The Price of "What Will People Say?

It’s not necessarily my story, but long story short: 

I liked someone, and someone else liked me. It didn’t ripen into a full-fledged romantic relationship, but the attraction was undeniable. Families were informed. The Penn Kaanum Ceremony (formal meeting) took place on the eve of Kaanum Pongal, even though we had met before. All the near and dear gathered at the house. Silence filled the room until someone finally broke the ice out of necessity. Older members quipped about their younger days, and then, just like that, everyone left.

Later that day, the tension boiled over. "Why was your father so silent? Did he not like me?"

 "Well, you aren’t going to marry him, are you?" 

"Stop your sick jokes."

After that, phone calls went unanswered. Later, a family member living abroad shared the "behind-the-scenes" truth of the ceremony. It turns out the father didn’t like the man his daughter chose. His reasons? The man was a little bulky and too silent. But his real concern was deeper: "What will the people of the Ooru (village) say if I marry my daughter to this man?"

It’s baffling. He fit the "arranged marriage" bill perfectly:

• No funky outfits.

• No bad habits (and let’s be honest, I know few men who don’t drink).

• A 60 LPA salary.

• A respected family with well-off siblings.

The logic doesn’t add up, right? I thought so, too. But perhaps the father was right in one sense: while one person was ready to fight the odds, the other ran off the moment his ego was struck.