Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
The irony is that most of us as teenagers and young adults, find it hard to be entirely truthful to our families. Why?
Sana looked at me, her face covered in worry and doubt. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I want you to know I will always love you. And you are perfect as you are.”
She hugged me, kissed me lightly on the cheek and walked away. She knew I needed my space now.
I turned and walked alongside the water lapping at my feet, on the beach. The water felt cold, like my mind. I was a regular at this beach, near my house. Today was the day I was going to let myself be free. I was going to let my family know about my relationship.
Everybody dreads this. I smiled to myself. Our society teaches us that our family is our biggest support system, based on trust, love, care and support. The irony is that most of us as teenagers and young adults, find it hard to be entirely truthful to our families. Why?
Why did it become so hard for me to tell my family that I am special and feel this way? I am in love and I feel as if I have done a crime. The next irony is that the same society has made me feel so.
Time’s up. I had reached my home. I had assured Sana that I would call her the next day. And if it doesn’t work out with my family, I would leave home because I was tired of living a double life, which was what I had been doing for five years.
Once inside, I saw my dad, mom, elder brother and uncle seated at the dining table, chatting and sipping tea. I sighed. I embraced my heart, sat down and spoke my heart out.
The next day Sana and Anna woke up to the sounds of thunder roaring across the Mumbai sky. “You know, rains mean good news,” Anna said thoughtfully.
Sana’s phone rang. She picked up and listened quietly. She kept the call after few minutes. “You are right. I am going to meet my in-laws today.” Sana wept in joy and hugged Anna.
And Sana cried more when she was united with Zoya again at her house.
Published here earlier.
Image source: pixabay
Artist. Writer. Thinker. Based in Delhi. Ponders on most things in the universe. Also ponders on my Instagram page, pocketdiaries_q . read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
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.
Please enter your email address