‘Marry soon; granny wants to see before she dies’

‘Marry soon; granny wants to see before she dies’

Nowadays, Marriages are not made in heaven; they are made in the hands of unknown. The definition of marriage itself has been changed from choosing a life partner to a ‘task’ which is directed, compelled and mandated after reaching a certain age. Not in all the families, but in most of them, marriages happen in order to comfort someone, just as in my friend’s case. But this time, she dealt with it.

Sravanti’s brother tied a knot, a few days ago. Sravanti and I happened to meet two days after the wedding at our favourite place in the city. Like every time, we shared all bits and pieces of our lives and the most prolonged discussion between us was about marriage. And whose marriage was it? It was hers.

She put me in a state of shock by adding that she is all prepared to get married next year. I couldn’t believe my ears as I knew she was not that girl who would easily make a decision about her life and that too about ‘marriage’. Marriage always sounds too erratic to her.

When I asked her the reason for her hasty decision, she said, “Dude, My granny might die soon. It seems she wants to witness my marriage before her death”.

 Tell me, what would you have replied to this? I did not know what to say. I began to laugh.

“Dude, how come? Like are you really moved by this? By the way, when did granny say this? During your bro’s wedding?”, I asked her.

“Naah, she didn’t attend my bro’s wedding as she was ill”, she said.

“Then who told you this?”, I asked in puzzlement.

“My aunt told”, she said.

“What! ….Like how is it about your aunt saying it to you? How does your aunt predict your granny’s death so soon and that too, before your wedding?”, I asked.

“Dude, please stop making fun now. Let us talk seriously”, she raised.

“What did your aunt say?”, I asked.

Describing that moment, she said, “After the function, I was occupied by gossips with my cousins. In fact, everybody was making fun of each other. Suddenly one of my cousins pulled my leg saying, ‘you are the one who is going to get married next’ for which I argued saying no. My aunt, who overheard this statement, arrived at the spot and all of a sudden said, ‘Your granny is bed ridden. Looks like, she is going to die soon. You should at least get married soon, for her’”.

“Why is your aunt giving ideas to your granny? Did your granny ever tell this to you before?”, I asked.

“No, my granny never compelled me”, she replied.

(We spoke for a while there and left the spot. I suggested Sravanti to have a few talks with her granny as well about this. After twodays, I got a message from her to my phone.)

“Heh, I spoke to granny about it. I asked her if she really had such intention of witnessing my wedding before she died.  I also asked her if she ever did tell aunt about the same. You know what she replied?”, she asked.

“What did she reply?”, I added.

“Beta, I don’t want you to get married for the sake of me. I may or may not die soon but you are the one who is going to live after that. And if that life seemed like you never wanted, then there is no point in doing so much”, she said.

 And the irony is, Sravanti’s aunt, who hardly spoke to her and who never even knew her age, was making decisions about her wedding.