AT 90

AT 90, MAN FATHERS A GIRL

TOI on 5.8.2007 had this news. The man concerned is from a village in Rajasthan. The background given needs a little probe. The report says that earlier another claimed having sired a bonny boy but he was much young in comparison, 88 years of age. I might have read this report when it was published but given no notice to prepare any comment. This is something different. The lady concerned is said to be 60 years junior and that meant that she is in her prime and capable of conceiving and delivering.

Though report said that she is the old man’s newest wife. The interesting is to note as how she came to be his wife. Originally the lady was the wife of his son who died a few years back might be 3 – 4 years. Then there might be some waiting period to settle. The report did not say that this lady had any child from the son, may be no children. Then it is said that the old man in a compassionate mode married the daughter in-law to retrieve her loss. Instead of living as a grass widow her father in-law made her his own bahu. One cannot say whether they were really in love or only a way to keep her from others. It seems that she wanted to have a child and the marriage to father in-law ensured it.

Of course this arrangement of marrying a widow of his own son must be having social and traditional approval. The report did not mention about it. Whether there were more of this mode among the villagers of Rajasthan is not clear. Must be. Otherwise there would have been uproar in the society. There are very many reports of villagers acting against people traversing established customs and traditions. These villagers were not averse in mating violent punishments to defaulters including murder.

Only thing we could assume is that the lady is lucky and her sexual life fructified by giving birth to a baby and ensuring the family ties for the future. Cheers to her.

There is another story reported a few days later that follows.

He's 16, she's 40; they're married
21 Sep 2007, 0110 hrs IST,Sachin Parashar,TNN

NEW DELHI: This is one ‘Ek Chhotisi Love Story’ which has left the cops dumbfounded. On the lookout for a 16-year-old missing boy, the south district police’s search ended on Thursday when they came across a couple, who claimed to be legally married, in Nangloi in West Delhi. While the missing boy turned out to be the husband, his wife was a 40-year-old woman. Even as the police detained both of them immediately, till late in the night they were trying to figure out what charges to slap on the woman, who is an Alaknanda-based dance teacher and lived with her ailing mother. She told the cops that the two had "eloped" on August 28 and then got married in Manali. The two, who had met on the internet, told the police that they got married at the Hadimba temple in Manali. After spending several days in Manali, they went to Patiala in Punjab and stayed there for some time. Then they decided to return to Delhi and hired a one-room flat at Nihal Vihar in Nangloi. "They lived there for more than a week as husband and wife," said a police officer. The boy, who is a class X student of a school in Chittaranjan Park and lived in the same locality before ‘eloping’, had been reported missing on August 28. His father, who works with a private firm, told the police that the boy left for his tuition in the afternoon but did not return. According to the police, the two chatted on the internet for several weeks before deciding to meet in a restaurant. The boy told the police that it was a case of love at first sight and that they fell madly for each other.

(To my knowledge there were no follow up reports in the matter. As per law, the boy is underage and the marriage if performed was illegal. However, I feel that an older woman falling in love with a much younger boy should not obstructed by society. There is no infidelity here and therefore the couple should be allowed to marry when the boy attains major.)

K.N.Krishnan.