Not being married seems quite an achievement once we cross
the age of 26-27, even when parents of many of us have become quite supporting
and relaxed in terms of letting us stretch our bachelorhood until marriage
engulfs us into an altogether new life. This feeling of achievement is further consolidated
when our close friends (I must say ‘especially’ our close friends) who once
used to sit beside us in classrooms or live with us in our hostel rooms or play
with us on streets, start getting married in front of us. There we are, making videos
of their elaborate garland exchange ceremony and yawning away in the hall where
they take wows to be together with someone for the rest of their life. What a
change!
Having said the above, I am quite happy attending a friend’s
wedding. I get a box of sweets at the end, I get to reunite with my college
friends on the occasion, and I get to dance in most of them. Speaking of
happiness, I am happy for them too. Now they won’t be thrown out of the race of
renting an apartment just because they are not tied up in the holy matrimony.
Now they have a license to rent a flat in any gated society of
Gurgaon/Bangalore/Mumbai/any other city on Indian map.
Most of my friends, of course including me, are at the
dreading point where maximum discussions within the group ultimately get
directed towards weddings. Even when a discussion begins with a newly released movie,
it somehow magically ends up on how one of us can’t go to watch it, as he/she
has to attend a wedding in the evening. Even when we start talking about the
new budget or taxation reforms released in the morning, we somehow end up
complaining about our salaries and in turn, about the fact that how meagre it is
to support a family after wedding. Seems as if ‘Wedding’ itself is trying to
make a point by being the point of discussion at every point!
Attending weddings of two of my very good friends in recent
past made me realise how different it feels to see a friend standing there,
being a part of those big ceremonies which I always thought only mature adults
are a part of. And Boom, there it hit me- An inner voice screamed-You too are
an adult now! Not sure how this realisation will grow in the next few years
with many such more occasions coming my way.
However, it’s both a harsh reality (for some) and a sweet
dream (for others) to visualise oneself getting married someday. I am sure my recently
married friends, and I have quite a few now, will be the best judge of how life
changes, and what all to look forward to.
As of now, I guess we bachelors will keep discussing how
impossible the idea of marriage seems, and how we are slowly trying to increase
the grace period we have received from our parents, post which marriage will
become a non-negotiable reality.
Cheers to the still bachelors and the amazing
couples! 