Wait Over

Wait Over

The train was approaching towards the station and John was still missing from her sight,"will he come" , Martha's sparse mind questioned impulsively.

They met last month near downtown church and became the ointment of each other's morose hearts as they
were entangled in estranged marriages.

They decided to divorce their spouses to be with each other but John was hesitant about this decision because he felt that her wife still loved him.

Martha assured him to talk to his wife and made her understand about their relationship after which they would leave this town.

As she was waiting for him at the railway station sorting out things with his wife, he came accompanied by police force to arrest her for killing his wife and storing her body pieces in the wooden box she was carrying.

This post is written for Three Word Wednesday ( sparse,impulsive,morose ) and Five Sentence Fiction ( waiting) 

Hindi Hain Hum Watan Hai Hindustan Hamara?

Hindi Hain Hum Watan Hai Hindustan Hamara? (Part 3 of India Series)

Previous Parts : Part 1: India In Danger? ; Part 2 : Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hai?

The following post is part of Indispire Edition 25 at Indiblogger 

(Inter - Religion marriage still taboo among Indians ? What is your take on it .)

We as Indians are still confused for our cultural identity i.e who we are as residents of this country. Hindu,Hindustani,Indian,Bharatiya,Hindi or something else. When there is so much struggle in conveying our identity then how people who consider even inter-caste marriages as taboo would accept Inter - Religion marriages. We are all united under our constitution which make all of us equal and grants freedom to follow any religion. An adult individual thus holds the freedom to choose his or her partner regardless to any religion.The constitution also declares India as Bharat or India and not as Hindustan which denotes its secular identity not related to a particular religion. How a Christian, a Muslim, a Parsi, a Buddhist be Hindu ? If it is so then where is freedom of religion? Why can't one be Indian Muslim, Indian Christian,etc?

Many radical groups taking advantage of this situation in the country always creates an atmosphere of fear among minorities. They inculcate feeling of hatred among each other which stood as the main reason for opposing inter-caste marriages.They considered them as the sole bearer of our traditional and cultural values are working against the constitution. They are the ones who set rules for follower of the religion they belong and separates them from followers of other religion. They mishandles those who marry outside their religions and boycotts them from society. They pressurizes parents by threatening them of ill consequences of their approval of such marriages resulting in non-acceptance by families. But these groups are not the only reason.

We are reared in such a way that we considered those different from us as untouchables and  recognizes someone on the basis of his or caste and religion and not merely as human beings. Our society is wearing a glass which discriminates rich-poor, Hindu-Muslim,upper caste-lower caste and many other such differences it never views the society as one with a glass which could show the commonness of humans and that love is what all religion teaches. It's the common thread of love which binds human race together. Imagine what result this inter-religion marriage would be on our society. The children born with such marriages would be free to choose any religion, they would be born Indians and not as Hindu,Muslim,Sikh,etc.They would know the best of both religion.

World is changing,India is changing. Marriages are breaking more rapidly, understanding one another is more important than understanding religions. So to find perfect match is more important than to find it in our religion. When we believe that couples are made in heaven then why it is important that they must be of same faith. It would be better for the society to accept them. Lets not bring religion between love. Let humanity be the guiding star for society. Acceptance would stop the crimes of honor killing thriving in the society. I would like to recall Iqbal's lines from 'Sare Jahan Se Achcha' that:

Mazhab nahin sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna,

Hindi hain hum watan hai hindustan hamara.

( Religion doesn't teach us to bear ill-will among ourselves,

We are of Hind (India), our homeland is Hindustan (India).

The Big Fat Indian Wedding

The Big Fat Indian Wedding.

We in India are fortunate enough to have so many seasons to see due to our position in the world map. Summer,winter,monsoon,spring,etc. You name it and we have it but there is one more season of which we experience many forms and that season is wedding season.

In India wedding is like a destination for each individual to reach at a particular age,one started dreaming about his or her wedding since childhood,beautiful dresses,lavish arrangements,most suitable partner and so on. There are so much expectation in marriages that one spend huge amount of money in food,clothing and other arrangements.Due to huge differences in economic conditions we have so many type of marriage arrangements which one can afford according to budget.

Street marriages where tents were put in streets,food is limited and many times get finished before eating by everybody present there, parks or community center marriages,here marriages started getting bigger with more food items and for all ,bigger arrangements,bride and grooms costumes were better and so on,some may have music arrangements,DJ's ,orchestra according to the budget than we have farm house weddings which are based on themes having proper rehearsals for different ceremonies,dishes of different regions,designer outfits,etc. Last but not the least are palace weddings in old royal palaces which are used now as hotels and resorts where filmstars performs,food is in abundance,high profile people were invited,preparations began before months,dances choreographed,costumes precisely made,etc

Lots of money is wasted in wedding arrangements,food goes in drains in a country where so many people sleep hungry,electricity is overused,a small ceremony can also tie the threads of relation but performed otherwise,those who don't have that much money borrow from others out of  social pressure,dowry is given in the name of gifts,poor people often think there daughters as burden only because of this reason.

There are so many negative expects of such Big Fat Indian Wedding but there is also an other side of it. It provide work and business to thousands and lacks of people directly or indirectly,people plan there business according to marriage season,tailors,carpenters,masons,vegetable vendors,cloth manufacturers,marriage bureaus,painters,electrician,farmers,etc all takes there share from weddings, a good wedding season is a good business season more the demand more is the supply and more will be the profit. So enjoy this season every year.