{"id":4855,"date":"2007-11-12T21:49:37","date_gmt":"2007-11-13T02:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com?p=4855"},"modified":"2007-11-15T20:56:38","modified_gmt":"2007-11-16T01:56:38","slug":"just_your_typic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/2007\/11\/12\/just_your_typic\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Your Typical, Slightly Snarky Arranged Marriage Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

A column<\/a> (thanks, Fuerza Dulce) from the women’s magazine Marie-Claire<\/em> on Anjali Mansukhani’s enthusiasm for arranged marriages (including her own), didn’t really start in what seemed like the best possible way:<\/p>\n\n

By age 26, after attending more than 150 weddings, I was fast approaching my “expiration date.” (link<\/a>) <\/blockquote>\n\n

“Expiration date” at age 26? That’s pretty young; personally, I think women get “expired” these days at around 27 or 28…<\/p>\n\n

But it gets so much better. Anjali, a Bombayite, meets a guy who seems like Mr. Right — a New York based banker — and moves to his 40th story Manhattan apartment after three dates (and a marriage). Life there is blissfully happy:<\/p>\n\n

While I craved privacy in India, the lack of neighbors and family dropping in left a shocking void every day as I ate breakfast and lunch alone. My husband worked late most evenings, and I sat in front of the TV, unable to call home because it would be 2 a.m. there.<\/strong>

\n\nAfter a few weeks, I learned that I’d married a “jetrosexual.” <\/strong>He had an exhausting travel schedule (four cities in four days). I joined the ranks of corporate wives who saw every show, opera, and ballet in town, just to fill the hours.

\n\nTo make friends, I joined a gym, went to the library, and took Italian classes. I discovered that having an arranged marriage was a great icebreaker, and my social circle mushroomed each time I retold my story.

\n\nMarriage, I soon learned, wasn’t easy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d especially to a modern man. My husband had acquired a mistress, and her name was BlackBerry.<\/strong> She had the power to stop discussions midsentence, her red signal lighting up his face in the way I only dreamed of doing. (link<\/a>) <\/blockquote>\n\n

Such happiness. It really brightens your day.<\/p>\n\n

Off to a great start, no doubt. But Anjali’s new life really takes off when she learns to name-drop consumer goods and lifestyle choices like a professional New Yorker:<\/p>\n\n

As peers in India opted for motherhood and worked on post-baby waistlines, I took Spinning and pole dancing<\/strong> at the gym to work off exotic dinners of sweetbreads, foie gras, chocolate mousse<\/strong>. After reading about America’s obsession with Venti decaf skim mochas<\/strong>, I went to try one \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but came back instead with a spiced chai latte. Amazingly, Starbucks<\/strong> was providing my childhood drink on every corner.

\n\nI found a job as a financial consultant. The New York Times<\/strong> in one hand, coffee in the other, I realized that my saris of bright pink, violet, and salmon were not exactly subway wear. Quickly, I succumbed to Levi’s and Ralph Lauren<\/strong>.

\n\nI started to realize that I just might have the best of both worlds. I marinated my Indian marriage in the flavors of Manhattan. I kept the sari and bought the Jimmy Choos<\/strong>. I made fabulous curries, seasoned with spices from Dean & Deluca<\/strong>. And after months of enjoying decidedly non-Indian experiences of seders, Saks, and sake<\/strong>, I felt confident enough to direct Indian guests to a hotel, occasionally throwing in a MetroCard. <\/blockquote>\n\n

I’m not hating, really I’m not. In fact, I’m thrilled she’s so happy — with those Jimmy Choos that she got from Bloomie’s, drinking Chai Tea Latte at Starbucks (which is just like the Chai in India, isn’t it?), before her pole-dancing class, where she’ll burn off the foie gras from the night before. Arranged marriage can be great that way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A column (thanks, Fuerza Dulce) from the women’s magazine Marie-Claire on Anjali Mansukhani’s enthusiasm for arranged marriages (including her own), didn’t really start in what seemed like the best possible way: By age 26, after attending more than 150 weddings, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4855"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4855\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}