Love The One You Love

"With love, there are no rules to follow, you have to go by instinct, you have to be brave". - Chad

Being American, and living in the US, I think most of us take our liberty and freedom for granted. I hope not to offend anyone by my comments or statements that follow. Arranged marriages are still quite the norm here in India. Men are generally married no later than the age of 30 and women are married no later than the age of 24-26 at the latest. I can't imagine marrying someone because my family has arranged/or wants the marriage, and not marrying for love.

I am always being asked why am I 35 years old and not married. People think somethings wrong. LOL

It appears that it is every parent's dream/goal in life is to raise their children and see them get married. So many people feel the pressure to marry, even if they are gay or not even interested in marrying. This is such a shame, since one has to live for their own happiness and not what society or the family dictates. I've read several articles over the past three weeks in the newspaper where young couples who have married out of love have been killed by the bride or groom's family. How can they kill their own child and spouse just because they married out of love and not followed their parent's marriage arrangement?

Perhaps we have over a 50 percent divorce rate, but at least we marry out of love and not necessity or family or even pressure from society. I can't imagine being in a false marriage.

Life is short...

Life is far too short, no matter how old one is, it is hard to say goodbye when the soul leaves the body. Last night on the way to Delhi, Sachin's father passed away. Thankfully, we had left their home in Udgir after spending three days with the family. Sachin was planning on going back home in four or five days...at least he's not suffering any more and his pain has ended.

While outside of the hotel last night, I saw a guy on a motorbike crash and die. He skidded on the pavement with sparks flying everywhere from his bike. I was in shock and sadly, I couldn't get myself to run over and help him, which is probably a good thing in the end since I can't handle seeing another person dead.

Let us all remember, life is short, so let's make it sweet and beautiful.

How Time Passes

In life, it is important to take a step back, take a good look at your situation, your actions and your environment and contemplate every now and then... I am taking my own advice over the next few weeks.

So much has happened since I last posted. I went to Kolkatta and then to a small village in West Bengal (5 hours away from Kolkatta and 1 hour away from the coast at Dhiga). This place was a true village, which only had electricity the past 5 years. I was the first and only foreigner, let alone American to ever visit the village. I was a bit of a celebrity with everyone following me around and going everywhere I went. The people were so friendly and very gracious.

I've been to Bangalore four times now, as I've made some really good friends there and it's a bit cooler and less humid than here in Goa. It's nice to do some shopping and to eat some western food every now and then. Thankfully, I've made some friends which I'm sure I'll be in touch with for a lifetime.

Tomorrow morning, I'm heading to Mumbai and then to another village/small city called Latur for a few days. Then I'm not sure where else to go...maybe Kerala, Jaipur, Agra, etc..who knows.

More to come...