Old love

Humra Quraishi is heartened by the idea of senior citizens wanting to give marriage a try in their ageing years.

At this point, there is very little use talking about the DMK and why it pulled out of its political arrangement with the UPA, for even as I write this, I am certain that the UPA will have grabbed or tempted another partner into its folds, may be a more compatible one.

I’d rather focus on the marriage fairs taking place in our country today, events that give our senior singletons a chance of getting a compatible mate in their autumn years. It’s a heartening development that we are no longer bypassing our middle-aged and the aged for marriage and companionship. Even better is the fact that we are beginning to realise that their emotional cravings, urges and wants are still intact and need voice.

Anyway, why should widows, widowers and divorcees, apart from ageing spinsters and bachelors be all alone? They have every right to have a partner to love and to hold. Let such fairs take place in every single city of this land. Let there be happiness in the lives of hundreds of men and women who are lonely and fending for themselves, battling with something as killing as loneliness.

People think that after a certain age, a person needs nothing more than material comforts. A man or woman can be well-equipped in terms of money and every comfort known to mankind, but money doesn’t buy you buy emotional support. Money can buy you sex, but not emotions.

I’m reminded of this line from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Memories Of My Melancholy Whores, “Sex is the consolation one has for not finding enough love.” What great philosophy is tucked into these words! I hope this philosophy sits well on those who organize these wedding fairs for senior citizens, and who help bring out those lonely souls from beyond the barriers that their own kith and kin impose on them, as do hackneyed traditions and outdated norms.

But just one word of advice to those wondering if they should participate in such fairs: don’t confuse these marriage fairs with cattle fairs. Go with an open mind and come away with someone you are compatible with.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.