I remember reading the story of Pinocchio as a child. A wooden puppet who liked to fabricate stories and lies. However each time he did so his nose would grow a bit longer. I wish it was true in real life. Imagine if our noses grew an inch when we snooped in others affairs ? Wouldn't that be interesting ! Just imagining it is fun.
I have started realizing that we Indian's have an insatiable desire to know what is going around in others life. A few years outside India I saw that people just lived their own lives. Didn't bother about what was happening to the next door neighbor or relative. In the west no one is interested whether you are single, married, seeing someone or divorced. Even if they do they will be frank enough to come and ask it on your face. Whereas we ourselves thrive on whats going on in others life. Some of the perennial topics of discussion are "Marriage", "Divorce", "Children".
These are the timeless questions.
1) Shaadi kab karogi ? (When is she getting married ?).
2) Are divorce ho gaya pakka kuch gadbad hoga ( They got divorced: something must not be right)
3) Babu nahi hai ? Kitne saal hue shaadi ke ( You don't have a kid ? How many years are you married ?)
What is shockingly true is that all these questions come under the "Strictly Personal" category.
I know many friends who are "Happily Single". May be they just want to live their lives, maybe they are not ready to settle down just with anyone, waiting for the right guy seems OK.
Often marriages are not just meant to be. When two people separate it is a big decision and often no one's business. I have seen people not sharing the news that they have separated. Keeping quiet seems better than being the topic of discussion among friends and relatives.
The third question is the one which I often get to hear myself. When I decided to quit my job for personal reasons I heard that it had become the most talked about thing (behind my back). Why does she wan't to leave a job that is paying her a good salary. Is is pregnant ? Is it hard to believe that a girl can't quit her job without being pregnant ? Maybe the work environment had just sucked out all my creativity and personal life. After 8 years of working my ass off I think I deserved to take a break.
I have known people who can't have kids being humiliated in public occasions by being asked the same question about motherhood. Ultimately they lie that they are married for 2 years instead of 5 just to avoid the question about kids.
What I would say to such people is that no one cares about your mindless banter so please ****ING "Mind Your Own Business" !
I have started realizing that we Indian's have an insatiable desire to know what is going around in others life. A few years outside India I saw that people just lived their own lives. Didn't bother about what was happening to the next door neighbor or relative. In the west no one is interested whether you are single, married, seeing someone or divorced. Even if they do they will be frank enough to come and ask it on your face. Whereas we ourselves thrive on whats going on in others life. Some of the perennial topics of discussion are "Marriage", "Divorce", "Children".
These are the timeless questions.
1) Shaadi kab karogi ? (When is she getting married ?).
2) Are divorce ho gaya pakka kuch gadbad hoga ( They got divorced: something must not be right)
3) Babu nahi hai ? Kitne saal hue shaadi ke ( You don't have a kid ? How many years are you married ?)
What is shockingly true is that all these questions come under the "Strictly Personal" category.
I know many friends who are "Happily Single". May be they just want to live their lives, maybe they are not ready to settle down just with anyone, waiting for the right guy seems OK.
Often marriages are not just meant to be. When two people separate it is a big decision and often no one's business. I have seen people not sharing the news that they have separated. Keeping quiet seems better than being the topic of discussion among friends and relatives.
The third question is the one which I often get to hear myself. When I decided to quit my job for personal reasons I heard that it had become the most talked about thing (behind my back). Why does she wan't to leave a job that is paying her a good salary. Is is pregnant ? Is it hard to believe that a girl can't quit her job without being pregnant ? Maybe the work environment had just sucked out all my creativity and personal life. After 8 years of working my ass off I think I deserved to take a break.
I have known people who can't have kids being humiliated in public occasions by being asked the same question about motherhood. Ultimately they lie that they are married for 2 years instead of 5 just to avoid the question about kids.
What I would say to such people is that no one cares about your mindless banter so please ****ING "Mind Your Own Business" !
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