Abroad or perish
Alfred Tennyson once wrote “More things are wrought by prayer…”. With due respects to him, I give a new definition “More things are wrought by lies…”. And its more true, if you are a parent of a guy looking out for a girl for the supposedly holy ritual. More so, if you belonged to a typical South Indian community that I belong.
If I write a book on the kinds of lies that the guy’s house give to impress the prospective girl’s house, the top of my list would be “He’s going abroad soon.” You should be one of those blessed cosmic creatures to actually see how this sparks off a string of light bulbs on the forehead of the prospective girl’s parents. “Oh! Did u hear that! This guy is going abroad. Imagine telling our neighbors and that slimy uncle of yours, that my daughter is settled in the States! Hey make it a 1-up for this boy!”
And if you don’t go abroad, you are just another ol’ swine spending his life marching between the delirious streets of a dusty South Indian suburb, who goes to the Kodaikkanal hills for his honeymoon and wonders how beautiful God’s creation is…
In that far-reaching world, Foreign translates to intelligence. Intelligence in foreign translates to wealth. A wealthy intelligent boy settled in foreign. Who could ever have second thoughts on such a match for their daughter. After all, the neighborhood gossip of their daughter settled in foreign married to a wealthy intelligent boy is more important than the boy being ‘her’ choice of a guy.
As for the boy’s parents, over all the couple of years they were looking for a girl, their son has always been going abroad in a couple of months. When things get to materialize and as they get closer to marriage they pip in, "He is not going because of this marriage stuff coming up". What an unquestionable justification! What a responsible boy! Sacrifices his going abroad for the sake of his would-be wife, though he might always still get to go anytime soon, mind you.
Lies! When would the boy’s parents choose to keep facts straight and simple? And when would the girl’s parents choose to put the daughter’s future ahead of neighborhood gossip?
Having asked that, just as the oracle in The Matrix and the history as we know it would say, not making a choice is also a choice.
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If I write a book on the kinds of lies that the guy’s house give to impress the prospective girl’s house, the top of my list would be “He’s going abroad soon.” You should be one of those blessed cosmic creatures to actually see how this sparks off a string of light bulbs on the forehead of the prospective girl’s parents. “Oh! Did u hear that! This guy is going abroad. Imagine telling our neighbors and that slimy uncle of yours, that my daughter is settled in the States! Hey make it a 1-up for this boy!”
And if you don’t go abroad, you are just another ol’ swine spending his life marching between the delirious streets of a dusty South Indian suburb, who goes to the Kodaikkanal hills for his honeymoon and wonders how beautiful God’s creation is…
In that far-reaching world, Foreign translates to intelligence. Intelligence in foreign translates to wealth. A wealthy intelligent boy settled in foreign. Who could ever have second thoughts on such a match for their daughter. After all, the neighborhood gossip of their daughter settled in foreign married to a wealthy intelligent boy is more important than the boy being ‘her’ choice of a guy.
As for the boy’s parents, over all the couple of years they were looking for a girl, their son has always been going abroad in a couple of months. When things get to materialize and as they get closer to marriage they pip in, "He is not going because of this marriage stuff coming up". What an unquestionable justification! What a responsible boy! Sacrifices his going abroad for the sake of his would-be wife, though he might always still get to go anytime soon, mind you.
Lies! When would the boy’s parents choose to keep facts straight and simple? And when would the girl’s parents choose to put the daughter’s future ahead of neighborhood gossip?
Having asked that, just as the oracle in The Matrix and the history as we know it would say, not making a choice is also a choice.