THE MATRIMONIAL FARCE

I am back home for my summer interns and what a relief its been. My taste buds have been rejuvenated but the sad part is that people living around are taking a while to recognise me. First its the tonsure that i got done...secondly people think that i have got some kind of eating disorder...cant blame them i hav lost quite a lot of weight since i went to mumbai.

Anyways the buzzword at home is MARRIAGE these days. Dont worry, as all celebrities proclaim and calm the media by sayin they will let the whole world know when it happens, i too will let, if not the whole world, the known know that i am getting married and its not happening for another 4-5 years. Well its just that so many known people are getting married around and so many matches are being searched for that eventually 5 in every 10 discussions are about marriage and since the time i assured my parents that it wud be an arranged marriage for me as well, my mom doesnt need an execuse to rake up the issue.

Its quite crazy though, the frantic search for the right matches, especially for the gals in my family and for that matter in any family. The sad part i feel is that gals are not given enough time to really settle down professionally. 22,23...these are the numbers that trigger the search. Things havent improved much though. A.L.Basham mentions in his book THE WONDER THAT WAS INDIA and i quote him

"The normal religious marriage was and still is arranged by the parents of the couple, after much consultation, and the study of omens, horoscopes and auspicious physical characteristics...while a husband should be at least twenty a girl should be married immediately before puberty"


Whats the difference today? Nothing. Except that in the urban society a girl is allowed to reach puberty or a little more than that(a degree at best) and the rural india still lies within the quotes. Let the parents choose the guy for her, after all parents will always look for a good match for the child, but at least let the child choose the time and age.

And sadly there exists a discrimination between the boy and the girl and to emphasize on what i mean i quote Vrinda Nabar from her book CASTE AS WOMAN

"Discrimination between the sexes in India begins at birth, or even before it. It starts before the child is born, in the mother's womb. None of the conventional blessings showered upon a pregnant woman mentions daughters"

The guy is definitely luckier as he can take his own time, choose a dozen and then select the most ravishing beauty whom he can proudly call his better half (if he is bad looking).

Anyways, all said and done, I too would be a part of this ''great'' process( particular course of action intended to achieve a result) and yet i have a lot of time for the process to start. What the heck, I am a guy man!!!