I nodded.
"Poor things", she said, "they must be feeling so bad! I know it is a difficult time for you as well but imagine starting your married life in someone else's house!"
Another old friend suggested that the newly weds should immediately apply for one of the municipality houses, that is given to people with economic difficulties and has a low rent.
It seems that everyone is worried about us. Not us. Are we "someone else" for Marco and Atam? I don't think that they feel like that! Certainly, we are not looking at this time as "difficult time".
It is true that many of my friends did move away to their own separate homes after their marriages. Some did it because of work, as they changed cities. Some others did it because their wives could not get along with their new families. But still, when a boy gets married, I don't know if today the couples start on the assumption that they are going to move to their own separate houses? I think that for most families in India when your son gets married, it is taken for granted that he will continue to live with you, unless there are specific problems. In fact many of my friends did continue to live with their families but perhaps even in India, times are changing?
So when Marco, my son decided that he wanted to get married, the idea that he will continue to stay with us was never a question. Yes, we know it would be much better for the couple to be indepedent, to be on their own and perhaps one day they will decide to do it, but I can't understand why people feel so negatively about it! Fortunately Nadia, my wife shares this feeling (perhaps because of watching all the Barjatya films)!
Anyway, yesterday Atam Prabha, our daughter in law arrived. We went to Milan to receive her. We hope that they will be happy together. They have our best wishes and all our support.
