The Channel 46
There’s a reason why most Bollywood films end with the couple getting married, and leading us into the illusion that ‘they lived happily ever after.’ And we get sold into this. Only to realise, rather quickly, that life immediately after marriage isn’t what a film would want to show. Because post-marital bliss, while it does exist, it definitely doesn’t the way it’s depicted in films and TV shows.
Think of how you’ve always imagined a new bride to be like. Fresh, energetic and ready to kickstart her life as a newly-wed. From dressing in her brand new clothes and jewellery she’s spent months collecting, to being the sanskari bahu who can’t wait to make chai for everyone, to having sex like rabbits.
On some days, you feel homesick for the house you grew up in, coming to realise that you’re now expected to address it as ‘your parents’ house’. The initial days of unpacking your bridal trousseau, dealing with new labels (mami, chachi and so on…) are filled with nostalgia, exertion and sometimes just a feeling of nothingness.
Adjusting to new habits, making new rules and rituals for yourself and your partner. And of course, getting used to everyone from the building watchman to the sabjiwala transition to addressing you as ‘bhabhi’ over ‘didi’.
Girls, the ever after does exist. Maybe not in the Karan Johar style as you would have imagined, but it does.
The Channel 46