Marital Consent

At eighteen, Arti is told she is getting married. She is not asked.In a small Bihari village, where rituals matter more than choice, she steps into a haveli draped in lights, laughter, and customs she barely understands. To the world outside, she is a beautiful bride. To herself, she is a girl learning to smile through discomfort, to bow where silence is expected.Her husband, Guddan, is not cruel - but he carries the weight of a culture where marriage is ownership, not partnership. Every night draws Arti deeper into a world where her duty is assumed, her voice subdued. Watching her closely is a caged Mynah, fluttering, falling silent, breaking free, only to return.Is consent truly possible in a marriage where even the wedding itself was never her choice?And is silence agreement - or merely survival?Marital Consent is a haunting tale of duty, desire, and the blurred line between acceptance and captivity.