#34 Indian parents have become lazy

Indian parents are cooking up a revolution. They’re asking their kids to fall in love. But did they bring up their kids that way? No. Growing up, we’ve seen how much parents hated love marriages. They spoke badly about those who married someone they loved and gave out horrible advice to other parents who spoke to them about their kids’ future. They were overconfident about finding a match for their kids. Their tight-knit social circle made it easy. But, so much had changed in the last few decades.

Families have moved apart from their tight-knit circles to become city dwellers, and kids have started to aspire high - started going to schools and colleges far away from their homes. They got good jobs, made good money, which in turn had raised their expectations about their life partner. This made arranged marriage difficult for parents.

So, most parents who are in cities - the same people who swore to do anything in the name of their social and communal circles once are now beginning to loosen up. They’re casually slipping in conversations like “Are you in a relationship with someone? Tell us. We’ll speak to their parents.” I was very angry when I heard this from my dad back then. Until then, they told me how we should honor the communal system and now they’d become a saint and asking me if I was in love with someone. Ridiculous!

Similar to how they were overconfident and thought arranged marriages are easy, they’re also thinking that love marriages are easy. But, on the bright side, it is good that it is happening to some extent in the city.

But, so much is yet to change. A hundred kilometers from where we live, people have strong opinions about who their sons or daughters should marry and take extreme measures if they do otherwise. But, change has to happen somewhere. I believe with education, people will look outside their bubble. I hope our next generation will be open towards their kids having meaningful relationships than marrying someone for their social or family status.