My little sister's Prince Charming!!!

We don't realise when they get all grown up and ready to start a space of their own. We are almost five years apart and she has always been my kid sister. She would fiercely fight for her position as an adult right from when she was ten maybe. Her struggle to establish her identity as a full blown adult lasted even until a few years ago till my husband staged an intervention to put things into perspective. He upheld her status as a responsible woman and made me realise what a mature young lady she has become. Can you believe this little baby sister of mine is now an Assistant Professor ? !!

She has started an entirely new chapter in the book of her life, this past week. Ofcourse, the research for her book had been in the works for a while now. She has had her share of tribulations on her way towards this decision. I can remember , just a while ago I was praying she would find someone who loves her and who she loves, instead of going the whole shaadi.com / arranged marriage route. I am so glad she did find her Prince Charming!!

I am not against arranged marriages but this whole modern day arranged marriage arrangement a la the internet matrimony scene scares the living daylights out of me. I have heard too many horror stories to have any faith in it anymore. In the good old days, arranged marriages happened within a community, amongst friends and family. A family friend suggested an alliance and more often than not, the two families already had a lot of intersecting sets before a union of the sets took place. It was a comfortable arrangement and all the parties involved went to marriage with a peace of mind and an exciting anticipation of all that was to follow. The modern day internet alliances don't necessarily have that guarantee and that is what makes it a sham many a time. Ofcourse, I cannot write it off completely owing to many a success story that shines through every so often.

I am extremely grateful that I dont have to go through the anxious anticipation of what lies ahead. MANU has proved otherwise in more ways than one. She has found not just a wonderful person but an equally loving family. I don't want to jinx it by elaborating a whole lot. So I will just wish both my sister and Manu a loving life ahead. Congratulations on your engagement, darlings!!!

BTW: We are planning on nominating my parents for a "National Integration" award since we pretty much have a representation of all major Indian cultures in our family. We have always joked about how Fancy should marry a sikh ... and that would complete our "hindu muslim sikh isaai" requirements for national integration. Manu is a "dilwala from Delhi" and perhaps as close ro a punjabi as we could get. And to fulfill the "sikh" requirement, he even sent us some cute pics of him dressed up as "Sardar Manu Singhji". However, due to copyright reasons I would refrain from publishing them on my blog.

A small recap of the engagement ceremony!