SCENE : 1
Ok! So it was after my eldest cousin's marriage celebration that it dawned into my family, "we need to find a groom for Deepthi soon!, how old is she now Celine?". My mum's till then happy face looked troubled and answered, "she will turn 24 this July" and to complete it she gave the sad grim scowl .
SCENE : 2
Me and my besties, we celebrated my 24th birthday like never before. It was one happy day where we had a lot of fun and laughed a lot, did a lot of crazy stuffs. As the day was coming to an end, it was then my parents turn to surprise me and they did. My dad and mum gave me the usual birthday kissies and hugs and looked up at me for 5minutes. Ok something ain't right somewhere. I sat down, trembling inside but it all sealed with my 24 teeth smiley. My dad, "Deepthi we created your profile in the matrimonial sites(to my surprise I was there on almost all of those sites, guess my parents just didn't want to leave out any available option), I think this is the best time to start the search". I just couldn't stop smiling, and thinking to myself, this time next year my status on FB would be 'married', condition abh officially serious hai, what next!
SCENE : 3
Searching for guys was even more hilarious. You see a good looking guys profile >click> you get his page >click 'personal information'. Everything starting from his family details, to his job, to his present salary, to the amount of property he owns are just clicks away >click, his partner expectations, ok now this is the best part, "God fearing, fair, tall, pretty, prefer to have a working partner, should be compatible, and someone who can uphold the family traditions."
At a scale of 4-5 a day I was then sending "interests" to profiles and reviewing the received "interests" , & yes grieving over the "rejections" I received. Condition tho bohath serious hothe jaa raha thaa, but why not, this was now becoming my favorite pass time!
SCENE : 4
I always update my friends with everything and anything happening in my life. And this was something I couldn't leave out on. And to my surprise their reaction was, " good that they started searching, your young, just 24, ok even if your job isn't that great, you at least have one,put a rather outstandingly pretty picture(there is always PHOTOSHOP), your rating is going to be high on the marriage market!!!!".
SCENE : 5
Then as the received interests were being reviewed and liked by both parties, then comes the next stages, the Skype chats, with the family first which when cleared you move on to the next level, i.e the guy, then the meeting, then the enquiry which would mostly be about your financial status, your place in the society, how known your family is in your locality etc etc.
I could stand strong through only 6 of these, after which I felt completely broken down and down the drain went my dream of ever getting married. Condition abh mere liye serious tha, what I thought was just a child's play was nothing even close to it.
I was one among those ladies who believed that love isn't something that happens overnight with a person. You cannot plan it, you cannot arrange it, it has to happen when it has to happen.
SCENE : 6
A few weeks later... "What she has decided to go forward with it? Search no more? Did you enquire well about the guys family, do they know all about us ? But why so soon?", it was my grandma. My mums reply which made me proud of having someone like her as my mum of course, "its her life, her choice, after marriage we will make sure her visa is cancelled so that she doesn't come back crying to us :P ". I was overwhelmed with joy , content inside. Yes, mission accomplished!
SCENE : 7
Be it love marriage or arranged marriage, be it you marry at the age of 24-25-26-27-28-29 whatever be the figures, nothing matters!!! What matters is whether you like the person!! Looking at an outstandingly handsome guy/glamorously hot girl , with the jaw dropped, eyes wide open expression you cannot say that yes your in love with that person! Talking ones or twice with the person, falling for his/her extremely polished and designed good nature should never become your point for decision making as well, trust me its an initial advertisement campaign which like all promotions don't last for long! Neither can you say that a guy/ or a girl who had been your best friend or your lover for 5-6-7 or any number of years it be is going to be your life long partner and that marrying anyone else would just mean ruining your own life!
Marriage isn't a business deal, it isn't about getting hitched with the Mr.Perfect/Ms.Perfect, this isn't a bollywood movie where all you two would do for life long would be sing and dance on desi love songs. Its a special bond between two, where your factors for choosing that person needs to be how happy he/she can keep you, how he/she could stand beside you forever through all your troubles , its about how much he/she understands even without you being expressive about things. The definitions for love and marriage are basically never ending, but the one thing that can be said is that love and marriage has to go hand in hand.
Did I say, I am getting married in a few months :D :D "GIGGLES" CONDITION ABH VERY VERY SERIOUS HAI.
-THE END-
(CURTAIN FALLS)
PS :
SPECIAL THANKS TO : Bharath Matrimony, Shaadi.Com, LifePartnerIndia, VivahaBhandhan.com & ChavaraMatrimony.com for helping every Indian girl realise her life long dream :P
