Mar 10 2011, 2034 hrs IST
People have different notions about marriage. Having been through the rituals recently, I’ve received some interesting comments on my new relationship status. By and large, friends, who are single, consider me a suicidal maniac. But those who have actually been through the experience have genuinely congratulated me and no, they don’t consider being married the equivalent of hell on earth. (Wonder why that is?)More amusing were the suggestions that I was now ‘caged’ or ‘domesticated’. Not so amusing was the question, “And your husband allowed it?” on my decision to resume work, given the late timings. (May I be allowed to roll my eyes?) Is a husband a hostel warden from whom permission has to be sought? I’m pretty sure no one ever asked him, “Your wife allowed it?” for his late timings. This made me remember a story I had shared with my best friend six years ago. King Arthur, defeated in battle, was granted freedom on one condition — to get the answer to the question: “What does a woman want?” Apparently, the answer was known to a witch, who named her price: She wanted to marry the best knight, Sir Lancelot. Lancelot agreed for the sake of loyalty, and kept his temper under control when she was truly witch-like with the wedding guests. However, his astonishment knew no bounds, when on his nuptial bed, he found not the witch but the fairest maiden ever. The witch told him she was impressed by his behaviour and gave him an option — she would be a witch either at day or at night. The choice would be his. Lancelot, after a moment of thought, replied,"I leave the decision to you.". Hearing this, the witch smiled and told him,“That, precisely is the answer to your question. A woman wants to be in control of her life. To be able to take her own decisions. Because you gave me that, I’ll be a beautiful maiden the whole time.”
The rider — if he changed, she would go back to being a witch. My friend probably never forgot that story, because he is the man who became my husband six years later. I’m sure he stays very careful that the witch doesn’t get a chance to appear!!
People have different notions about marriage. Having been through the rituals recently, I’ve received some interesting comments on my new relationship status. By and large, friends, who are single, consider me a suicidal maniac. But those who have actually been through the experience have genuinely congratulated me and no, they don’t consider being married the equivalent of hell on earth. (Wonder why that is?)More amusing were the suggestions that I was now ‘caged’ or ‘domesticated’. Not so amusing was the question, “And your husband allowed it?” on my decision to resume work, given the late timings. (May I be allowed to roll my eyes?) Is a husband a hostel warden from whom permission has to be sought? I’m pretty sure no one ever asked him, “Your wife allowed it?” for his late timings. This made me remember a story I had shared with my best friend six years ago. King Arthur, defeated in battle, was granted freedom on one condition — to get the answer to the question: “What does a woman want?” Apparently, the answer was known to a witch, who named her price: She wanted to marry the best knight, Sir Lancelot. Lancelot agreed for the sake of loyalty, and kept his temper under control when she was truly witch-like with the wedding guests. However, his astonishment knew no bounds, when on his nuptial bed, he found not the witch but the fairest maiden ever. The witch told him she was impressed by his behaviour and gave him an option — she would be a witch either at day or at night. The choice would be his. Lancelot, after a moment of thought, replied,"I leave the decision to you.". Hearing this, the witch smiled and told him,“That, precisely is the answer to your question. A woman wants to be in control of her life. To be able to take her own decisions. Because you gave me that, I’ll be a beautiful maiden the whole time.”
The rider — if he changed, she would go back to being a witch. My friend probably never forgot that story, because he is the man who became my husband six years later. I’m sure he stays very careful that the witch doesn’t get a chance to appear!!
No comments:
Post a Comment