The Ultimate Gamble

Hand in hand they walk in, he holding a camera and she wearing her 'laal chooda', with mehndi reaching up her calves and sindoor as bright as ever. Each pair that you come across is shockingly similar to the one you saw before. Essentially they are all couples of strangers that are on a mission to find love. So little they know of each other and yet tradition makes them wake up beside each other one morning with the realization that they will be waking up together for the rest of their lives, or atleast as long as they choose to or can humanly survive with each other.
Close to home, with Little India round the corner and low air fares every now and then, the land of the Mer Lion has become a popular  destination with Desi couples. A four hour flight with a stamp on their passports makes them feel kicked about having their honeymoon on foreign soil. As they sit around eating their dosas and picking at their pappadoms, she makes every effort to understand the brut sitting in front of her while he's probably wondering if his life will ever be the same again. Men for some reason have an inherent fear of being shackled, even though more often than not, their wives are living lives that they dictate and spend every waking minute trying  to please their hubbies.
Marriage as we know it is a whole lot more than a 'sacred institution' as it was always referred to by past generations. Today its become the most questioned phenomenon on the planet. How do they do it? Especially when they know zilch about each other. Our grandparents would disagree. Well theirs was another life altogether. Today marrying a stranger is the ultimate gamble 'cause you're gambling with your life. Now gambling is hardly 'sacred' or an 'institution'. Where is all this going, I wonder!