FUN

The endless debate around marriage vs freedom.

-  By Ramcharan Harshana

Ria could hardly realise she had attained the age of marriage when her parents started looking for a suitable boy for her. When her mother informed her that a family was arriving with a boy to see her, she laughed it off, saying, "Oh Mom! Why are you so worried about my marriage? Let me still enjoy life. I've just completed my post-graduation, and I want to do a job and enjoy absolute freedom."

"Freedom! What sort of freedom, dear?" her mother objected. "I know you youngsters nowadays don't want to carry domestic responsibilities. At your age, my parents had already married me off, and I had Sandeep and you as children."

"Oh Mom! Try to understand. That was an old time. This is the twenty-first century. Youngsters nowadays lead an altogether different life—a life full of liberty, happiness, and... and fun!"

She put stress on the word fun.

"Fun... fun... fun! What sort of fun? Can you explain?” her mother asked irritably.

“You don’t understand, Mom. Nor can I explain it to you,” Ria replied carelessly and went into her room to get dressed up for going out.

Ria laughed inside thinking about the word fun, with which she had confused her mother. Poor lady! How could she understand what fun is? she mumbled.

The whole day she engaged herself thinking about how to receive the boy who was coming to see her. What would be his physical appearance? A bearded man or clean-shaven? Fat, stout, lean, or thin? Tall, short, or of medium height? Would she experience love at first sight with him? Oh no! That's an outdated feeling. Nowadays, no girl or boy thinks about it. What would be his education and aspirations? His nature and behavior, etc.? Would he also have had a lot of fun, as she has had till now? Would he have had girlfriends and relationships with his classmates, as she had—and still has—in live contact with some of them?