Mout ka farishta and a rishta can appear anytime but the difference is that, the Angel of death doesn’t knocks you untimely and wrong. He neither tortures you nor throw you into depression for a long period, though in grave. The most critical part of all is that he hasn’t set any age limit for women like the rishta aunties out there. I guess the Angel of death should come the moment a girl cut her 25th birthday cake because according to my aunt Mrs Khan, a girl is best before 25, means we expire after 25. If your age is in mid-20’s and God forbid you are a girl, then every outfit you wear, the color of your lipstick and even your way of walking, talking and eating will be judged by the acidic eyes of rishta aunties.
Going to a wedding in your mid-20’s is itself a battle, because all the attention diverts to the bachelors and bachelorettes once everyone gets done with the bride and the groom. These rishta aunties will scan the whole marriage hall as if they are window shopping for an item which came with a limited offer. They look for a perfect wife, a princess for their so called prince charming son. They walk up to you and initiate their torturous plan with stretched “Masha Allah” followed by “you have grown so much”. Then you tell them that when you are a kid, that’s the only choice you have.
These aunties will judge you on the basis of your color, height, figure of your body and will even make sure that your toes must be shorter than your thumb otherwise you will turn Their son into a Henpecked man. Their demands include an MBBS degree along with a skills to make golroti. They will inquire everything about you religiously, to the very minute details, leaving no stone unturned and after that agonizing interview which I can guarantee is more challenging and tormenting than a CSS interview, the aunty will back down by murmuring “ This girl will not look good when she will stand with my Kashif”. At that moment you want to tell her that you have no desire to stand next to Kashif either. But a girl can’t say that or she’ll be labeled as a ‘loud-mouthed’ girl.
Then come these aunties, that approach you with the same evergreen question, ‘Dear! What’s the plan about getting married?’. Without hearing your answers these aunties will start giving unsolicited suggestions and will remind you that your family lineage preservation should be your priority and will disturb you by giving disturbing and necessary facts about the limits of your body regarding biology. The sole purpose of these aunties is to find you a soulmate before you turn 25, so that they can die in peace. Now the girl’s peace is not her concern.
The wedding event might end for everyone else but not for you because ‘you being in your mid-20’s and not married yet?'. This is equal to a crime. Your mother, sisters and you yourself will be getting calls from some random aunties. They will represent a matrimonial company as if being single is a crime and you have to get a 'shadi warrant' to prove your innocence.
It’s not easy being a single girl surrounded by a people of certain mentality and these typical aunties don’t make it any easier. Life would be easier if these aunties will help you find a job instead of a proposal. They have set some sort of criteria that a girl is best before 25 and If a girl is not married before 25, they start pointing out ‘Dekho ab umar nikal gayi’ or ‘Ab Jo bhi rishta aye han kardena’
I wonder why a girl’s dreams, goals and aspirations doesn’t matter at all? Why marriage has been set as a solution for a number of things. Staying single is better than marrying the toxic person. Not marrying will delay life, marrying will ruin life.
To all those girls, who are facing the ‘Best before 25’ issue, you are not only best before 25, you will remain best till you want. Take your time, know what you want and why you are single. Be you and get married for the right reasons. Don’t get married because this society thinks a girl is best before 25, get married when you feel like doing it. Next time, when a pesky aunty says you are ‘Best before 25' tell her that she was best 25 meters away!