Batukamma Festival

I shrugged, trying to sound casual. “I want to, but…it just feels different. Batukamma is a festival for women, and without my mother and sister, I feel like something is missing. You know, I always wished I had a sister-in-law to celebrate with.”

He looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "A sister-in-law? Interesting. Well, you’ve got me. Not exactly the same, but close enough, right?"

A mischievous grin spread across my face. "Actually, I was thinking…what if you became my sister-in-law for the festival?"

Ranga blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

“I mean…what if you transformed into Ragini, my beautiful sister-in-law, just for Batukamma? We could dress you up in a sari, get you all the accessories, and no one would know! You’d blend right in with the women.”

Ranga looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Navya, you’ve officially gone mad.”

I giggled. "Come on, Ranga, just imagine it! It would be fun, and you always say you’d do anything to make me happy, right?"

He groaned, rubbing his temples, but I could see the glint of amusement in his eyes. "You really want me to dress up like a woman?"

“Yes!" I leaned in closer. "It’ll be perfect. We’ll shop for a gorgeous sari, do your makeup, and I’ll turn you into Ragini. Just think about how much fun it would be.”

He sighed dramatically. "You owe me big time for this."

"Deal!" I laughed, already imagining the transformation.

The next day, we set out on our mission—shopping for Ragini’s transformation.

Walking into the bustling sari shop, I was practically bouncing with excitement. “Okay, we need something traditional yet elegant,” I said, eyeing the racks of colorful saris.

Ranga followed behind, clearly nervous. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this…”

The saleswoman greeted us with a smile, and I quickly explained that we were looking for a beautiful sari for a ‘special occasion.’

The saleswoman’s eyes lit up, and she immediately started pulling out different options. “How about this one? Bright orange with gold borders? Or this light pink—it’ll be perfect for the festival season.”

I held the pink sari against Ranga’s shoulder, visualizing him as Ragini. “Hmm, this could work,” I said thoughtfully. “Let’s try it on!”

Ranga’s eyes widened. “Try it on?!”

“Of course!” I grinned. “We need to see how Ragini will look, right?”

Ranga reluctantly stepped into the changing room, and when he emerged, draped in the pink sari, I couldn’t help but gasp. "Oh my God, you’re going to be stunning!”

He fidgeted with the fabric. “I feel ridiculous.”