"You
know Asha, an Indian girl doesn't behave like this. She is the one
responsible for the whole house. When I was your age, I was managing a house
and a husband and I was expecting a baby. See I know today you are going to
meet him, and I don’t want to upset you or make you angry.
But, what will he think of you if you go to meet him for the first time wearing
jeans and that negligee you call a top. If you were living with us, I would
never have allowed you to wear things that leave you half naked. This is why I
told your achan not to send you away to Delhi; you have no
values remaining in you, you dress like those Americans and I even suspect you
are into alcohol and cigarettes. Which guy from a good family will marry you
now! You know I haven’t been able to sleep for the last one week thinking of
your marriage, its already too late molu, please understand that
for girls it’s not good to be single after a particular age."
Asha knew she had no other option other than to listen meekly and utter an occasional ‘hmm’ and ‘yes’ at the appropriate places, whenever her mom paused to check if she was still on the line or had Asha hung up on her mother.
Asha knew she had no other option other than to listen meekly and utter an occasional ‘hmm’ and ‘yes’ at the appropriate places, whenever her mom paused to check if she was still on the line or had Asha hung up on her mother.
"No
Amma, I am here..uhh huh.. I am listening. Yes, absolutely. I understand."
"Let
the guy order the food he likes, you eat something very light and don't spill
food on your clothes. Don't hog when he is around, behave well and be a good
girl,"
"Amma I never - huh..never mind." Asha swallowed the sentence midway. "Yeah okay I will not hog."
"Amma I never - huh..never mind." Asha swallowed the sentence midway. "Yeah okay I will not hog."
"And
please wear some decent clothes and go. Wear that peach colour saree we got you for Onam,
or the other.."
Asha
interrupted her mom, "Amma I will wear a proper salwar kameez and
go..please."
"Alright, but wear something with sleeves, don't go about exposing yourself. What will he think of you!!"
"Alright, but wear something with sleeves, don't go about exposing yourself. What will he think of you!!"
Though she
listened and nodded her head to whatever her mom said, Asha had already decided
what she would wear, and she was not going to change her decision for anyone,
come what may. She somehow managed to listen to the entire lecture and
hung up. She knew her social skills were not exemplary, but they were not that
bad either; Asha was confident about herself even if her mom was not.
Reaching
out to her wardrobe, she took out the formal skirt which she used only for very
formal occasions and brought out the shirt she was planning on wearing today.
Asha had already decided that she wouldn’t be casual around this guy, not in
terms of her behaviour, neither in terms of her clothes. *********************************************************************************
Girls in India are caught in the drift when they reach a particular age. They suddenly face a dilemma as to what to focus on in their life, whether to make a career and ensure a living or to get married and secure their life. Girls who remain single after the so called marriageable age are frowned upon by the society and are considered a burden for their families.
Throughout the month of April, thanks to the AtoZ Challenge, I am trying to portray the life of Asha, a common Indian girl with dreams and aspirations. Everyday we focus on one alphabet starting from A on April 1st till Z on April 30th. Stick with me till the end of the journey and do tell me what you think of my writing and my Asha.
A - An Arranged Marriage
B - Bridal Dreams
C - Cherubs From Heaven
D - Rusty Dusty Delhi
E - Ernakulam
F - Fretting Over F.R.I.E.N.D.S & Fiancé
G - Gratifying Rendezvous
H - Hospitality Crash Course
I - I Love You??!!
J - Journalism's Joy
K - Krishna
L - Love, Longing & Life
M - Milan - A Meeting
N- Noodles, Nimbu Paani & A Nice Guy
O - Online?
P - Phone Number
Q - Questions!
R - Risks
S - Some Soul Searching
T - Timeless Tableau, A Twist in The Tale
U - Union
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Happy A to Z Adventure . . Your post is excellent! -g-
ReplyDeleteThank you G!
DeleteGood on her for showing respect for crash course, but doing it her way anyway. Happy A-zing
ReplyDeleteYeah.. You never argue with your mom; that's her principle! :)
DeleteThanks for coming by
nice one
ReplyDeleteAhhh !The rebellious child ! But why do I admire her so much ?:)
ReplyDeleteMaybe we all have that streak of rebellion within us :)
DeleteThanks for coming by
Interesting !
ReplyDeleteSo Asha deciding what she should do
Good to read the ending:)
He he..looks like you love the rebellion in her :)
DeleteThank you for coming by
If u dont mind can u pls tell me how to insert the linky for A to Z in the end ?
ReplyDeleteIt's cool right!
DeleteI found it yesterday while visiting other blogs that had entered the AtoZ Challenge.
There is a detailed description on how you can do it on this link :
http://i-got-sidetracked.blogspot.in/2013/04/f.html
Have fun! :)
I like the way you paint your picture with dialogue.
ReplyDeleteStopping by from the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge FB page.
I do try to put my thoughts into words very sincerely. Glad you liked that :)
DeleteNice job, Asha!
ReplyDeleteLove the story! I'm looking forward to reading the previous posts as well as what you have in store for us after this!
Thank you Roshni. Hope Asha can keep you engrossed throughout :)
DeleteI love your post, Asha!! I smiled while I read it and could picture my American mother telling me some of the same things . . .
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foreveryoung279.blogspot.com
A lot of us women can relate to it, seems like advice is something none us really look forward to.
DeleteThank you, for coming by :)
Another perfectly captured moment!
ReplyDelete