Books now beckon brides as well

PATNA: Gone are the days when a young woman on the cusp of getting married would not think of anything else but the life within the four walls of her in-laws' home. Times have changed, and education has become equally important to many of them with marriage coming only as a slight pause and not as a full stop in their academic pursuits.
Parineeta Kumari of Hanuman Nagar in Kankerbagh had to abandon her studies due to her marriage in 2009.Then a BA part II student, she is now doing postgraduation from B N College. "Thanks to my husband Nitish Kumar, a magistrate currently posted in Gaya, I resumed my studies a year after tying the knot," she chuckled.
Not that her in-laws did not raise eyebrows over Parineeta's wish to resume studies. However, her man came to her rescue and supported her. "I used to get up at 4am to finish household chores so that I could reach my college at 8 in the morning… But now I can sense a change in the attitude of my in-laws who have kind of accepted me with my studies apparently seeing my determination and hard work," she said.
After postgraduation, Parineeta will do BEd. "I want to pursue a career as a teacher preferably in the school where my little daughter will study," she said.
Payal Kumari also had to bid bye to her studies just after doing +2 because of her marriage. After full eight years, however, Payal is back in the company of books, doing BA in sociology through distance education from Magadh University. She was lucky because, unlike Parineeta, it was not only husband Yogesh Singh but also her in-laws who supported her decision to resume studies.
"Financial well-being is the main concern," Payal said and added she did not see a very bright future for the beauty parlour that she runs in Deoghar. Like Parineeta, Payal also aspires to teach in the school in which her 9-year-old son Yash studies.
Richa Ranjan, for whom the wedding bells will ring early next month, was bold enough to ask her groom-to-be when he came to see her if she would be allowed to continue her studies. Not only did the State Bank of India employee nod in the affirmative but also promised his bride-to-be, a final year PG student of English of Patna University, to coach her for competitive exams.
Businesswoman Malika Singh pointed out marriages ceased to be the end of road for women eyeing financial independence long back. "The trend started in early 1990s," Singh, who runs a boys a hostel in Kankerbagh, said and recalled she obtained a bachelor's degree in science way back in 1993 post her marriage.
Speaking about the trend, Hetukar Jha, ex-HoD of sociology, Patna University, said, "Today's women have obtained a space for themselves which men are comfortable with. It's not only about enhanced income for the family but also about the fact that educated women are better homemakers."
Mohammad Hussain of Hamsafar Marriage Bureau said, "Grooms look for a complete package - who could share the financial burden and on whose education they need not spend money. Brides look for ties that do not require them to make any sacrifice."