The dream of exercising personal choice in love and marriage and the cultural reality of arranged marriages is a constant source of friction affecting the Indian psyche. The Indian society has of late shown a drift towards intercultural marriages, as a logical step to the cosmopolitan outlook, interaction, relatable experiences, compatibility and understanding. Intercultural marriages become much more common and acceptable than they once were.

Liberal parents dismiss the issue of interreligious marriage by playing up the modern thinking "If they love each other, that's all that matters." Mixed marriages are emerging out of a true blending of mixed emotions, mixed philosophies and mixed cultures.

Practically Speaking

Those intercultural marriages are seen to succeed where couples show immense reserves of strength, fortitude and staying power in dealing with the reality of building lives together under complex circumstances which often involve constant jitters like how parents will react and what relatives will think.

Often the couple has to be ready to make a long-term commitment when the challenges of trying to make a life together seem to be too great.

Intercultural Marriages Can Work

It has often been seen that even if family and friends on both sides of the marriage are supportive, there will always be naysayers predicting early demise of the relationship.

Give yourself lots of time to see if it can last. Many flings seem rosy at first but turn out to be impractical. Do mull over the circumstances in which you met and fell in love.

Intercultural marriages can work

It has often been seen that even if family and friends on both sides of the marriage are supportive, there will always be naysayers predicting early demise of the relationship.

Intercultural and interreligious marriages work best when the people involved are honest to themselves and to those around them. Give yourself lots of time to see if it can last. Many flings seem rosy at first but turn out to be impractical. Do mull over the circumstances in which you met and fell in love.

Also, the fact that the older generations had to live with far greater disapproval and discrimination from their families than we do today can only inspire us to make these marriages work for a lifetime.

The issue is really of

Many fear the diluting influence of intercultural marriages on their beliefs and customs-including language and food, dress, music and even caste-oriented idiosyncrasies. Importantly, as more parents face the possibility of their children marrying interculturally, some lessons are emerging.
Parents need to view each situation individually. A second lesson, is accepting some responsibility for the "mix" in the first place. By all estimates, such marriages will only increase. Slowly, awkwardly, the Indian society is facing it and finding it a lot healthier to talk about it while positively adjusting to it when it happens, rather than hide it, skirt it or fight it.