It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon and he’s feeling unsettled. Having got up late, he’s still feeling a strong urge to get right back under the covers. The exhaustion of several days, rather weeks, seems to be catching up with him…

She too, seems to have a touch of the blues. Is she missing her family – the boisterous brother and crazy sister whom she fought like mad with about the TV and computer? Is she still upset about a silly fight they had last week when he and she went out Diwali shopping? Its hard to tell, but they both mope around, exchanging barely a sentence or two, as the rain continues to beat down on a grey day. Hardly the way a couple married just last year should act on a holiday.

Okay, if you are a die-hard traditionalist and you lack the guts needed to break moulds, just don’t read on. Or go pick up ‘Gone with the Wind’ where men stalk the earth like giants and women keep house, tend wounds, attend deliveries and well, you know what I mean!!

When Reena fell in love with a gentle, unambitious musician, little did she realise how her life, her value systems and her finances were all in for a major shake-up. With a typical Type A father- achiever, leader, decision maker, etc, she had taken that side of men for granted. But here was Chotu, not comfortable with being assertive, and really not earning enough to take them places. Initially she thought ‘yikes, I’d better get out of this one’, but she realised how special the man had become to her. Did money and success really matter so much? She would ponder this, while watching him pat a street dog, fix her a delicious meal or spoil her when she was sick?.there was so much to him, what did the traditional labels matter?

Vikram Phadke, 34, software professional working in South California. coming to India in August.

Sahil Mehta, 29, engineer working in Alabama, coming to India on July 7, will return on July 22. Please hurry and contact immediately.

These are some of the matrimonial advertisements in a leading newspaper in the country. The post boxes of such advertisements are overflowing. With letters, mails and personal visits of the prospective bride’s parents, relatives and friends.

There was a time when people met their prospective spouses at parties, in colleges, at the workplace etc; they met at restaurants, clubs, parks and even libraries. Spent time romancing, holding hands and saying sweet nothings to each other. However, in the recent years the courtship scenario has undergone a sea change.

Nowadays, a large portion of people meet their future partners on the world wide web. Real windows where young people waited for hours to catch a glimpse of their loved ones has been replaced by Microsoft windows. The Internet has evolved from being a valuable source of information, to being a popular dating destination. Added to this are the large number of sites that offer online dating and social networking facilities.

The last time I met her was on prize distribution day at her school. She was being awarded the coveted prize for general proficiency. As I watched her, I felt a surge of pride. My eyes filled with tears as images of her childhood flashed across my mind. I could hear her puzzled voice asking me, “Ma why do we have two past tenses for dream… dreamed and dreamt? Which one should I use Ma?”

She had always been a lovely child, the apple of our eyes. I could see Shekhar waiting eagerly near the far end of the stage. Next to him, her arm tucked into his elbow stood Sejal, the woman who had changed the contours of our lives and was now his wife. It had hurt so much when he’d said, “I’ve been meaning to tell you this for some time Suman. I don’t think it’s working out between us. I think we should go our separate ways.” I had laughed then, a nervous, brittle sort of laugh, not quite grasping what he was saying. “Yeah Shekhar, things have been a little difficult recently. Let’s take a holiday, the three of us and things will sort out soon enough.” The words just tumbled out in furious haste.