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I love how my mother cooks something special for their anniversary and my father brings home chocolates, and yet the two keep it all hushed up like a newly married duo.
Oblivious to the world’s happenings, after an entire day of staring at the screen, I was spending my night-time tapping through my cousin’s WhatsApp status. I learned that Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt tied the knot securing their ‘happily-forever after’.
While how I put it in words could make you think of me as an incredibly silly romantic, I nonetheless suppose that I have enough arguments to vouch for why I believe marriage is the most ideal form of a romantic relationship.
But that’s for another post. Tonight I do not wish to debate. Tonight, I wish to solely romanticize.
Flowers, garlands, laughter, fragrance, silk and frills, gemstones, music, and all the warmth. I’m not particularly a fangirl of the couple. However, in general, I simply adore the idea of people coming together.
As a child, the idea of girls leaving their houses, their parents, family, friends, and everything that they could call theirs for unfamiliar people and foreign places, terrified me. It sounded to me like diving into an ocean of uncertainty.
But with every passing day, as I grow little by little, I am starting to realize that my parents aren’t superheroes like I thought.
I observe how the two of them make tiny human adjustments for ‘us’. How my father takes over the kitchen whenever he can lend a hand, how my mother loves doing anything and everything in her capacity like stapling papers and organizing my father’s workspace, all just to support him whenever possible. I love how my mother cooks something special for their anniversary and my father brings home chocolates, and yet the two keep it all hushed up like a newly married duo. I like how they look at each other amid social gatherings and even without moving their lips, an exit strategy is ready in their minds.
I do not fall for the big fat royal weddings of Bollywood. Well, it’d be wrong to say that I am completely repulsed by those. However, what appeals more to me is how couples develop wrinkles together, observe each other grow old, and yet dye each others’ grey hair with as much love as they had in their hearts when they married.
As much as I like words, I like the idea of people bonding without words. Chats and calls are frivolous at times. Comfortable silence is what I seek. I like promises which are made and kept. Because everything else seems like a waste.
Maybe years from now, I’ll believe more of it. Maybe then, I’ll be able to enrich this essay even further, or maybe I’ll delete it forever.
“I need a man who’s patient and kind Gets out of the car and holds the door I wanna slow dance in the living room like We’re eighteen at senior prom and grow Old with someone who makes me feel young I need a man who loves me like My father loves my mom”
Sukanya Basu Mallik's works have been featured on Reader’s Digest, Times of India, Sahitya Akademi, Writer's life UK, AIPF Int. Anthology ( Diverse city youth contest- Austin, US) etc. Bestowed with Best Manuscript read more...
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If you want to get back to work after a break, here’s the ultimate guide to return to work programs in India from tech, finance or health sectors - for women just like you!
Last week, I was having a conversation with a friend related to personal financial planning and she shared how she had had fleeting thoughts about joining work but she was apprehensive to take the plunge. She was unaware of return to work programs available in India.
She had taken a 3-year long career break due to child care and the disconnect from the job arena that she spoke about is something several women in the same situation will relate to.
More often than not, women take a break from their careers to devote time to their kids because we still do not have a strong eco-system in place that can support new mothers, even though things are gradually changing on this front.
A married woman has to wear a sari, sindoor, mangalsutra, bangles, anklets, and so much more. What do these ornaments have to do with my love, respect, and commitment to my husband?
They: Are you married? Me: Yes They: But You don’t look like it Me: (in my Mind) Why should I?
Why is being married not enough for a woman, and she needs to look married too? I am tired of such comments in the nearly four years of being married.
I believe that anything that is forced is not right. I must have a choice. I am a living human, not a puppet. And I am not stopping anyone by not following any tradition. You are free to do whatever you like to do. But do not force others. It’s depressing.