What If I Never Get Married?

What if I don’t get married?

I recently asked myself

I live in a village

Still this question comes to me

I am a Muslim,

Still this question comes to me

I believed,

Perhaps still believe,

Marriage brings life peace,

Still this question comes to me

I know

Some great men

And women of history

Were married

Still this question comes to me

§

What if I don’t get married?

I receive,

To this question,

Curiously,

 Several answers,

Different and diverse,

Of which some I share here

My mom,

Like most other moms I know,

Will get disturbed

My relatives,

Most friends,

May make

A tragic hero

Out of me

Being single,

Still,

I feel,

I can live a life

Without caring,

And meeting

Various,

Often meaningless

Societal ‘standards’

And ‘expectations’

Built by elites

For elites

If I'm not married

I can travel

With no limit

To anywhere I want to

Caring little about boundaries

I can move to different lands,

With no promises to return,

Meeting different people,

Speaking different languages,

Living different lives

Being single,

I may not be worried for money

And could avoid earning

For the sake of earning

If I'm not married,

I may taste

How the Sufis live

Live in peace,

As a freeman,

I may feel empowered to:

Take new risks

Question injustice

Condemn wrongs

Be a voice for the voiceless

Single,

Journalist,

I can do stories,

Which need to be told,

Which a married me might think twice about

I can quit my job

Before my editor says

“We have limitations”

With nothing to lose,

I may see the line

That separates Impossible from Possible,

Abnormal from Normal,

Fades away

‘Successful life’

A poorly defined concept

I hear quite often,

Repeatedly confuses me,

May not disturb me any longer

Without marriage

My life

Valued

May become more meaningful

Muhammed Sabith is an independent journalist and academic form Kerala. He currently works as a guest faculty at Pondicherry University's Mahe Centre, Mahe.

Featured image credit: Angel Origgi/Unsplash

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