Being 20s

So I thought the great part of being in my twenties would be I would finally get to live life on my own terms.. Not to mention, i would finally get over the tag of ‘a teenager’. Ahhh yes!  Life always seemed good in the twenties. You finally got over the phrases like ‘you áre not even twenty’ and ‘when you áre twenty, i ll reconsider’ . Little did I know what I was signing up for..
     When I was nineteen, twenty seemed to be a magical place..  It was like peeping through a magic hole..  Everything was magical ( or so it seemed) but now that I am actually in the place,  well, it’s not so lucrative actually.  Yes,  you have a job.  And yes you probably don’t have all those restrictions imposed on you.  Yes,  you can indulge in your favorite cocktail, designer wear, etc without raising eyebrows.  You can plan mini get-aways with your friends.  Life seems good and in most cases it is. 
        But like all good things being twenties has a pitfall too.  You áre exposed to too much evil (yes! I know I sound positively medieval) . As you grow up you gradually lose the qualities you were always blessed with – like trust! I know most of you have already lost it and you do second-guess every second person’s motives.  No point denying it.  We ve all done it.  Then comes the burden of the society- a society which considers your marriage àn event of utmost importance. If you áre about to cross to the other side of twenty, then God save your soul because every second person will and mark my words will try and set you up.  Also you will get to hear ardent comments like,  ‘you have a nice face, good height/good income/ good bloodline, it ll be quite easy for you to get a match ‘ . It’s quite the auction ,really. This wedding affair and after a while no matter how much you convince yourself that you áre meant to enjoy the single life, the pressure gets to you and vöila!  You áre married. Personally, I never got the concept why 30 is the last accepted age of marriage! Another thing which I despise about being twenties is responsibility- no I m no slacker but somehow responsibility is something which can give even the neighborhood gossiping aunts, a run for their money.  I ve personally observed that responsibilities always keep on increasing until you hardly have time to catch a breather between two ”responsibility”. (whoever said with great power comes great responsibility,  should rephrase it because without any power also comes the responsibility)
      When I was younger, I had more freedom. I dressed and acted the way I pleased!  Even as a teenager ,I was quite a rebel. But cross over to the twenty and I tone myself down. Especially when I see teenagers wearing same stuff as I m, that s when I bid adieu to my favourite ‘ripped jeans’ and tees and opt for the more somber (and yes!boring)
Dress pants. God! It just kills me.
So, twentys áre mixed bag . You win some, you lose some. You win hearts, take on the world in your basking glory, but you tend to lose yourself a little bit everyday. Because try as we might, twentys never gives us the time for ‘us.’

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Caste,Creed and Breed

Being a frequent commuter on public transport system,  I,  like many others of my generation have switched on this very comfortable method of plugging in the earphones and shutting the world out.  So imagine my utter dismay when I found my earphones missing on a not-so-fine day . Utterly dejected,  I was forced to hear the incessant chatter of two females sitting behind me ( actually I heard a lot of views but more about those later)  this particular female had a ‘marrieable’ son and she was telling her friend about the various attributes which were desirable in the bride . One thing which particularly caught my fancy was the term ‘convent-educated’ . I ll admit that I was so intrigued by this bit of information that I did a little research of my own ( in the matrimonial pages of Sunday papers as well as some sites, under pseudo-name I assure you) 
             What stuck me as odd was the way people áre trying to sell themselves. And no I m not kidding. They actually try and sell themselves. Otherwise tell me, why on earth would you need to mention the father’s occupation or property, for that matter when looking for a suitable bride for The Son.  Or why would you need to mention that the girl in question is ”convent-educated’ and slim?  No one cares if the girl is convent-educated!  I mean what possible attributes does such a girl have which another one doesn’t? Schooling cant determine your character can it?  To some extent it might but our characters áre hardly determined by which school we are from.  I mean, is there this belief that those girls will be pious and well-behaved as opposed to others?  I still can’t find conclusive evidence.  Then there áre those who demand slim and fair girls..  I mean if the girl is slim,fair and goodlooking, she would have a better life in a hospitality industry than a house-wife of a very shallow and judgemental man.  And what if the girl is dark? Doesn’t she deserve àn equal shot at ”Happiness” ? I guess not.  Even the castes áre blatantly mentioned and neatly categorised in alphabetical order. Come on!  I mean tell me the significance of the caste.  I mean how is important in your marital life?  Is it a conclusive proof that certain castes are more fertile than the rest?  If that is the case , I wouldn’t object.
     Standing at this crossroad of the great Indian marriage circus,  I can’t help but wonder, when the time comes will I too, succumb to this ‘Slave Auction’ where I will actually set more weight to the physical attributes of the person rather than the practical.?   There’s food for thought!
          

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