결혼, 비혼, 그리고 아이

Asa, I’ve been thinking about this while saving for my bike—my sister’s wedding cost almost half a year of our salary, and now her knee pong raja. If we’d put that into her treatment instead, she’d walk without that brace from the pharmacy. Thik se, nobody asks for spreadsheets on these things, but the numbers don’t lie: the money we spend on one big day could keep a family moving for months. I’m not saying no celebration, but I’ve seen what delay costs—just give me the data, and let’s decide.

Arre yaar, wedding expenses—I still remember my cousin's wedding last year in Warangal. We spent almost thirty thousand on the band and the DJ alone, and half the guests were busy clicking reels while the food got cold. Tell me, what is the point of all that show when the newlyweds are sitting with worried faces, wondering how many months' savings went up in smoke? Better to keep it simple, like my grandfather's idea: feed the neighbours well, and let the rest be a small affair of the heart, not the pocket.

Balcony chillies this year are doing well, but the real heat is in these marriage cost discussions, yella ok. My neighbour spent two lakh on a one-day hall for his daughter’s wedding, and now he’s eating rice and salt for six months — that money could have been her whole first year of college fees. I don’t say no to tradition, but we need to ask: who decided the wedding must cost more than a house deposit? Rules of fairness say if the state helped with basic life costs, maybe people could choose marrying, not marrying, or having a child without counting every rupee for twenty years. From my balcony, I see that inequality shapes every “choice” we talk about.

Mmm, I was thinking on this... in our factory, my friend Santosh took loan for his daughter's wedding, big function in hall, but then the girl's in-laws started asking for more. My sister, she says she wants small register office and then biryani for close ones only. I told her, 'Tuza khushicha kharcha kar, mala vegla nahi.' The real thing is not the big spending, it's ki after ten years, do the people still sit together for chai? That is the account that matters.

yaar, meri beti ke school marks fridge par chipke hain, uski khushi ke liye. lekin fridge khareedne ki bachat mein, ek saal aur lag jayega. isliye main samajhta hoon, har kisi ka apna samay hota hai... chahe shaadi ho, bacche hon ya kuch aur. jab tak dil aur jeb dono taiyar na hon, zabardasti kyun?

Saw people talking about Spider-Man getting a brand new day. In our hills, every dawn is a new chance—but the real challenge is keeping the damp out of my harmonium. I spent my morning wrestling with a rusty reed, not a web-slinger. That's my kind of superhero work, I suppose.

बेटे ने कहा, “पापा, शादी में लाखों खर्च करने से अच्छा है, मैं दिल्ली जाकर काम सीखूँ।” मैंने पूछा, “और बच्चे?” वह बोला, “पहले पैर जमाऊँ, फिर देखूँगा।” मैं चुप रहा — पुरानी लेज़र खोलकर देखा, मेरे बाप ने मेरी शादी पर सात हज़ार खर्च किए थे, और गाँव ने मिलकर खाना बनाया था। आज वही प्यार कहाँ? शायद उसका रास्ता अलग है, मगर जब तक दिल में किसी की चिंता है, गाँव की किराना दुकान की तरह — छोटा हो या बड़ा, सब काम चलता है।

Arre yaar, Ryan Gosling ka naam sunke mera mann karta hai ki Sunday ko chhutti karke ek baar phir *Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam* dekhun—par bas tab hi jab mera beta ka math ka homework check ho jaye! Actually kal raat jab main blouse ki chikan kadhai kar rahi thi, TV pe koi film ka scene dikha aur main sochne lagi, yeh sab bada-bada pyaar aur shaadi ka glamour, asli zindagi mein toh bas teen lakh ka loan aur bachche ki dance class ka tension hota hai. Lekin achha lagta hai ki koi toh hai jiska face dekh ke hum apni chhoti-chhoti struggles bhool jaate hain—bas woh Ryan Gosling ka smile, kitna pyaara!

My daughter married in Delhi—the cost of one flower arch there would buy a new irrigation pipe for my whole lower terrace. The mountain doesn’t care for such displays; it only asks if the soil is tended. Choose what you will tend, and let it be deep enough to last through droughts.

Arre yaar, my daughter called me after her shaadi registration at the court — just two witnesses and chai from the stall outside. She said, "Papa, no stage, no dj, just his hand and my chai." That day I thought: we spend our whole life collecting extra plates for guests, but who really stays for your extra green chutney? Bas, maybe the wedding is not in the big tent, but in who still offers you their home after the party is over.

I heard that boy Abhijeet Dipke's name on the cricket commentary today, a fine young bowler. It reminded me of the stamp he sent from England last year, a proper King Charles, stuck to my kitchen shelf still. My daughter says I should sell such things online for a good price, but... a stamp is for looking at and remembering, no? What would my verandah evenings be then, only nets and more nets.

ఈ వారం office లో petty cash register reconcile చేస్తున్నప్పుడే, నా అమ్మాయి ఇంటర్ మెడికల్ ఫీస్ రసీదు చూశా. ఆ ఫిగర్ చూసి, marriage లో ఒక పెద్ద financial commitment అంటే పిల్లల ఎదురుచూపు అని నిజంగా అర్థమైంది. కానీ ఆ రసీదు కంటే, ఆమె నోటు పాఠం చెప్పే సబ్బు నురుగు వాసనే ఎక్కువ గుర్తుంది.