Myopic Vision

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen 1813) It is also a truth acknowledged in India, that a single man with an NRI tag to his name (Non Resident Indian), must be, by mere virtue of the fact that he lives abroad, not just wealthy but a person of sound moral and religious character. And so scores of Indian newpapers run daily matrimonal columns where people advertise a preference for NRI girls or boys based on this rather erroneous assumption that "a life abroad must be easier". While it is hardly unusual in India, to find a matrimonial match through the daily newspapers, there definately seems to be a trend among a lot of young women in urban India, to find themselves the perfect NRI, to settle down with and live a life of "comfort" overseas. Sadly, while most of these marriages are made in heaven, there is a staggeringly high proportion of th...

As my plane made its slow descent into the Dabolim Airport at Goa; I knew that the next few days, would be a essay; with paragraphs of excitement and joyous celebration puncuated, with moments of chaos, nervous discomposure and a few conflagrant tempers. I was here from London, in this relaxed part of the world for just a few days. There was a singluar purpose to my trip and that was my cousin Clyne's wedding. I am the product of the age old tradition of the joint family system in India. So, having lived a large portion of my life with my cousins, meant that there would be no pardoning of any absence on my part, for an occassion as grand and important as a family wedding. Family ties are very important in India, a fact that was clearly endorsed by the global representation of our family at the wedding in Goa. But, I was not here, merely out of a sense of duty or tradition; I was here, because Clyne (the bridegroom) and I are especially close, and so I wanted to be a part of his big...