Married.....

Sweet mother of God!!!! Another wedding, no wait a minute, another 3 more weddings, and the sheer number of weddings this season (between October and February) is simply astounding. Either I know too many people or there is this certain urge for people to get married all of a sudden. This year people of all shapes, sizes, casts and creeds, the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the living and even the dead seem to be getting married. Its fun in its own right, if you come to think of it, but it has its downs also.

Since my return about 5 months ago, I have attended nearly five weddings and ditched about two, I still have around three to four more to go. I’m not cribbing as such, because there were ones I really wanted to be a part of. There are my two first cousins, a friend and my sister, so far two down. But what is it about this season people wonder, why, that at this time of year all these Indians, especially south Indians decide to get married, it is not in the Hindu calendar to get married at this time of year, this quarter (from November to February) consist of the months Karthigai and Margali (these are Tamil months), one the month of lights and illumination and the other the month of prayer, song and worship respectively. There is nothing in there about to or not to get married.

So it’s not a religious thing then. My assumption is that, India has its winter now, and winter is a blessing for a tropical country like this one. We in the coffee belt wait for the rains to start (we call it monsoon), why, you may ask. Because we have eight months of mad heat and we cannot wait for winter to kick in, and winter isn't exactly winter, I mean today is 28 degrees, that’s not that bad. So maybe it’s the climate, it is apt for marriage. Whatever it is, it is quiet hectic but then again, on the flip side it is extremely cheerful, which is a good thing for any season.

But the question here is to be, or not to be married? I’m assuming that either love is in the air or all the folks are on a rampage to get their kids married off. Most of the weddings that I have been to have been love marriages (surprising in this country) and the people who do get married are quiet young these days, people in their early twenties, a little early if you come to think about it. That is the major reason for the old aunts and uncles to come up to me and ask me the same damn question, “so, you’re next, when are you getting married?”, and as much as it annoys me, I like to indulge their little fancy by saying “as soon as you find me a nice girl”, so there are some half a dozen withered old aunt’s probably looking for prospective brides to be, Sweet.

And as to answer the question, the verdict is, To Not be........... Not yet anyways, there is a time and place for everything.