<p>Recently, I attended my niece’s wedding, which got me thinking about the past. I reminisced about the 1990s when I was a 30-something eligible bachelor. My younger sister, who’s two years younger than me, was still unmarried due to concerns about her birth star being inauspicious. Back then, people believed that one’s birth star could bring misfortune to the groom’s family, and labelling someone unlucky was not unusual. This led to constant rejection from prospective grooms, and my sister’s marriage proposals went nowhere.</p>.<p>However, my sister remained indifferent to marriage and found purpose in teaching and encouraging children to question outdated customs. She enjoyed her independence. I believe that if she had a secure job with good income, her “money value” would have overshadowed her “star value.”</p>.<p>Fast forward to the present, and it is astonishing that the belief in astrology remains strong, thanks to numerous television channels with ‘astrology’ pundits belting out gyan.</p>.<p>As my sister’s age advanced, my mother worried about her unmarried status, and I felt torn between my responsibility towards her and societal expectations. Back then, it was common for brothers to wait till their sisters were married off before they found their suitors, which explains why I remained a bachelor at 30+ years. Anyway, the pressure built on me to get married and “settle down.” </p>.<p>After my marriage, my wife took it upon herself to find a match for my sister. She contacted colleagues, friends, and matrimonial agencies. A casual conversation with a colleague, who shared about his bachelor brother, enthused my wife to share details about her spinster sister-in-law, that is, my sister. When her colleague mentioned that his elder brother was reluctant to enter into wedlock and did not believe in astrology, my wife’s antennae went up. She persuaded her colleague to share my sister’s details with his brother and family and vice versa. Surprisingly, the file moved fast as we got a positive response from the boy. Within six months, my sister got married, much to my mother’s relief and happiness. Thereafter, like a miracle, my sister also secured a state government job. </p>.<p class="bodytext">My mother was a contented woman when she breathed her last, as she had no worries about the future of her daughter. My sister is now happily retired and living peacefully. She brought all the fortune and happiness to her family. Her daughter and son-in-law live in the US.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I was afraid my marriage would disrupt my sister’s life. But, on the contrary, it helped her to settle down happily in life. Life has its own plans, after all.</p>
<p>Recently, I attended my niece’s wedding, which got me thinking about the past. I reminisced about the 1990s when I was a 30-something eligible bachelor. My younger sister, who’s two years younger than me, was still unmarried due to concerns about her birth star being inauspicious. Back then, people believed that one’s birth star could bring misfortune to the groom’s family, and labelling someone unlucky was not unusual. This led to constant rejection from prospective grooms, and my sister’s marriage proposals went nowhere.</p>.<p>However, my sister remained indifferent to marriage and found purpose in teaching and encouraging children to question outdated customs. She enjoyed her independence. I believe that if she had a secure job with good income, her “money value” would have overshadowed her “star value.”</p>.<p>Fast forward to the present, and it is astonishing that the belief in astrology remains strong, thanks to numerous television channels with ‘astrology’ pundits belting out gyan.</p>.<p>As my sister’s age advanced, my mother worried about her unmarried status, and I felt torn between my responsibility towards her and societal expectations. Back then, it was common for brothers to wait till their sisters were married off before they found their suitors, which explains why I remained a bachelor at 30+ years. Anyway, the pressure built on me to get married and “settle down.” </p>.<p>After my marriage, my wife took it upon herself to find a match for my sister. She contacted colleagues, friends, and matrimonial agencies. A casual conversation with a colleague, who shared about his bachelor brother, enthused my wife to share details about her spinster sister-in-law, that is, my sister. When her colleague mentioned that his elder brother was reluctant to enter into wedlock and did not believe in astrology, my wife’s antennae went up. She persuaded her colleague to share my sister’s details with his brother and family and vice versa. Surprisingly, the file moved fast as we got a positive response from the boy. Within six months, my sister got married, much to my mother’s relief and happiness. Thereafter, like a miracle, my sister also secured a state government job. </p>.<p class="bodytext">My mother was a contented woman when she breathed her last, as she had no worries about the future of her daughter. My sister is now happily retired and living peacefully. She brought all the fortune and happiness to her family. Her daughter and son-in-law live in the US.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I was afraid my marriage would disrupt my sister’s life. But, on the contrary, it helped her to settle down happily in life. Life has its own plans, after all.</p>
