Of eternal bliss and before

I was surfing the idiot box the other day, only to find sobs and swivels by the saintly saas and evil bahus (or vice-versa, whichever the case may be) and stopped at Rahul Mahajan’s request join him in his quest for eternal bliss, in the footsteps of his predecessor Rakhi Sawant for the second season of the same show. A few days later I discovered another daily, the perfect bride, wherein men looking forward to be bound in holy matrimony, get their mothers to choose their future wives all placed in a mansion under house arrest, or so it seems. Baffled at the rate of enthusiasts raring to tie the knot I decided to dig deeper.

All my research proved my prior theories wrong. The root cause for it all is the global economic meltdown. Apparently, all eligible in the scurry of jobs cuts and pay slash, can’t wait to say I do, to save their jobs. The gifts and cash they would receive will last them a few years, thus saving their whatever little they can make for their near future .The hefty sums the grooms will charge, in the form of dowry presented by the bride’s father, will go up, said a bride-to-be. Moreover, it would be better now, than to wait till depression arrives. The groom might also lose his face value, the market price. What he may get now may not be the same later.

Also some, with their series of unsuccessful relationships, decided to follow the old school of thought. They wanted it arranged by their parents and the billion others who watch the show. Marriage a social affair, that seeks approval and the blessings of the elders in the household, what better way than the whole country deciding who the wife/groom should be. A billion plus people get to witness the most important decision of the individual’s. A pleased mother, of a contestant, couldn’t contain her elation. According to her, in India, marriage is no private occasion unlike the west. It’s a grand affair where every kith and kin of every single member of the household are invited, and in this case the whole country via their television sets. 

The times have changed, you don’t need to place advertisements in the matrimonial times or even shaadi.com for that matter. We can make it exquisite; the search is bigger and better, scrutinized by every eye. You see, thus bringing down the divorce percentage. You are given tasks, you go through eliminations, you are in intense pressure and only the tough survives. Its marriage after all no piece of cake, the finalists has earned it, at least the prize money, if not each other.