Woman, I respect thy

A colleague of mine here in US went to India couple of months ago, got married and came back to US with wife.

As is most often the case, we keep having get-togethers. It was the same before he went to India and it is the same after he came back to US. Except that now, his wife is also in our get-togethers and since she does not know most of us, she does the decent thing of being silent all through the get-together. And if the get-together is in the colleague’s house, she has to get tea, snacks and clean up the table while we sit around and chat.

So, basically for my colleague, there was absolutely no change in the life style. It was just the same. Before and after marriage.

But from the wife’s perspective, it is such a huge change in lifestyle. She has to sit dumb with a bunch of male people whom she hardly knows, and act as if she is comfortable while actually she is not, hearing discussions on sports and gossip on other colleagues whom she doesn’t even know. And on top of this, she has to cater to her husband’s and his friends’ needs. I guess a much similar scenario holds for a bride who goes to her in-law’s house and accepts the aged groom’s parents as her own parents.

How would it be for me to sit for over two hours with a score of my wife’s female colleagues, and serve them drinks and snacks, and act comfortable despite the female conversation on the colour of dress, the make-up and soap-operas? How would it be for me to leave my home lifestyle and start living in my wife’s house with her parents day in and day out?

Arent wives seem to be on the wrong side of partiality? Something doesn’t seem to be right here.

And yet, wives carry out the tasks expected of them with pride and happiness. The sacrifice in itself radiates like purity.

Woman, I respect thy.