It’s never too late
Suhasini Mulay, a yesteryear heroine, got hitched at 65
By : arpitha rao
Update: 2015-07-24 00:29 GMT
You can fall in love at any age, but can you get married? Doesn’t society say you need to get married before the neighbours ask your parents if something was wrong with you? These days, the tables have turned — people are getting married even in their 60s, and still finding true love! Be it George Clooney, Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City or yesteryear heroine Suhasini Mulay, they’re perfect examples of this. The 65-year-old Mulay, who tied the knot four years ago, with Atul Gurtu, is over the moon that she found her knight in shining armour, that too through Facebook, at 60! This is her first marriage, and who ever knew she’ll find love when most of her contemporaries already have grand kids?
It’s not just in Bollywood or on the silver screen that we see such love stories, there are people among us too who’ve gotten hitched after their 40s. Take Rahul Saxena for example. “I got divorced from my first wife nearly a decade ago, but I’m a people’s person. I knew I wanted to get married again,” says the CEO of CoBot Systems.
“My family was okay with the idea as well and were very supportive. I finally registered on a matrimony website and that’s how my wife Meera and I found each other,” he says. The two, both in their mid-forties now, got married in 2007. “I think late marriages are sensible because you’re a lot more mature and you have the capability of understanding your partner better. Yes, my wife did face difficulties because this is her first marriage, and leaving her parents’ home after so many years was a big change.” However, he says the key to their successful marriage is that they communicate with each other very clearly and don’t hesitate to show their love for each other.
Finding love and marrying the person of your choice shouldn’t be determined by age. “How does it matter if you’re twenty or fifty?” asks Ranjani Nandakumar, a psychology consultant. She feels that as long as the couple involved and their first circle of family is okay with it, there is no reason not to get married. “Always take your family into confidence and explain to them clearly what you want. And if you’ve had a bad marriage or are dealing with the loss of a partner, then get help from marriage counsellors to let go of your past baggage,” she adds.
She also stresses on the importance of discussing important issues with your partner-to-be, like wanting to have kids, property, income or any other legal issues. In Anandhi Rangarajan’s case, her second marriage took off to a very rocky start. She found Kannan, her current partner also through a matrimony site and they entered wedlock in 2013. Anandhi says, “I have a daughter from my previous marriage. She wasn’t happy at all that I was getting married a second time,” she says. In fact the 29-year-old reconciled with her mother only a few months ago. However, she is now very happy with her marriage, and says, “I am not ashamed about saying I re-married for social security. I know I can live alone, but it’s always nice knowing there is somebody in your life who cares about you,” she says.
Priya (name changed), the proprietor of an ad agency and a dancer, feels that she has better social acceptance post-marriage. “I got married only when I was in my early 40s — the amount of complaining I had to hear from my parents and others was unbelievable.” The couple now has a four-year-old son. “It’s only now that people look at me as a family woman and not some evil sorceress. I don’t understand who fixes rules about when people should get married. I’m thankful I didn’t succumb to the pressure before.”