On being single

Being single is not very interesting in India. You have to answer even to strangers ‘why you are not getting married’? I don’t like somebody asking personal questions, but this is the way we are. Indians, probably everybody in the sub continent, are curious to know about you. If you are a single woman and travel alone, you have to deal with lot of silly questions. They don’t mean anything bad, but they are not used to women traveling alone. And of course marriage is considered a sacred institution in India. We are supposed to move through a track that is drawn by society. Indians don’t generally accept rebels ,or they don’t feel the need for privacy. It is quite usual , people to interfere in your affairs.
I am not against marriage, but against getting married just for the sake of it. I often wonder how people get marry to a person who is a stranger as it happens in the arranged marriages here. I am pretty choosy about a life partner. I think one needs to have certain compatibility with the person who would be your life partner. Besides I feel it is absolutely an individual choice whether to get marry or not to. But this kind of ‘individualism’ doesn’t exist here. And you have no choice or power to decide on your life in the conservative social system. Perhaps I think too much about every little thing. However I find myself quite unfit in this way of life.

People will start find their own reason if you don’t give them reason for your single status. At least they will warn you of the consequences of being single. I must say that I enjoy my single status though it can be boring sometimes. I crave for a company while traveling, particularly to help me with my luggage and other stuff. But being single is better than being in an unhappy marriage.