Ever since Pookie has made her gurgling way into our lives, newspapers have slowly made their way out. What was once used to grab quick updates on current events, is now used primarily as a poop scooper. Such are the joys of parenthood.
When I do get three seconds to glance at one though, it’s a quick skimming of the bold, coloured headlines in whichever newspaper I happen to get my hands on. A couple of weeks ago, it was the Bombay Times. Agreed, calling BT a newspaper is like calling Kim Kardashian an actress – it’s all very iffy, even if technically true. Nevertheless, glance I did and I happen to read a piece that was classic BT: Celebrities Share Their Views on Marriage.
Sonam Kapoor was there, a few others, some famous, some just about. And then, there was Kangana Ranaut, who said that “Married people need to get their heads checked.”
I haven’t watched Queen. I want to, though. By all accounts, she’s done a wonderful job and the movie is pathbreaking and bold as it depicts how a girl needn’t marry. Full points on message, but tell me, Kangana, why the smugness? Yes, I get it, there are plenty of obnoxious people in our wonderful country, who hunt down singletons and tell them they’re missing out on life by not getting hitched. I know. I used to be accosted by them, not so long ago.
The thing is, there are also the rest of us out here. Married people who’re just trying to do our best, going out of our way to assure our single friends that hey, don’t worry, you’re not missing anything much. Not out of condescension, you understand, but merely because it’s true. There are aspects of singlehood that I will never enjoy again. There are joys in marriage that a single person cannot experience. We’re talking about two different things, unequal and impossible to compare.
You’re happy being single? Good for you. Go out and make merry in all the ways I can’t. I’ll cheer you on, from my living room couch on Friday night, as my year-old daughter rubs rice on my shirt. But if you’re suggesting that my decision to marry makes me somehow inferior to you or clinically insane, then honey, you’re the one who needs her head checked.