An Observation

DURING ONE OF my journeys to America, I was invited to stay with a Muslim couple. The wife had been born and brought up in Pakistan, and she had come to America after her marriage.

One day, after the husband had left for work, the wife came to me sobbing. But she was crying so much that she could not tell me anything. The next day, she told me that her husband was not happy with her, and that she was contemplating going back to her parents.

Her declaration had me thinking on the issue, and I tried to understand the problem. I finally came to the conclusion that her parents were responsible for this state of affairs. As it turned out, she was pampered by her parents so much so that she was incapable of managing her house, as she had received no such training whilst she was at her parent’s house. After her marriage, and especially after settling down in a different environment, she was incapable of taking care of her husband and her new home. This became a source of unpleasantness in their marital life. In countries like India and Pakistan domestic help is easily available. But life in America was totally different. And for someone who was not used to doing anything, it proved to be very difficult. The difference between the two countries had become a problem for the wife. And this posed a problem for the newly wed couple. And the problem comes back to the parents of the wife who had shielded their daughter from the realities of life, and when she was faced with them, she could not cope with them. It was this ill-considered approach of the parents that made life miserable for this lady.