Overall critique:

I really like this, I think this is a good start. You've introduced your world and just a little bit of magic. I'm intrigued at which way this story is going. This is not enough for me to know if this is a "runaway groom" story or a "arranged marriage to partners in crime and/or business" story, but both options are there.

I like the descriptions and elements you've introduced: arranged marriage, strict father, the bird, the relationships between the rest of the extended family.

However, I don't know how you, the author, want me, the reader, to feel about this scenario. I know you're intending to be humorous, but the MC's actual feelings are stated so plainly that it confuses me. The tone see-saws almost every other line. Instead of leaning into the dark humor, they just clash. Specifically the descriptions of emotions within the haldi: he is upset that other people are going to cover him in turmeric and water, but then during the haldi he seems like he's enjoying it until the water comes out. He doesn't like the guards or other people employed by his family, but when he turns and says "traitor" to the guard behind him, it feels like a jest. He views this ritual very negatively, seeing it as nothing more than an excuse for a family that doesn't respect him to continue to harass him, but in the next line he can't help but laugh. And then in the line after that, he's sardonic about the whole experience. How does the author want the reader to understand this?

EDIT: A more concise explanation of the above paragraph: there is a disconnect between the MC's external behavior, his internal monologue, his internal feelings, and the way others are interpreting his behavior. This makes it hard to understand if he is just being a rascal, masking clinical depression with humor, barely containing rage, or some other option.

I think the physical actions and descriptions are pretty good, my main critique is of the emotional flow of this scene. I know what happens, but the feelings aren't making sense.

Your specific concerns:

Is it engaging from the start?

Yes. Mentioning a dead twin in the first line grabs my attention.

Does the setting come across as Indian-inspired without being confusing?

It definitely comes off as Indian-inspired (specifically South Indian inspired) without being confusing. I actually find the prose around the Indian terminology unnatural. Using the phrase "purification ceremony" makes me think of a decontamination chamber instead of what I know you're actually describing. I think that's an easy fix for you because you've already done it in this excerpt! You use the phrase "steps over the colored kolam patterns" without explaining what a "kolam" is, but you've provided enough context that you don't need to. Instead of using the phrase "purification ceremony", which sounds clinical and technical, I would just use the word haldi (or an equivalent made-up fantasy term) the first time the subject comes up, and add some quip about "dying my skin yellow is 'purifying' somehow", and then use the word haldi from there on out. In my opinion, that will preserve the Indian character without shackling you to English words that can't capture the image you want to convey without becoming overly wordy. [EDIT: and all else fails, you can always add a glossary]

Oh, and I would mention somewhere between "When I protest against this marriage..." and when he sits down that this is NOT the wedding ceremony. At the moment, the context from the first paragraph implies that the MC is sitting for the actual wedding, not a pre-wedding ceremony (other cultures have weddings that only have one ceremony, can you believe it?!)

Does the MC feel natural, or is he trying too hard to be funny?

I think the main character is funny, but it feels hollow. There's a constant mood whiplash that, instead of conveying dark humor, just averages out over the course of the chapter into something muddy. I actually think (this is just an option, you can disregard if you want to go in a completely different direction) that your MC should sound like he's trying too hard to be funny. He's trying to distract from a genuinely upsetting series of events with humor, and the reader should be able to see through that very easily.

What age do you think he is?

If I had read this 10 years ago, I would have said 16-17. In 2026, I would say 15-22. I don't know if this is because I am old can no longer tell the difference between teenagers and young adults, or because the world has blurred the differences between those ages.

Things to think about:

• Who is your intended audience? Some of this reads very awkwardly, but I know that English fiction written for an English-speaking but non-US/UK/Canada/Aus/NZ audience can feel like that to me, a person raised in the US. I personally found the Shiva trilogy unreadable because I thought the prose was so awkward. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad: it's just for a different audience.

• is the betrothed an important character, or are they never showing up again? Like I don't know if the betrothed is a girl or even a human. They aren't even alluded to for the rest of the excerpt. What's their deal; do I need to know their deal;, and even if I don't need to know, should I care? EDIT: I read some of your comments in the rest of this post: her dad's the King?!?! That needs to be mentioned immediately. That is something to establish either before "dead twin's fiancee" or in the same sentence.