Arrange-Marriage and its sanctity is often overrated in a nation like ours especially in suburbs, who are married know its fragile and who aren’t covet it. In India marriage doesn’t involve just two people ready to take up the challenge but its an institution in itself.
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A true story with anonymity:
This story is about a woman Namita aged 25, living in one of the suburbs of Rajasthan with her parents and two other sisters. Namita’s father was the sole bread earner of the house and believed in the importance of education. Her mother was a house nurturer making sure that her daughters had their family values intact. Namita was decently educated and had a flair to help her father run the house and make life simpler for her siblings. The family often sustained on hand to mouth conditions.
Namita’s mother was keeping unwell more often than not and one fine day a catastrophic revelation filled their life with grief and sorrow. They were told that her mother was suffering from deadly disease cancer and a delayed treatment can cost her life. Everyone in the family was going through a mixed bag of emotions still thinking which one was more grave, the pain their mother was going through, the expenses that needed to be incurred, the fear of losing their mother and partner, the uncertainty of their futures and the confusion of which one to tackle first. On the other hand as a parent Namita’s mother’s mind had one glaring concern that what will happen to her daughters and that her medical expenses will jeopardize their settlements be it marriage or education.
They had sooner or later realized that their mother didn’t have much time left with her. Namita’s parents agreed that her marriage held priority over anything else for now, finding her a suitable groom took precedence over everything else. Namita was fully aware of the gravity of the situation had no choice but to agree with her parents. Though the concept of arrange marriage never rang any bells for her. In the meanwhile her parents were trying their best to make Namita secure her eternal happiness by marrying her off to just about anyone who was remotely interested.
In no time they found an affluent family who was ready to marry their daughter under the pertaining circumstances. The boy and the family were all the more ready to bear the medical and marital expenses. Namita’s family thought that God had heard their prayers and not once did they question or reasoned the generosity of the groom’s family. The matrimony alliance was concluded with hugs and tears and finally Namita made her way to the new life with apprehensions and crushed aspirations.
A few days and nights passed and Namita phantomed that her new house was nothing different from a typical in-law setup but her husband was shockingly different. These changes were not the usual additions after becoming a husband entity but were more behavioral. Yes, he was a man with different sex orientation. He was a homosexual. This wedding was planned and well executed by her social-minded in-laws to remain accepted in the so called hypocritic society where homosexuality is a taboo. The otherwise revered family held the fear of getting outlawed and this made them cash upon Namita’s family’s inadequacies and vulnerabilities.
After this hoax Namita felt betrayed and entrapped. She could connect the dots and everything started making sense to her. Now she knew the reason behind every kind gesture. But all this disclosure went in vein when she realised that her reactions and actions might cost her mother’s life and sister’s future. Namita made a conscious choice and kept her family’s respect and needs over hers. She chose to keep quiet.
A year passed and in the due course Namita lost her mother to cancer and her sisters were pursuing their education. After relentless thinking came the judgment day when Namita gave up to the mental and emotional torture and decided to break the shackles of helplessness and self-pity. She chose to stand on her own feet and serve her family than relying on her in-laws and husband to do the same. She was educated enough to be a helping hand to her father. All she needed to move forward was not acknowledge what this hypocritical backhanded society had to offer. She gathered all her courage and unleashed the truth behind her ailing marriage. In true honesty the repercussions were huge. She left her in-laws house and opted for a divorce. There were many attempts made to defame and tarnish her for such revolutionary decision but Namita surpassed them all.
Time went by and slowly all those accusations started fading away. It neither bothered her nor her family. Her sisters grew as independent, self conscious and head strong as Namita.
Namita has set a great example for the women fraternity of today. Her story in true sense emphasizes on the need to be self-sufficient, educated, head-strong and independent.
Marriage is not ultimate, betrayal is not fatal, life never stops instead it starts the day you choose for it. Be courageous to say goodbye because only then life will reward you with a new hello.
