Marriage and Social Acceptance

In the last couple of months a few of my close friends have bitten the dust (one more is about to. )and currently are absolutely smitten by the love bug !! Everytime I break any such news at home these days, I know whats coming next.., their faces absolutely without an utter say "When is your Turn ?"

I have been wondering the last few months, why is getting married the One All, Be All.. aren't there more things in life that are as important, my mother invariably senses this and keeps hammering that "there are other things as well, but nothing as important as tying the knot". I have somehow come to conclude that once you are committed (though this does not mean much these days), engaged (same as the previous one), married (now we are talking) , society looks up to you with much more respect than before. People feel "Ok, this guy is not that disgusting perhaps, lets cozy a little bit upto him". I go for walks up the Law College Tekdi sometimes and I see newly/about-to-be married couples holding hands, whispering sweet nothings and I do feel a little bit of envy, I admit. But to be very true, I also see a little smirk or a sly smug on most faces as well which seems to suggest that "Ok, how the heck did I manage to fool someone so easily !! The happiness also stems from the fact that there is someone willing to accept you as how you are with all your fallacies intact .."
Very few realize that their partner is also probably thinking the same ;)

Now, I may be ridiculed that I am being a pessimist or this is nothing but a case of sour grapes.., trust me, I am very happy for all of friends who are "happily" married or who are about to be. Frankly speaking amongst the multitudes of friends who have tied the knot I see 2 (all of 2) pairs (one, a very close friend, another from college) which are really close to one another.. The way they speak to each other, about one another.., the way my two friends (and their spouses as well) hang up their wireless phones.. even though they are disconnected, I feel the connection is not lost (In case of others maybe it is there, but its that I don't see it..) It could also be attributed to some dreadful moments that they witnessed in their past.., but mostly its due to the simple fact that they want to make it work.

Now to the important part.. Why am I still single? I am neither afraid of commitments nor do I have any doubts of my orientation. Simple, its just not working my way and I have no ill-feelings towards anyone for it not working. Personally, I am comfortable with way things are, it is the peer/society pressure which kills :) I am still not social-acceptable. I may be now, but 3-4 years down the line, I may be the one castigated to the sidelines. (I would probably still have Sameer as company while having coffee on the 4th floor walkway :D ) There have been instances when I was close, but the ball never turned or bounced the way it was intended. She either had issues with me supporting my sister's education (when the time would come), did not want to travel abroad (not that I am flying tomorrow) or her job profile/aspirations (which she was convinced was the perfect one) were such that we would not have got enough time together.

I am really at a loss how to conclude this one, as it is as much an open-ended issue, till the time it actually ends. So till the time you hear any good news, let me keep this one alive

Its really funny that 2 2in*2in absent patches of thickets could actually ostracize a person from society !! When the "Genetically Weakened Defective Picket Fences" started giving way early in college, it wasn't much of an issue, but now I feel I am about a hair's thickness away from being quarantined.