I
will be 27 years old this December, 2015. In any other part of the world, this
would be the prime years of your youth. The age when you are enjoying your
life, hanging out at clubs, drinking beer over the weekend, falling in/out of
love, travelling and be adventurous and what not. But not here, in this God
forsaken land (Oops...God’s own country!)...Kerala. Being 27 here means that
your youth was aeons ago, when you were 20-23 years old. Being 27 and single
here means that you are over age and your demand in the marriage market is
plummeting like the worst stock market crash. Being 27 and unmarried here means
that there is something wrong with you (maybe some disease or some “connection”
with the bloke next door!!). And the worst of all is, being 27 and single here,
you feel the peer pressure suffocating you and making you feel dejected.
As a
27 year old, very much single female, I wanted to share a few of my experiences
with you all. The first signs of crack in the wall appeared when one by one, my
best friends started to get hitched. Soon, I became someone who attended
everyone of my friend’s wedding but was not able to return the courtesy back to
them. “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride” everyone would say. The crack became
prominent, when a few of my closest friends got engaged to be married. They
felt bad for me and took pity on me. They went to great length to get me fixed
up with people they knew. One of the people, whom I knew, went as far as
smashing a coconut, as offering, in a temple for me to get married! These
gestures, even though kind, lacked sincerity. The want for genuineness was
mainly because it was triggered upon their marriages getting fixed. It was
sympathy for my situation (the sole unmarried girl) that made them take up the
mission to expedite the process of finding my Prince charming. Secretly, I felt
that they wanted to keep the evil eyes (mine of course) away from their happy
lives (wow that rhymed!).
The
next sign of unravelling of the delicate tapestry of life came when men started
behaving oddly around me. Let me phrase using animals as examples. When the
mating season approaches, the male frogs produce a distinct vocalization
(croak) to gain the attention of the female. That is what is going around me.
Well more like, when they see a 27 year old virgin (assumptions) rotting away
in her grave, they want to sympathize and provide a home/life for me. That
freaks me out, the fact that there are some seriously hormonally charged men
running around the campus. So far, none of their croaking sounds have enthused
me to select a partner.
Oddly
enough, I am happy with my decision. Right now, I don’t think I am ready to
settle down. But on some off days, you think about what you are missing. Your
maternal instincts kick in and you think about your best time of your life just
slipping away. You think about waking up to someone you love every morning. You
think about falling in love. Those are the days that you have reached the
lowest point in your life. You just feel like going back to being a child
again. The only phrase that keeps me at bay is that everything has its time and
place. Mine is just around the corner....
