Single In the City

Little India, has a sort of a Singles issue out. You can read it on the web, but what really caught my eye – the cover story: Single In The City.

Why? Because being a thirty something single man living in San Francisco (only temporarily, I promise) it is something which has been well a life. Regardless, the article, if you read it, does not really say anything. The writer, with four interviews with some single South Asian women in their 30s, generalizes and frankly does not add anything. In fact, it misses most of the major points – for instance that many of us are postponing relationships because the f***ing economy sucks, and despite all the pretensions of going to the gyms, we are all putting on weight.

Of all the moronic statements in the world, here is what gets my goat.

Now singles, both male and female, tend to be more self-absorbed, independent and living on their own and for them, marriage is no longer the be all and the end all of life. The new desi singles are a breed that seems to be getting married or making commitments later and later. In a way this echoes nationwide trends in the United States where the average age of couples at first marriage has grown dramatically.

I have known for the longest time that the ethnic media really sucks and does not tackle big issues head on – for instance most don’t want to deal with the fact that the self-image of second and third generation South Asians is changing, and they see themselves more as Americans or Britons. The cross cultural relationships are a norm for most of us, and yes, it is all right to be single because frankly, we don’t live by the rules of our parents.