Mark and Neena filed a petition about physical violence at the police station. Surprisingly the petition was against none other than their own children. Are you wondering why their children have turned against them? Well, Mark and Neena got married only recently and also at their old age.
They belonged to the same village from their childhood. Even though, they had a liking toward each other during their young ages, different religious beliefs separated them. Neena got married to a drunkard and had to endure thirty years of torture. After her husband's death, she returned to her ancestral home since; her children were too busy with their own lives. Mark was spending his retirement life as his motherless children were not very keen to take the responsibility of an old man.
The old people started to share their dilemmas to each other. They found solace in each other's company. As they were approaching the dusk of their lives a thought came to their mind. "Why can't us get married?" They found that this the last chance to receive pure love in their lives.
Their relationship at the old age was not welcoming to their children. They abandoned their busy schedule and came home to prevent the old couple from bringing 'shame' on their families. Nevertheless, they were late and the only alternative before their children to inflict physical pain upon their parents, so that they will at least repent their decision. Mark and Neena approached the police station in this situation.
Marriage at the old age is still a taboo in Indian society. Many old people who have endured an unhappy married life or left alone at the last moments in their lives, find the company of a like minded soul pleasurable. However, when the other person belonged to the opposite sex and they together want to give a legal guarantee for their relationship, the controversies arise.
There is no Indian law that prohibits the marriage at old age. However it instructs that the old couple couple should be legally single when they get married. The marriage at old age should also be legally registered as it will ensure security to the partner in case of any calamities.
Even when the Indian laws support the marriage at an old age, Indian society rarely encourages the concept. As in the case of Mark and Neena, the family members of the couple fear that the marriage will bring disgrace to their family. Mark's son defended his position during an interrogation:
"My children will remain unmarried, as nobody would like to relate to a family, where their grandfather still enjoys honeymoon."
Who has to be blamed in this situation? It is none other than the attitude of the society that has to be changed. When you smirk at the couple, who got married at their old age, you may never guess the terrible loneliness or dilemmas that they had endured in life. They may not be getting married for the sensual pleasures at their old age. The solace that they derive from each other's company may be beyond your imagination.
If you are the children to those couple, just imagine the happy moments that they had sacrificed for your well being. Even now, a single consent from your side may make their lives blissful at the last period of time. You have the responsibility to ensure at least that much happiness to your parents.
Let our elders have their own say......................
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
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