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Navneet,

@LD,
In my opinion marriages are nothing but gamble. In love marriage expectations become exceedingly high. Where as in arranged your are confused about your partner’s and your compatibility. And arranged marriages are jackpot in India since it is imbued in our minds that adjustment is most important thing in marriage. And this tradition will go on. But its my perfunctory view on marriages. May be when I’m married I can dance to different tune afterall “takes one to know one”.

I am unsocial AND OCD-ish. Yes.

Honestly, here is food for thought. I’ve known many arranged marriages to last, and so-called ‘love marriages’ to crumble. I don’t have all that much to say on the issue since well, heh, I’m not married.

I suppose the thing is that you can’t take the other person for granted. Which is what often happens in ‘love marriages’. And the flip side of an ‘arranged marriage’ is that you may end up with a person whom you’re not compatible with at all. It’s all a big risk, isn’t it? A major gamble with your life, whichever way you put it. Heh.

Another issue here is why ‘arranged marriages’ have been the norm in India for centuries. I suppose it’s owing to the way society is founded. You don’t have much of an opportunity to go and meet many new people, do you? These days, perhaps the scenario is slightly different. Still, most people are quite lazy and content enough for their parents to do the job rather than go out and look for a partner.

I can’t say much since I’m unsure about my own stance. All I can say is that it’s a big gamble. I mean, my question is: how can you be sure of such a thing? People often change with time, and you can never tell. On the other hand, so many couples spend their lifetimes with each other in spite of all the ups and downs. It’s strange, isn’t it?

And also, while this may be completely politically incorrect, I have to say it – with all my education and so-called openness, I haven’t managed to figure out what makes relationships last while all around I also see the so-called ‘blind choice’ arranged marriages working and apparantly very well. So what makes me fit to sit on a moral high horse and say that my way is better?

But that’s just my thought. Good post. And thanks for dropping into the idea-smithy!

P.S. whats OCD patient. Forgive me for my knowledge.

I just had to laugh at the post script, since I was about to ask you those very questions.

You’re spot on about Indian society being a repressed one. To be honest, if most parents would deal with their children ‘growing up’ in a matter-of-fact and categorical fashion, we’d be spared a lot of ‘embarrassment and blushes’. And of course, the voyeurism results from the repression. The moment you taboo something, people get this insane urge to find out more about the subject-which-is-not-to-be-spoken-of.

Wedding ceremonies sure are boring. (Yes, I know I sound twelve. Can’t help it ). Attending them as a guest is a pain in itself, I can only imagine what it is like for the bride/bridegroom. *shudder* Frankly, I personally don’t set a lot of store by ceremonies. Compltete waste of time and energy, I’d say. But perhaps that’s just me and my unsocial habits speaking.

An interesting and thought-provoking post, Al. My only complaint is that you erm, forgot to edit the typos. Ah well, I shouldn’t nit-pick like an OCD patient.