah tells Rohan and Neha: she said yes before the question was over, Mom said that she has known since the Taj, Dad said that he'll need a new jacket, Priya said that he's to talk to Papa ji tomorrow, and Mummy ji said that Noah looks different.

The shop after closing, Noah alone with a box of sweets: if his father spoke Hindi he'd have asked himself, he has come to ask for Priya's hand with Papa ji's blessing, and Papa ji says that if Noah had come first he'd have told him to ask her first, and that he has been his son for three years.

The sitting room with both families: Noah will become Mummy ji's son-in-law, he became her son three years ago, his mother has become her co-mother-in-law, Dadi ji blesses the two of them, Dad becomes Papa ji's co-father-in-law, and the engagement is after Holi.

Departures at Terminal 3 in the last week of December: take care and come again, thank you for everything, no thank-yous in a family, give our regards to Portland, we'll miss you, and Noah is to come home for dinner.