Ruchita Misra has taken the arranged marriage gossip out of drawing rooms an weaved into a hilarious book, The (In)Eligible Bachelors. While the story could very well have been a Bollywood pot-boiler , the funny observations and situations are worth a read for" Grooms, brides, potential grooms and brides, mother-in-laws or anyone who wants a good laugh, says Misra.
Ruchita is a geek turned writer, who knew she would always be a writer but never knew it would happen so fast, "I have been writing ever since eternity, I wrote my first book in class 5. In India I was so busy being the topper, studying, working hard that never got the time to write. After marriage, I moved to London. It was while I was job hunting in recession -hit London that I started writing the book."
Misra, who got married two years back, credits the renewal of arranged marriage concept for triggering the idea behind the book, "I met my husband through an arranged marriage and I know a lot of very modern and intelligent people, who were going down this path. Meeting potential partners - good and bad, made a very good gossip session. A lot of people were going through it and slowly things started forming in my head. "
The author, who is an MBA graduate and triple gold medallist from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), said that the idea of an arranged marriage has changed overtime, "Modern arranged marriage is where parents get the people to meet, and after that it's up to the couple whether they see a future together or no. It's fairly open, there's no pressure. You can say no to 10 or 100 people before you actually find the right person. Parents give a lot of freedom within the circumference of arranged marriage."
{{/usCountry}}The author, who is an MBA graduate and triple gold medallist from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), said that the idea of an arranged marriage has changed overtime, "Modern arranged marriage is where parents get the people to meet, and after that it's up to the couple whether they see a future together or no. It's fairly open, there's no pressure. You can say no to 10 or 100 people before you actually find the right person. Parents give a lot of freedom within the circumference of arranged marriage."
{{/usCountry}}Dismisses the idea that this trend is regressive she says, "I would rather say that we as a generation are done with being the rebel. A lot of people are unwilling to get someone in the family who will not get along with the elders. They want things to be harmonious and don't want to be experiment too much.
Also, parents have become understanding; they give more freedom within the circumstance of a marriage."
So is the book autobiographical? "Everybody asks me this question! The protagonist Kasturi, is a lot like me as a person, she is going on the arranged marriage route. The book is mainly inspired by life around me and the result of a very fertile imagination. Art in any form reflects the creator, it's a good fun book, it's simple, uncomplicated just like me," she laughs.