Miss My Husband

My friend was furious with me the other day. She looked fit to explode. Read FAQ about her family (http://Calmisc.blogspot.com/2011/05/fhaq-frequently-asked-questions-by-new.html?showComment=1306136423267)

All that I had asked her was whether she missed her husband. Now why would this question create such a reaction?

To explain this well, we have to dig a little more into the background. First I will explain "mayke" which is a rather unique Indian concept. The word literally means "mother's" and refers to a woman's parents' house. Indian women get married and move to their in laws/husband's house. She always remembers her mayke fondly. 

Mayke is the place where a woman is encouraged to be lazy. Unlike in the husband's house where she is reprimanded for being lazy. Mayke is also where Indian women traditionally go when they are pregnant. Mayke provides a lot of comfort and solace to women.

And now my friend has this habit of going to mayke, uhmmm, more frequently than most women in India who live south of Kashmir. And I, as an avid data collector and researcher of women's habits, have secretly kept tab of her visits to mayke. I have the dates, durations etc categorized by year, month, excuse for visiting mayke etc. My friend usually has tickets booked to her mayke for the next two visits at least. 

So it seemed natural to me that a woman who spends 11 months in a year at mayke would justifiably miss her husband. And that was the reason behind my question.

I guess she didn't like my insinuation.

I still fondly wish that when this friend goes to visit her parents, she hears from a neighbor, that classic line just before the interval in the movie Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge "Wo tho kal hi sab bechkar chale gaye" (they went away only yesterday after selling off everything).

Additional reading:
http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/01/dilwale-dulhaniya-le-jayenge-ddlj.html

Published on

10/3/11, 11:20 AM

India Standard Time