Life through a glass of wine!

I am at an age when most of my friends are getting married. Since everyone has their own parameters for choosing the 'right' partner, and most are extremely secretive about their alliances, I have never really tried to intervene or advise anyone. After all, it is the single most important decision that one makes, even more important than deciding a career I believe. To us Indians, this decision acquires utmost importance because we generally think that once married, there is no way out of that alliance, unless extreme circumstances force us to. And no matter what kind of marriage you have, love or arranged, it remains the biggest gamble of your life. No matter how carefully you choose a partner, you can never predict whether your marriage will be a happy one or not. In all this, if someone were to ask me the one advice that I have to give, it will be this - Marry a guy who loves his mother. Controversial? Why would any independent, strong headed woman want to listen to a...

Since the time a child is born, it is told that it must do good, and good will come back. Honesty is the best policy. Love all, never harm anyone, treat everyone equally, do some charity, live selflessly. All this and more of the benefits of ‘good karma’ are wired into our system by our parents, teachers and religious/spiritual leaders. God too is brought into the picture. The ever-forgiving, all-loving, omniscient and omnipresent God suddenly becomes angry and wrathful if we do something that our religion or elders don’t endorse. Whatever it is that our elders wish us to learn and do, they teach us by instilling in us the fear of God(s), the policeman and destiny. I’m sure that’s how superstition was born. Some parent told his gullible kid that it was inauspicious to walk under a ladder (lest the child get hurt), and the ladder has been bringing us bad luck ever since. As children, we tend to live in a world of idealism. We look at ourselves and everyone around us through thes...