
What is the correct age for a marriage?
This is a big question that has lingered in my mind since childhood.
I have seen my grandmothers working hard all the time, taking care of their children even after their marriage. I have seen a smile on their faces.
I used to ask them, “Patti (Grandma), how do you manage to do so much work at this age?”
She used to smile and say, “It is nothing great, as we have been taught to do all these since childhood.”
Without much education, I was awestruck to see them managing well. Only some have studied till 5th grade.
They did not have any MBA degrees for managing finances and the house. Imagine most of them were married at the age of 12 plus, as was the norm in those years. Most parents had six or more than six children. Marriage age they decided to be 14 for the girls and 19 for the boys.
The boys were out looking for jobs outside their villages in some cities like Mumbai or anywhere in India. Once they settled down, they got their wives, and their family life journeyed further.
Minimum children were 4 to 6.
But they educated their children till graduation, and if some were lucky, they could be an engineer or a doctor in those years. As only the father was an earning member in our time, our marriage age was 22 after our graduation was completed. Our parents were young, and by the time they were 55, all their children were married, and they became grandparents and enjoyed their lives.
Coming to our children’s generation, our children wanted to study further and work and stand on their feet before getting married. So their marriage age extended to 26 plus for the girls and 30 plus for the boys. So their children were born in their late 30s. They had a lot of issues in bringing up their children, as a lot of development has taken up.
At 50-plus, our children’s kids, our grandkids, are still in their school finals.
We wonder what and how much they want to pursue their studies and what their idea of marriage age .
It may be more than 35. We do not know.
Yes, one has the right to decide their marriage age, but I feel the right age would be by 23 for the girls and 28 for the boys .
They can enjoy each phase of life well and enjoy their later years of life peacefully with less burden of responsibilities.
These are my thoughts, as I was married early by 22 and our children were married when we were in our 60s.
Good luck to all the present parents and their children. Have a good future.

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