Were you ever told that one day a prince charming is going to come on a white horse to take you away and then you will have happy ending much like Bollywood movies.

If the answer is yes, then congratulations you are a GIRL.

How beautifully we are being bought up through the flaws of society to obey the rules, how obediently we accept it to be the right thing for us.

“Shaadi ki umar ho gyihai ab” is the common statement heard by all women above 25 years and believe it or not your mom and dad have already found a prince for you, he might not be the one who rides a horse but definitely a one with a Mercedes .

What if I don’t want to get married?

You cannot afford to put up this question in front of your parents because then the next thing that comes to you much like a reflex action by parents is- “Sharmaji kya kahenge” and suddenly you will find that Sharmaji represents our whole society.

Marriage is a sacrament and it comes with all sorts of liabilities and responsibilities so the common myth is that our generation has come up with the idea of live-ins to avoid all the crap that follows with the marriage vows.

Well, if you believe the same then did you know about our Vedas and that our ancestors were totally cool about living relations?

When two people with their consent come together to embrace their love and start living together then we call it living-in relationship. A simple search about gandharva marriage might make things clear to all.

According to the Rig Veda, a gandharva marriage is a form of marriage that was commonly performed by our ancestors.

In this form of marriage the girl selects her own husband and then both of them with their free consent decide to stay together without following any ritual or rites.

In other words if two people loved each other then they slept together. So the next time you hear anyone criticizing living relations make sure you enlighten them about our Vedas.

A landmark judgment on 13^thApril 2015 given by the Supreme Court presumed the living couples to be married if they were living with each other for a long time subject to certain requirements.

This progressive step was taken to ensure that the women are not being exploited by giving them the right in share of their partner’s property.

On the brighter side this decision lies around the periphery of the fact that our primitive society is changing.

However, on the other hand it points out to the deeper prejudice where the judgment itself means that the couples living outside the wed lock are not acceptable because our society has no name for such relations.

“If live-in brings the same commitments as of marriage then what is the point of marriage at all?”

The irony is that the couples are being ostracized from our society at gun point of our traditions and culture where our ancestors themselves made sure that love remained the only criteria for two people to live together.

Living together does not mean having monkey sex all the time because it is more than physical intimacy.

The idea of’ living-together-till-we-are-happy’ itself does not fit into the well-organized structure of our society because we are surrounded by so many Sharmajis around us.

Couples can’t get a house at all, and if they do then they become the hot topic discussion for all the nearby auntijis.

Living between those hushes and murmurs or at a place where they are constantly being hawked by various pairs of eyes that follow them in all social gatherings compels them to feel like criminals of society.

We might have legalized the concept of living together but unfortunately it has failed to shake the roots of our rotten customs.

Though the rate of acceptance is now increasing but the large part of the society is yet to agree upon the terms and we all need to change and improve ourselves at individual level.

Are you ready to bypass marriage and live in with your better half instead?

- Image credit: FableFeed