Short Story of An Indian Woman’s Inherent Dilemma
Photo credit: xenia from morguefile.com
Sonia was chatting with Rohit, one of her biggest fans during college life. Rohit was talking about his recent promotion in job and asking her to join him for the celebration party. Sonia knew that Rohit had a crush on her and he had approached her many times indirectly. But Sonia had never fallen for him, though he never stopped flirting and trying. However, after so many days, suddenly she had started liking those teasing and flirting. She had also started sharing intimate feelings with him. Late night chats had become so regular that she found it very tough to do away with it. But was all these morally correct for a married woman? Or is it wrong to have a little fun in life even if you are married? She was in a dilemma.
Sonia was a homemaker staying with her husband, Raj in UK. She is a typical Indian woman who loves her husband and respects the elders and likes to take care of everyone. She left her job to fly with her husband to UK. There also she didn’t try for any job as her husband didn’t show interest in it. After all she should respect his liking and disliking. This is what Indian girls are expected to be good at. So the initial one year of marriage was very interesting. They enjoyed exploring Europe and exploring all secrets in a married life. But Sonia was not happy while technically she had everything perfect in life. Why? Because she was missing herself everywhere; what was her identity? Was leaving the job a wrong decision? She was in dilemma.
Sometimes she looked back to her life. She was in a relationship with a guy Sameer, her colleague in a software company where she used to work. They used to love each other and used to have fun with each other. They used to enjoy each other’s company. So their love was technically perfect. Then a twist happened when they asked their parents for permission to marry. While Sonia’s parents easily agreed, Sameer’s parents had a contract to be signed between the two parties. The marriage contract included many points starting from the resignation from job to staying with the family. As the negotiation failed finally, Sonia’s parents felt offended being in the losing side. After all they were the good guys. So they asked their daughter to choose Sameer or a guy of their choice and she already had had enough. So Sonia and Sameer chose their parents over their strong and unbreakable relationship. Then the resume shortlisting process started and it ended at Raj. Raj was a very good looking person with a great personality and humble behavior. It’s needless to mention that he was a very successful guy as his resume had already been shortlisted. Sonia also approved this deal with great pleasure and sweet dreams about the upcoming life. There were some contracts for this marriage too like leaving the job as she has to stay with Raj in UK. However, they were all accepted by both the bride and her parents at the drop of a hat. After all, Raj was a smart guy with heavy wallet staying in UK. They married and went to UK. The life was good and everything was technically correct. However, Sonia was feeling the gradual dominance of her husband day by day. She was not allowed to do many things like doing job, studying further etc. She often thought actually what her decision was about marriage. She left a guy whom she loved because he and his parents were trying to dominate an innocent girl. But even now the situation is not different. She didn’t think about women rights and moral justification while tying knot. In the end she left her job and her parents which she didn’t want to. So what was the incentive she had calculated while choosing Raj? She was in dilemma.
Almost all Indian girls live under these kinds of dilemmas. Whether they should follow the famous concepts like “Pati Parmeshwar” or they should follow the generic human value and moral standards. Whether they should listen to their parents or they should listen to their heart. Do they think of feminism and women empowerment always or when it is suitable for them? Are they really not capable of taking decisions? Are they trapped within hypocrisy?
In 21st century a well-educated person working in corporate finds it so difficult to understand concepts like human value, basic rights, feminism and moral standards while in tea shops people like to play with these words everyday like experts in philosophy. The general beliefs, culture and moral standards are changing in India. But are we judging the pros and cons of this change? Are we judging ourselves that how much we are changing with the world and are there any necessity for the change?
A push mail interrupted the chat between Sonia and Rohit. That was an interview call from a reputed software firm where she had applied secretly. But which is better; your own identity or a peaceful family life with no conflict with husband or in-laws? So should she tell her husband regarding this job interview? Still she was in dilemma.
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