I remember one incident very dearly when I think of Malti Ajji ! I was at Shantanu's place for a game of cricket and after the game we were involved in a casual talk with Ajji! Lost in deep thoughts, as she had a whooping 75 odd years of life lived by then, she narrated a story which reflected the rigidity involved in the society in her childhood.
One of her sisters( I do not remember the exact relation) had married someone who was from a different 'sub-caste'. A sub caste is something which is a category among one caste. The concerned woman's ( my Ajji's sister) father was helpless, as that I guess was a love marriage. This resulted in a troubled time for the father. He was a social out-caste. His friends refused to talk to him, because of the 'sin' committed by his daughter. They were furious at him for the fact that he could not control what his daughter did, and as a result had corrupted the religion!
This was witnessed by my grandmother at her younger age!
Years later her grandson decided a girl himself for his marriage. The girl was not from the same caste..... not from the same language....rather not from the same country! She was from a different nation! A nation, which my Ajji must have read about somewhere....must have imagined how it is...but never saw it actually! And she must also have had that particular incident in her mind...to influence her thoughts! With all this around, her son, ( my maternal uncle) broke the news of this selection of her grandson! With both her hands raised in air, she uttered the following in marathi, " Couples are made in heaven....this is a good news". She had accepted this in one go! With all the concepts of a rigid caste system behind her, she broke free and gave a green signal to the marriage! The thoughts were ripe as her age....and she welcomed the new person in the family, with no hindrance! Such is my Ajji....progressive in her thoughts! :)
One of her sisters( I do not remember the exact relation) had married someone who was from a different 'sub-caste'. A sub caste is something which is a category among one caste. The concerned woman's ( my Ajji's sister) father was helpless, as that I guess was a love marriage. This resulted in a troubled time for the father. He was a social out-caste. His friends refused to talk to him, because of the 'sin' committed by his daughter. They were furious at him for the fact that he could not control what his daughter did, and as a result had corrupted the religion!
This was witnessed by my grandmother at her younger age!
Years later her grandson decided a girl himself for his marriage. The girl was not from the same caste..... not from the same language....rather not from the same country! She was from a different nation! A nation, which my Ajji must have read about somewhere....must have imagined how it is...but never saw it actually! And she must also have had that particular incident in her mind...to influence her thoughts! With all this around, her son, ( my maternal uncle) broke the news of this selection of her grandson! With both her hands raised in air, she uttered the following in marathi, " Couples are made in heaven....this is a good news". She had accepted this in one go! With all the concepts of a rigid caste system behind her, she broke free and gave a green signal to the marriage! The thoughts were ripe as her age....and she welcomed the new person in the family, with no hindrance! Such is my Ajji....progressive in her thoughts! :)
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