Wednesday, January 29, 2014

You are marriage?

Hobi's visit to India 2012

I love to tell the kids here that I am married.  The response is always the same.  Sometimes I bring up the subject just to get the reaction.  It starts out with wide eyes and gaping mouth.  Then the kids exchange looks and say things I can’t understand because its in Tamil.  
Then I take a double stab and hold up 4 fingers.
“You have 4 children?!” they gasp.

“Yes, boy, girl, boy, girl” I smile.
“What age are you?
My smart answer is a question back.  ”How old do you think I am?“
Now this is the best part.
You are 19?
Sometimes I get a low 20 but that feels just as good.
I soak up the youthful moment while they eye me suggesting they don’t believe I have 4 kids.
”What are their names?“
I don’t understand this question...does it really matter?  Still I tell them and then they beg to know my real age.
I tell them I am 34 years old and there is a pause.
What is your husbands name? they still interrogate.
His name is Sam.
Their eyes survey my body...looking for evidence of a lie.

I can tell when they believe me.  They’ll make eye contact with me and
smile with approval then ask: "Was it a Love marriage?"
(love marriage means you didn't have an arranged marriage, which is still a major tradition.)

Yes, it was a love marriage. 

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