It’s all in the translation
A Times Online article explains the customs and practices involved in traditional arranged marriage in Indian culture. It does tend to explain why Gurinder Chadha chose to adapt Pride and Prejudice when she wanted to make a Bollywood movie for a Western audience.
When parents like the Nayars talk about the difficulties of finding the “right” boy, it becomes clear that it is not just a burden, it’s a nightmare. When girls reach their mid-twenties aunties start twittering, wondering out loud how long it will be before they get settled. Timing is all. Leave it too late and the best boys have been snapped up. If the girls are in their late twenties, whispers go round: “What’s wrong with her? Does she have a ‘past’? Is she still a virgin?”
Mr. Bennet, so loath to give up his little Lizzy to an unworthy man, would have sympathized with the fathers, we think.
Stuck in the middle, between clucking mothers and demanding daughters, are the fathers. Tender and protective, they refuse to become tense or desperate about their lovely girls.
“I just want a good human being for my daughters,” says Mr Nayar. “People come here and are impressed with our address, but that makes me feel uncomfortable. I want them to appreciate our girls, not our bungalow. I’m not going to marry them off to any Tom, Dick or Harry. And if they don’t get married, they don’t get married. As long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters.”
We confess we also had a delightful fantasy of Mrs. Bennet video-conferencing via broadband with Mr. Bingley.
