Marriage and Other Disasters....

SCENE: Girl pacing her bedroom in Hyderabad...in a confused state...having panic attack...hyper ventilating...seeing stars...yell out, "OMG...MY LIFE IS OVER!!"

Ok I may be over reacting a tad bit but if you had been there last Sunday afternoon and lived my crazy life the past week you would know what I was trying to say.My whole family descended on me over yummy haleem and fried mutton, demanding me to SET A DATE...Well! I dint know how to break the news to them...what I really wanted to tell them was, "Lil tough you guys, considering the circumstances...ummm...let's see..to begin with must meet guy, must talk to guy, must get to know guy, must spend time with guy and ensure he has no skeletons in closet (ex wife, psycho SRK-Darr streak, shoplifting, chimney resemblance...) or isnt in closet himself. So all in all if I were to work backwards from the deadline (read 6 months given by family) I should have started on my relationship 2 yrs back....so mom, dad, sis, my lovely family...I understand you have this dream to see me in a wedding gown walking down the aisle but if you dont want me to pull a runaway bride...NEED ANOTHER 2 YRS...!!!"

What I instead said was, "Give me 6 months...will call you back!"

So what's the deal with marriage, weddings and babies that makes India and Indians such a shaadi obsessed land?! India is probably the only country where its not just your immediate family chasing you to think of the wedding band but also the aunty who lives next door, your land lady, the building chowkidaar, the tailor at the street corner...and even the garbage collector who wants to know when will a saab enter my life.

I hit the age this year when I seem to have crossed my EXPIRY date in terms of marriageable age in India. This so called time limit is currently at 26 years for an educated Indian woman (thank god its not 21 anymore) ergo I am a sitting duck for awkward questions, weird set ups and emotional drama. If its not my friends wanting to know my 'plans' its my family friends wanting me to meet an 'achcha ladka' from a great family and with his own business. The whole concept of marriage has always left me bewildered. Hey dont get me wrong I want to do the whole saat pheras jazz too but shouldn't it be MY decision?

Thankfully for me my group of friends here in Mumbai are all single (reason to smile), so that helps me alot as I dont have to spend each day explaining to them whyI am not ready. But the sad part is that we are all in the same boat (not the men so much, just us three girls) and it frustrates me. Why SHOULD BOYS have all the fun?! God must really love men...he gave them liberty to live as they please, relieve themselves where they want, call it a Man's World, have skin that gets better with age and have the ability to be 90 and marry a 20 something (what havent you heard about Anna Nicole and he oxygen cylinder accessoried husband?). And he left us women with cellulite, 9 months of hell, PMS, 400 eggs, and pepper spray.

In a society that seems to be getting more materialistic by the second and relatively modern in its thinking , it comes as a surprise that women are still expected to get married by a certain age. Though many out there might deny this, but how many women (who arent celebrities) out there can say that they are single and happy to be it even after they have crossed the so called 'deadline' set by society? Yes, I dont deny it that things are changing but forget India, the world has a long way to go. If Carrie Bradshaw can show concern about her advancing age and loss of eggs in NYC in her apartment filled Manolo's, then where do we mortals stand a chance.

All I will say is live and let live. So here's to a life, single or otherwise, chosen by me...and here's to praying that men are soon slapped with a deadline too... (*WICKED GRIN*)

Chorus: Amen!