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Living in a joint family need not be a house of horrors, if only every member showed some understanding and respect for everyone, man or woman.
I live in a truly joint family. Besides our parents (my husband’s parents I mean, I don’t feel it right to call them ‘in-laws’ as they don’t behave like typical ones!), we also have my brother in law and my nephew staying together happily. And this, I realized surprisingly, has become a mini miracle, a topic of discussion among my friends and extended family recently. At least that’s what it seems to me from the shock-like reactions I get from them.
Recently, we had my ‘door-ki-didi’ staying with us over the weekend. After the initial pleasantries, with an air of surprise and curiosity, she asked me, “You all look so happy together. How do you manage your in-laws?”
I had to think before I could answer her. Do I really need to manage my in-laws? Is there actually anything to manage there with your in-laws? Do you manage your own parents?
With as much politeness and cool as I could manage, I explained to her that we really don’t manage each other. We just accept each other. She was not convinced and told me that many of our relatives didn’t think that we could manage to stay together much longer. It was great to start living together but not possible to sustain it in today’s age (whatever that means). Some of the ‘nasty’ relatives were nasty enough to tell her that they were actually waiting to check when the news of discord in my family will come out.
I smiled at the confidence of these nasty relatives and assured my didi that no such thing is likely to happen anytime in my life.
It has now been more than two years of us staying together, which we decided after I had my baby. We had our minor discomforts and problems at the start of our living together, which I thought was expected and normal. But after that, we have settled so well into our domesticity! The chores, the tasks, the timing, all have been divided well amongst ourselves as per everyone’s convenience. And I feel extremely satisfied and happy for taking this decision as I can enjoy its fruits every day now. The everyday sharing, caring, jokes, arguments, all make it a cherishing and warm life. And nothing can compensate the love my baby gets from her Dada-Dadi which I thought was the best thing to come out of the arrangement.
But what really surprises me is why people still think it such an impossible mission to stay in a joint family. Many of these people have never stayed in joint families themselves and create some concocted thoughts about it based on films, TV soaps and other people’s experience. We are Indians. We don’t need to be differently explained the importance of sticking together with the family. It’s in our culture and our very own blood. But it’s very sad that people today resent it without even experiencing it.
The fact is, living together can be the best experience for your soul if it wants to grow, evolve and be liberated. It can teach you tolerance, endurance, sharing, respect and many other things which you might miss out otherwise. And no one can challenge the strength and support it gives in times of emergencies. Of course, the personal space for a couple goes for a toss sometimes. But it’s a small price to pay for the other advantages it provides.
Recently, even one of my friends was in a dilemma whether she should start living together with her in-laws. I tried to explain her the best way I could. But given the option of putting it together, here are some of the misconceptions I wanted to clear about living in a joint family.
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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