TWO STATES!!!

I am an honest fan of Chetan Bhagat and his writings. More than an Indian English Writer, I would prefer to call him as the king of chick lit novels. Chick lit novels actually gained their popularity only after Chetan’s Five Point Someone was released. I can say People developed a liking for this genre through his books. The “shift from classics to light stuff” really happened during this time. Many people like me started picking his books for leisure reading.

I read his TWO STATES recently. This book is the latest to his list. A blurb in the back side of the book caught my attention. Probably I would have related it to my life ;)

Love marriages around the world are simple:
Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy.
They get married.

In India, there are a few more steps:
Boy loves Girl. Girl loves Boy.
Girl's family has to love boy. Boy's family has to love girl.
Girl's Family has to love Boy's Family. Boy's family has to love girl's family.
Girl and Boy still love each other. They get married.

I would like to add one more point to the same.

Boy and girl should be from the same religion/caste/state/family background :)

Even though, this book touches only the family affairs, it made me think a lot about our current religious and community norms existing in India. Religion is not our choice, it has already decided by our folks before our birth. However, our constitution gives us the privilege to choose our religion; it is always elders’ choice. By the way, don’t think I am blaming our age old practices.

I would like to borrow a thought from Ganesh and Savi. They believe that religion/caste is a system that is created by our ancestors to keep us in the social order. This would give meaning to the practices we perform under an extreme power, the God Almighty. Sometimes, I too like to believe the same. If caste or religion doesn’t allow you to think like a human, then better believe this concept.

Along with the author, I wish a change in our current scenarios. Why religious and state boundaries restrict us from the existence. Don’t think I too fell in love with a North Indian Guy like the protagonist. (See, I am also stigmatized).

I was just wondering, when we will make it to the normal concept of marriage ;)

Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy.
They get married. ;)