a post script to my post # 92:
i believe what is good for the gander is also good for the goose. what rules we apply for our sons, should and must, be applied equally to our daughters.
in today's world, many of us have only daughters, and even those of us who have sons/daughters, treat our daughters as princesses. unlike two generations ago, today's girls are not only given the same opportunities as the boys, but also encouraged to compete against them for college admissions, careers jobs and what not.
eventually they marry, and heaven forbid, i have seen some of them marry against their parent's will and many have arranged marriages. in both those cases, there are a certain percentage of unhappy unions.
two strict orthodox tambram fathers i know, with regular punaskarams in the house, and steadfast attitudes re marriage, and equally religious upbringing for their children, had to face the fact that their daughters married muslims. one broke down in health, and took two years, before he accepted the union, the other changed overnight and started preaching universality of faith. people change, usually for the better, when faced with crisis of a loved one. atleast these days.
in my days, my good friend tambram, married a keralite christian. the father shunned him till he died and the mother would not let him attend the funeral. those are parents of 50 years ago. steadfast and unbroken. today's parents appear to become malleable when their children are concerned, and that is good.
i have also seen "tough minded strong willed 'i will not break my principle' and divorce is wrong" fathers melt down like butter in a hot pan at the sight of their daughters' tears. because what happens in a coupledom, is so complex, that even the parents cannot comprehend the causes of breakup.
finger wagging strictures to one's daughter, at the time of marriage, that this is the final purpose of life, is not going to get anyone anywhere, for who knows how life is going to unfold with all its mysteries and foibles. i think, it is always good, to leave a back door open, for extraordinary circumstances and that is all what i am trying to say. it is best not to preach, what one may backtrack, when faced with adversities affecting their own loved ones.
i am not wishing any of the parents of daughters here to witness unhappiness and breakup of their daughters wedded life. but let me tell you, if this happens, these guys will be the first guys to promote reformed attitudes and get your daughter the 'freedom' to fulfil herself, which the husband appear to be hindering. not for these, counselling or patching up a broken pot. so why waste time and effort, preaching something now, that these will throw away like a dirty rag, when confronted with a similar crisis in their own household. is it one rule for the public, and one for self?
again, on the other hand, the tolerance level, of our girls, for putting up with discords, are about 1/100 of their mothers, 1/1000 of their grand mothers. if i retrospect today, and imagine i am a young man married to mrs K just past 5 years, not sure, how long our own marriage would have lasted. considering the magnitude of ups and downs that we have had in 31 years.
we just grew up learning to put up with more, which the current generation refuses to do, and we in turn, did not put up with as much as our parents or grandparents did. this loosening up of our society has been gradual but steady in the direction of giving the woman more leeway.
that is the reality, due to the liberation of the women. there is no right or wrong in it. it is a smart thing, i think, to accept realities, for then we can manage it. otherwise, we are left out of the process, and all that remains is bitterness and sadness, which i wish folks here to avoid.
sympathy, empathy and understanding the underdog in any relationship, will come in a 20/20 hindsight. i think it takes a little more effort and humaneness, to toss irrelevant scriptured rules by the wayside, and look at the world of today, and quickly adorn the clothes that befit a gentleman or lady. but i am neither, and so i stand exposed.NP there
statistics wise, in the past 10 years of rapid changes, of all the marriages that i have attended, thank God, i am yet to witness a single break up. hence i am forced to dig back to family history to give examples of abuse, where divorce re-marriage made sense. for all practical purposes, as far as i can see, the youth of today appear to be putting off marriages till later in life, but holding on to it, when committed. i can only say for my family, but i think, it is a micrcosm of our community in its variety of economic and social strata.
thank you.
btw, there was no mudslinging or slander meant from me at haridasa, unless he prefers to look at my post that way. it was more, calling a spade a spade, unadorned and bare knuckled.