27, Female and Unmarried
A regular day at home
starts with mother blaming father for not getting his daughter married. Cousins
and friends who are my age and even younger are married with more than one kid.
My parents, though supportive of my study and career aspirations, are not able
to swim in a society where they have a daughter who has crossed the
‘marriageable’ age.
My neighbours who watch me
tie my shoelaces daily when I get ready to go for a jog seem to murmur:
“She is overweight, that’s the reason why she is not married yet. She wants to
reduce her weight so that a guy would accept her.” My uncle calls up and asks
my father if his daughter is in love with an ‘other-caste’ person and whether
the delay stems from any consequent disputes.
I walk into my cousin’s wedding,
but being unmarried I’m not allowed to participate in most of the rituals.
Silently I sit back, trying to relax my over-worked mind. People gather around
me to find out if I believe in the institution of marriage, in having children,
and whether I’m at all interested in men. Before they get any answers, one of
the aunties from the crowd advises me to try a facial so that my complexion
should not be a hindrance for marriage. Another aunty asks me to perform some vrata so
that the goddess who is in charge of getting girls married would be pleased and
the moment would come in my life. A few aunties and uncles go straight to my
parents to suggest matches they find around.My ophthalmologist
suggests that I go for Lasik surgery so that I can get rid of the glasses,
and without glasses my chances of getting married would improve.
My parents thought of a
better option: an astrologer. He says I suffer from kuja dosha; that’s
why I am not married yet. And, if I am not married before November by
performing a special puja, I won’t get married at all.
Well, the reasons are
pretty legitimate in this country not to get married. But I am not married
yet as I have chosen not to, yet. My reasons are personal, taking the many
dimensions of my career into consideration. But, really, do I need a reason for
not getting married? I just don’t feel like getting married yet. Isn’t
that good enough? I would like to get married when I feel like it and when I
find the right person when I have to.
I’m very clear about my
objectives. I teach under privileged children for free in my leisure
hours. I planned a city tour for them which I thought would be enjoyable
and informative to them. But I had no idea my marital status would become a
problem to the parents of some of those kids to send them along with me. The
stereotyping of a 27-year-old unwed female was clear.
I’m left wondering: If a
marriage involves a man and a woman, why isn’t that a man is ostracized
for being unmarried? And if the sex ratio is declining at this rate, logic
dictates that men should suffer it manifold when compared to women!
Wishing for a time when
men sit down and perform vrata for marriage.
Comment : Just
feel like sharing this wonderful article from "The Hindu" dated 13th
April. As I have already appreciated the real author of this post via mail(
hari.isha@ gmail.com) and with her due permission I have posted this on my blog.
This article doesn’t narrate my story exactly but with its essence I can relate
myself truly. I think this article speaks about every other girl’s heart whose ultimate
aim of life is not to get married. Sometimes I feel suffocated in India only because
of its great society. But it’s not entirely my fault as I have sent by God in
India only. Yep! Undoubtedly. I am equally bothered about how life in India is
over planned from birth till death. From the time of your marriage to kids to
their insurance, you have chart for everything. I find this boring .Life of a woman in India (in
general) is even more planned and worse, proposed by others. People don’t hesitate
in taking potshots at her. If she is 27, you get a moral right to question her bachelorette
status. She hardly gets time to plan her own life. Take example of my mother. She
wanted to be a working woman but all these years she couldn’t sit for a minute.
She invested in husband, kids and the entire family. Though she doesn’t have
regrets, she could have had a different life.
If I take my case then I
would say that my parents with three daughters and no son, even after belonging to an orthodox Rajput family never
looked upon us as girls whom husband has to found but always as children who
would grow up and carve out careers for themselves. Because of their support
and sacrifices I promised myself that I would make sure that every paisa
invested on me by my parents would optimally utilized and accounted for. But then I would say that yes ! everyone
here is really so worried about my marriage too ;-P
Happy Reading..:-)
Comments