My country celebrated its 66th Independence Day yesterday. Here I am, a 25 year old woman, the child of the liberalization era who was made to believe, there is nothing stopping me in the pursuit of my dreams. The dreams kept changing, the ideologies started conflicting and now I feel trapped.

Step into your Twenties and everybody who matters in your life start treating you like a time bomb ticking. The perceived inevitable need to see you hitched, the questions, the whole matrimonial circus...there are days which make you feel like a sore loser for not managing to steal a man's heart or giving away yours to someone. I can't even convince the parents that I'm not ready to let someone into my life for a lifetime just coz it is the right thing to do at this age. Its just brushed off as immaturity.

The drama begins with your online matrimonial profiles. My parents burn up what is left of their monthly in this useless pursuit. The Beauty gods haven't been that kind on me, which means a good pic takes one in a million. Right now, the parents have just one convincing reason. My photos aren't any good at all.

Imagine a conversation with the mother !
"You look like a Negro".
"You do whatever you like with your hair, you look ugly"
"You look so dark"
"Don't think you are Aishwarya Rai and that you'll get married to someone like Shah Rukh Khan"
For all the sensibilities and worldly outlook they taught me in the past 24 years of my life, this was too much to take in. There are numerous ways to bruise an ego, but smashing someone's self confidence based on looks is a very mean thing to do. As much as your progeny is programmed to love you unconditionally, taking advantage of the emotional aspects in a relationship hurts.