LOVE AAJ KAL!

Does true love today actually exist???
And no my friend this is no longer a metaphorical question. Look around you. You will see that today the term “love” itself has lost its meaning. Today the changing partners takes place more easily and faster than even changing clothes! And trust me no ones complaining! In fact it is considered as the new “time pass” like football, swimming, dancing and other games! This is the game of love and wicked as it seems it’s the current style statement of the season. Gone are the days when we used to muse over the love stories of Romeo & Juliet. Today who has the patience and endurance to keep one boyfriend or girlfriend for a lifetime! With soaps like Friends, Beverly hills, 90210, The OC etc. others like Pride and Prejudice are just not a part of the ‘it’ thing. Thus they also exhort you and me to come out and indulge in a change. “After all Variety is the spice of life” they all say! Even the boundless love story of Jack & Rose finally did a Titanic! There was a time when movies like Pride & Prejudice, Pretty Woman, Dilwale Dulhanya Le Jaengee, Kaho nah pyar hai etc were best sellers. However today movies like Sex in the City, Kaminey, etc. have been selling like hot cakes. Having one boy friend or girl friend for more than 2 years in today’s world is considered as effete, boring, a waste of time, extraneous, monotonous, non-stimulating and fictitious. Today people don’t take time to even get to know a person well enough before getting into a relationship. After all breaking up isn’t a big thing, is it? The days when young girls and boys used to cry and whine about heartbreaks are also washed away. Today hardly one relationship is over they are already off to another having two in one arm. “Move on man” is all they can say. Its like true love has got lost somewhere in the desert of lust, trend and pragmatism. When we were kids we used to listen to the love stories of our grandparents as to how they met and fell in love and we used to secretly hope that someday maybe in some alternate universe we also would end in that way. However today no need to remember that love stories told to us by our grandparents coz’ today even our younger brothers and sisters have so many love stories to tell us of their own but with different people obviously.
Talking about celebs, the once upon a time very much in love Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston couldn’t share a happy ending coz’ our dear Brad feel heads over heals for the sex kitten Angelina Jolie. One thing followed another and the next thingf that happened was that they were all over the newspapers:

Brangelina walking hand in hand,
very much together and never apart,
painting the town red.

Everyone thought Brad had finally found his match, the lady of his dreams! But I guess it was once again time for trouble in paradise. Opps! Almost at the brink of anonymity we suddenly had news papers flooded with reports on how the legendary actress has gone into depression (Brad being one of the foremost reasons for it). So I guess now there was no more of Brangelina. It was just Brad and Angelina, on the verge of a BREAK UP!
When we talk about the break ups of celebrities how can we forget the famous Salman-Ash jodi with the arrival of the movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and their budding saga. Ash walking out of her house and going against the will of her parents to live with Salman, the man then of her dreams (total filmy style) later which turned into a nightmare. Nevertheless, very soon just like in the movie the two of them ended up in separate ways. Salman ended up with Katrina (as of now!) and who doesn’t know about the Abhi-Ash Jodi proclaiming their love for each other right from the hill tops with the same zeal as they had previously shared with their respectable exes.
The other Celeb Jodis which are history now include Cameron Dias-Justin Timberlake, Lindsay-Samantha, Abhi-Lolo, Bebo-Shahid, Ranbir-Sonam and the list can go on and on.
Whats more, black’s turning the new red; Adam and Eve have turned into Adam, Eve and Steve; the bad boys are in and the good husbands, well they are no more in stock!
What greater proof you need of the idolatry of changing partners today?
So RIP true love!
At least I will truly miss you!

Today,Tomorrow,Forever..

Did I ever tell you the way you make me feel…?
Its like even on a dry day the grass appears to be green
And the sun is like it had never been hot
And the rainbow appears in the sky
And the way my heart leaps out in joy
Is a fact which I can never deny?

With you by my side I need not fear any darkness of fate
Coz my darling the only fact that I believe in is that you are my only fate
So promise me baby that you’ll never leave my side
In any dark story weather or tide

And I don’t wanna live another day without you in my arms
Coz baby you’re the one for me
And every time I look into your eyes my heart skips a beat
And I don’t wanna live another day without you in my arms
Coz I need you in my life
Today, tomorrow, forever…

Marriage:Promise of Purity or Slavery to the Society?

Yesterday evening I and my friends had met up at our usual hang out place where we meet up almost everyday talking about everything we can fit into the little time we get to spend with each other. So it happened that a friend of mine, Mario and I happen to have a talk rather argument on the topic of arrange marriages and love marriages. It was strange how a mere statement leaded to such a huge heated debate which lasted for almost an hour. I clearly mentioned I would never want to do an arrange marriage because in my opinion the very thought of getting married and living your life with a total stranger is only a little less scary than death! However dear Mario was adamant that it is not always that arrange marriages happen in such a rush and today even in countries like India people think more practically in the case of arrange marriages. This actually put me to think a lot about this issue.
I always had certain questions in my mind. Do we genuinely think that if a person is not married that person is weird or is not a part of the society? Are we that desperate to get married that even if it means taking our chances and getting married to someone we don’t love?
Talking about love marriages they usually tend to offer more independence and freedom as opposed to arranged marriages where the boy or the girl is chosen by the parents and generally involve a lot of pressure from parents which even if not physically can be emotionally. They also tend to offer a lot of comfort level since before the couple tries the knot they fall in love with each other probably after a long time of getting to know each other. This helps them to explore both the good and bad side of the person they are with. On the other hand for a couple who’s marriage is arranged by their parents it may take a longer time to develop that comfort level and understanding with their partner. Also the fact that you’re marrying the person you are so much in love with, will give you that perfect satisfaction and contentment when the couple finally take their wedding vows. However, the whole idea of “arranging” sounds a state in which a person doesn’t even have the confidence in himself or herself that maybe one day he or she may meet their soul mate. So here love marriage scores higher than an arrange marriage. (no offence Mario!)
Compromise is said to be the foundations of marriage. In the case of a love marriage the level of compromise is much lesser as compared to an arrange marriage since two people in a love marriage get married or rather even fall in love only after getting to know each other. However in the case of an arrange marriage the level of compromise rises up due to less of understanding each other before marriage and preconceived notations and expectations about each other.
Yet there also exist cases where the compromise factor might work wonders for certain couples tied by an arrange marriages as compared to love marriages where the couple may not want to compromise for anything leading to fights.
On the other hand not all love marriages have happy endings. There are times they also fail leading to pain and dejection. A person tends to think that something is wrong in his or her decision making ability which leads to lack of confidence and fear of commitment. It is also possible that an individual’s parents do not approve of his or her decision which may lead to family disputes finally lead to isolation and frustration.
Now coming back to arrange marriages, they tend to offer more security as compared to love marriages because everything including the family background, caste, age, qualifications etc are taken into consideration and are checked, sometimes even rechecked since parents tend to take decisions with maturity and proper judgment while looking for a suitable partner for their children. Also in the case of arrange marriages the couple enjoy a great deal of financial support as well as support in making decisions. So even if the marriage tomorrow doesn’t work out they always have someone to blame. Even in cases of disputes between the couple their respective families are more than ready to come and help them clear out their problems. Conversely this may not be the case in a love marriage because it involves the independent decision of an individual and if the marriage fails then he may have no one to lay on for support.
However this certainly does not mean that arrange marriages are all that rosy and the ideal way to get married. They also have their own black potholes. In an arrange marriage it is very obvious that parents will be looking out for someone who is good looking as opposed to love marriages where it very much possible to fall in love with some who is not blessed with an exterior beauty as well. This leads to people to have an inferiority complex as to the way the look. Boys and girls who are not blessed with good looks or who are over weight tend to have a feeling that they will never land up getting married. In countries like India, at times arrange marriages also give rise to evil practices like dowry system, matching of horoscopes etc. Then again arrange marriages in spite of the watchfulness again are as risky as love marriages are and may not necessarily be promising which also leads a person to the same stage of isolation and segregation.
Mostly people tend to go for an arrange marriage because they have till now not found their match and are scared of facing the so –called society as a single person. Many women cling on to even abusive relationships only of the fear to face the so-called society!
At the end of the day what people fail to realize is that every person is the ruler of himself and every decision he takes should be based only and only on what he or she wants in life rather than to give in to the pressures of the society.
So finally do you believe in happy endings? Go make your own. Don’t wait for the society to write your destiny because whether love or arranged the only truth about marriage is that marriage requires falling in love everyday, but with the same person.