Selections .....

So far I have had 5 of my friends get married this year and few more are planned in the near future. Not to mention the umpteen number of friends who are in a desperate hunt for a life partner. This seems to be the most discussed topic these days no matter where we go and it is the same even when I talk with my family members. Now I realise that I am growing older and older and it is the perfect age for my friends to get married and it is high time for girls of my age.

The selection process for a life partner varies to a great extent from each and every individual. Parents have a different criteria while children have a completely different criteria or rather contradicting ones. I would be highly surprised if people are able to find a perfect life partner after passing through both the filters. From what I have seen and heard so far Religion,Caste,Creed, and Horoscope is the first filter in selection process. There is little compromise on these when it comes to arranged marriage. It's a shame that needs to be accepted. Pushing this aside there have been few peculiar expectations I came across like one girl wanted to know the fitness regime of the guy she intend to marry. Though the expectation is a practical one it sounded weird.

Most of the rejections from the brides are based purely on salary cap and work location which these days have been a major factor and when it comes to guys the rejections have been mostly due because of the external beauty. Guys are always guys :) We are never going to change. While the previous has a scale to measure the later is totally left to the person's discretion and one can never draw a scale for that. It is pretty difficult for the parents and guys to have similar taste when it comes to the beauty.

I have seen my share of girls getting married to guys settled in USA. The reasons can be debated and I remain a stranger about them till date. I have even seen a profile where the expectation column had nothing but the salary and work location mentioned. I was literally flabbergasted to see a profile which read something like below "I would like a partner with a good job earning handsome salary in the following countries 
a. USA
b.Europe 
c.Australia 
d. New Zealand"

I don't want to pen down my perceptions here as it might not sound rosy and will even offend many who pursue their masters with sponsorship from their better half :) I have heard my own friend from college who has settled in USA for close to 4 years saying  "Dei I am more than willing to sponsor for her course da. Vera enna machi panna mudiyum. Illati ponnu kudukka maatanga machi. :D It is after all part and parcel of the marriage deal." Few others are very particular in making sure that that they don't have to live with their in-laws and they convey it with a high degree of diplomacy and not point blank.... :) Some even define that living with in-laws to be a joint family. It sounded ridiculous but couldn't help it either it is all because the family structure these days which is getting more and more nuclear these days. I would prefer rather want to live with my parents and in-laws in the same house which I believe will be the perfect way, but that has got it's own complications. :)

I am sure everyone these days are very clear on what they are looking for in their life partners. It is good to see many sticking to their expectations and waiting for their right one. But at the same time I also feel that we have to make some compromise at some point of time. It would be good for us if we can appreciate the imperfections in people and get along with the life instead of being stubborn. It is damn difficult to find partner matching our expectations to an exact measure.

It is always better to bend rather than break.

Frantic 50 minutes.....

It was a Saturday and I was to travel to Yercaud for my friend's engagement late that night. The train was scheduled to leave at around 11 PM. It was just six in the evening, so I decided to take a nap for a while before I pack. Packing is always done at the last minute for my travel no matter where I travel and what the purpose is ... :)  As I was just getting into sleep I had a flash of a thought about the file that I got from my college on an ill-fated convocation day. Pity that my grey cells failed to recollect where I had placed it, after taking few photo copies of all the certificates. The thought of taking a nap just vanished away, my brain was working as fast as it has ever been, trying to recollect where I had placed the file with little luck :( ....

I had the experience of loosing my passport once before and I could still feel the pain I had to go through to get a new one. This time it was all the mark sheets right from 10th std to my UG certificate which also included Community Certificate and few others. I just couldn't stand the thought of having to apply for duplicates for that was lost ones. Standing in long queues in the government offices, bribing for each and every and everything, time it would take to get them back, facing the negligent attitude from all the government employees, and not to mention the procedure to obtain a certificate from the police for the lost file. All these thought were haunting me to a great extent. It was a humongous task which was highly impossible to pull off without going through the back doors :( ....

I ransacked the entire house 3 or 4 times in a gap of  just 15 minutes and was still left with no hope of finding the file. I was trying my best to stay calm and composed as much as possible but was sweating like a pig because of the tension deep within me :) As my mind raced on what can be done next some intuition prompted me to check my office locker as I did carry the file for some purpose to the office. I decided to go ahead and started my bike as I received a call from my dear friend Prudhvi after a very long time. It had been ages since we spoke but I was in no position to have a conversation with him at that moment. I tried to convey him the chaotic situation on hand but the poor line made me dial few times only to hear a voice instructing some crap in Finnish.

I chucked the phone call for the moment and started racing towards my office. Saturday traffic didn't help my cause forcing me to jump most of the signals ignoring the policemen standing there to pounce on the violators and also all the calls from my friend. Not to mention the number of risky maneuvers I had to attempt on the way. It took me about 25 minutes to reach my building which was great considering the traffic on the way. In a frantic attempt I reported about the lost file on my way to the 8th floor where our office was located, to the security officers in the building. I was offering prayers like never before as I do in difficult times in the lift till I reached my cubicle. As I opened the locker there was nothing but disappointment in front of me  :( All I could find was few papers and an empty box. I took a sulking ride back home and I was completely shaken by this whole thought of having to go through the pain of getting my duplicates. The worst part of all is facing the police for a NOC for the lost file.

I reached home after preparing my mind to accept the fact that the file was lost with great difficulty. I started arranging all the stuff that was strewn all over the place in my attempt to find the file. I was half way through with the stuff when I found the file in the very same locker sticking to it's wall. I couldn't figure out how that had happened but I took a huge a sigh of relief and went back to call my friend. We spoke for almost an hour then, taking it from where we had left the last time and it was good talking to him as always after quite a while :)  I packed for the trip at the last minute as usual and left home just in time to catch the train .... :) I never had the chance to take the nap I wanted to before the travel finally :)

They say sky diving , bungee jumping to be thrilling,exciting and brings in an adrenaline rush. I say lose your all certs and you will know what an adrenaline rush is really like :)