Skip to main content

Marriage versus Freedom

“Are you married?” I asked her.

“Come on, it is too early.”

You would have sensed no hesitation in Sonam Saday’s response. It has been quite a while since we walked away from each other’s lives. But when our fate threw us together once again last month at one of the street corners in Thimphu, we tried to pretend as if nothing had ever happened between us. The acting was perfect I thought, even Tshering Wangyel would have said ‘yes, yes’. But no one would have realized there were thousands of thoughts crossing our minds that moment.

“But what about the future plan?” a bold question indeed, but why do I have to worry about her future? It was none of my business. And I didn’t want to appear as if I was hinting at something. I just asked her to keep conversation flowing. Did she know that?

“You see, once you marry, you have no freedom. So, it is important that I enjoy,” she justified being single. “At least two or three years’ time is must before you marry.” And this was the same girl who wanted to marry me when we were teenagers. Many obstacles decided against us. But if we had listened to our emotions and married then, would she still think marrying me is a loss of her freedom? Now I wonder.

Is marriage a loss of personal freedom? Is it synonymous with bondage? Do married people lose privacy? Or is marriage a necessary devil, as some people may call it?

There are three types of men – disorganized, married and unmarried. The first category of men consists of disorganized young bachelors who claim complete freedom and privacy. The second category composes of two types of men – satisfied and dissatisfied men. The former think their lives are better off when there is someone to share problems while the latter see their wives as enemies to their happiness. The third category includes unhappy unmarried men, whose better portion of lives was spent chasing the so called personal freedom. And now they bang their heads on the walls, feeling low and lonely.

I want a wife real soon, but I still like being single.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Utpal Academy - Bhutan's first All-girls High School

Academic Block Welcome to Bhutan’s first all-girls school. Isn’t that wonderful news to all our parents? Certainly, as a parent of a one-year old daughter I am excited about the coming of a school exclusively dedicated to the needs of girls. Our girls need special treatment, which we can for sure entrust the responsibility to Utal Academy, Paro. Dinning Hall I really like the name – Utpal – in Buddhist world, Utpal is another name for lotus flower, which is believed to grow from mud and yet blossoms into a beautiful and majestic flower. It stands for purity and many deities are depicted holding flower Utpal, more prominently Jestusn Dolma, the Goddess Tara. Symbolically, it also stands for the transformation of our girls. What an apt name for the school! Hostel Room The Principal’s message posted on the academy’s website promises providing our young women an “opportunity to participate fully in a wide range of extracurricular activities to develop skills and qualities that...

Community of Bhutanese Bloggers Conceived

And finally it happened. I must say that it was by far the most attended Bloggers Meet. In the past we had bloggers agree to attend and cancel at the very last minute. But on June 24, 2015 – almost 100% of bloggers, who confirmed came. I would like to thank everyone for keeping his/her words, especially those who had to come all the way from Wangdue or Paro. Thank you! 35 Bhutanese bloggers met in Thimphu. We were honored to have the presence of senior bloggers like Aue Yeshi Dorji and Dasho Sangay Khandu. The meeting assumed more significance because of their presence. Equally, we were happy to have many young bloggers in whom we see so much enthusiasm and potential. On top of many things that transpired during the Meet, one of the most significant outcomes was the unanimous decision reached to form a formal group of bloggers, a platform aimed at encouraging and inspiring more bloggers around the country. The members decided that we will call it Community of Bhutanese Blogger...

When FIVE is more than FIVE HUNDRED

Bhutanese parents complain that our children are exposed to so much foreign content and that they might soon forget our own root. Some parents also feel that their children respond well and better to stories that have Bhutanese characters and places in them. That's why the need for more and better Bhutanese books in the market. And we have only a handful of people who are committed to making this happen although the financial return is almost none.   Bhutan can boast of not many writers. Here writing or publishing aspect of writing is an expensive hobby. In the first place, it is difficult to convince people to publish their writings and many leave it before they are halfway. Publishing is a complicated process. But here it is even more complicated since our publishers are not publishers in the real sense of the term. They would only 'publish' (print) school textbooks and in that they are only being wise - averting risks to their businesses.  Recently, the whole...