The family court in
suburban Mumbai is a ringtone-free zone. When an occasional cellphone sounds
from among the rows of people waiting on the first floor, it is hushed by the
security guard. "It's not for the judge we do this, it's for them
inside," he says, gesturing to the door next to him. "They deserve
some peace; this is an important hour in their lives."
The door leads to the office of the chief marriage counsellor.
Every couple seeking a mutual-consent divorce in Mumbai must spend some time
here, to explore whether their differences truly are irreconcilable.
Advertising executive
Tejas Chakrabarty, 28, remembers this room vividly. "I first went there
three months after my wedding," he says. "My wife, whom I had met
through a matrimonial website, was continuing a preexisting affair with a married
man. The counsellor tried very hard to convince us to give it another shot. But
she was still in love with that man, and I was too betrayed to even think about
it. We just sat there in silence for 45 minutes. Then we left and started the
paperwork."
That was nine months ago.
Chakrabarty knew his wife for four months before they got married. "She
was a really great girl, and I was getting all this pressure to marry, so I
thought, why not," he says. In retrospect, Chakrabarty says there were
warning signs. "She was always a little secretive, and would never leave
her phone unattended," he remembers. "She also had mood swings, was
depressed sometimes, then over-compensated by lavishing attention on me."
Chakrabarty and his wife are among thousands of couples in India seeking to end
their marriages in the first few months or years, ending up divorced before the
age of 30.
This is an unusual trend
in a country where the divorce rate was just 1 in 1,000 ten years ago, and is
still a relatively low 13 per 1,000 - as compared to the US average of 500 per
1,000. While India has no central or even state-wise registry of divorce data,
family court officials say the number of divorce applications has doubled and
even tripled in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Lucknow
over the past five years (see box).
They cite a range of
reasons - the waning influence of the family and joint family; the growing
psychological and financial independence of women; late marriages resulting in
a greater reluctance to compromise or change set ways and lifestyles.
The greatest difference,
however, is in the willingness to end a marriage that is not working, say some
counsellors.
"These young couples come to me with a totally different attitude,"
says Mumbai-based psychotherapist and counsellor Pallavi Bhurkay.
"Earlier, couples would come to me to fix the marriage. Now, I have young
couples who have come just to convince their family or partner that a divorce
is the right decision."
Adds Aarti Mundkur,
lawyer at the Bengaluru family court: "Has the number of divorces gone up?
Of course. But has the breakdown of marriage increased? No. Marriages have been
breaking down with much the same regularity over the years. But couples have
been continuing with the marriage to keep up appearances. The growing rate of
divorce is an indication that the stigma associated with it is on the
wane."
Earlier, issues such as
dowry demands, property disputes and family arguments would lead to
applications for divorce, adds a family court counsellor from Mumbai. "Now
we see young couples who want to separate because they cannot agree on who will
do the chores, or because they have realised that they no longer like each
other. Most of these are young couples in the first or second year of
marriage."
Divorced before 30: 5
ex-couples explain what went wrong with their marriages
"He had very different
expectations of a wife"
Marriage lasted:1 month
Neha Jayant*, 29, met Brijesh Ahluwalia*, 29, through common friends in London
six months ago. They were both investment bankers looking for a long-term
commitment. “Right away, we entered into a relationship with marriage as the
goal,” she says. A month in, in August, the couple returned to Delhi for their
wedding. They then relocated to Toronto in Canada, where Brijesh’s parents
live. One month later, Jayant packed her bags and returned to Delhi. “Brijesh
had a very jealous streak,” she says. “It began spinning out of control. When I
went to job interviews, he would criticise the length of my formal skirt and
ask me lewd questions about what I was actually applying for. After a party
hosted by his parents, he screamed at me for 45 minutes because I had spent 10
minutes talking to another man.” Jayant says she was in shock, and afraid that
the verbal abuse would escalate into physical violence. “He was a completely different
person after we got married. He had all these expectations of a ‘wife’ which he
never had for a ‘girlfriend’,” she says.
The couple’s divorce is now in the process of being finalised.
"It was clear we were not meant for each other"
Marriage lasted: 3 years
He was quick-tempered; she was impatient. It should have been a
warning sign, but they saw it as a symbol of all they had in common. They were
both young, ambitious marketing executives in a rush to settle down. “We met
through an ad in the paper,” says Anisha*, 25. “I posted the ad, looking for a
life partner who would let me be me, let me work after marriage.” Amit*, 28,
seemed perfect. They met, courted and married in 2012. The arguments started
soon after. “Two years into the marriage, it was clear that we were not meant
to be together,” says Anisha. A year on, the couple had secured a divorce. “It
was the best thing for both of us,” says Amit. “Looking back, there were things
we both did wrong. I would share minute details of our relationship with my
parents, for example.” Now, Amit is not thinking of getting married again. “But
if that happens, I will certainly work on my anger,” he says, “and try to find
someone more patient.”
"He expected me to cook"
Marriage lasted: 18 months
They married after a whirlwind romance that lasted six months, only to develop
a host of problems within the next year and a half. They now say the situation
could have been different if they had allowed for a lengthier courtship. “We
were both fresh out of failed relationships and in a hurry to get married. It
was a thoughtless decision,” says Mahua*, 35, an IT executive. The couple
differed in tastes and values. “He would expect me to get home from work and
cook for him while he watched television. I was revolted at the idea of me
toiling while he put his feet up,” she says. Also, she earned well and ended up
paying for most of their common expenses. Mahua feels the couple might have
stood a chance if they could have moved out of his parents’ home, but this
suggestion caused a large uproar and she was accused of trying to break up the
family. “That the husband and wife should love each other is a necessary but
not sufficient condition. It is also important that the tastes and values
match,” she says. In 2009, the couple got a divorce. They are now both happily
remarried.
“This time, I have found someone who is what he says he is,” says Mahua. “I’ve
learnt the hard way that you can’t change yourself, or someone else.”
"I suspect he was gay"
Marriage lasted: 3 months
Kaushani Mittal*, 26, met her ex-husband through a matrimonial website. Rajat*
was 27, an architect based in Seattle. He came to Mumbai to meet her three
weeks in. A month later, she flew to Seattle to marry him. “When we didn’t kiss
even two months after our wedding, I began to wonder what was going on,” she
says. Rajat told her he had intimacy issues and would need time. Meanwhile, his
mother, who lived with them, began to pry and read their messages. “He had
warned me that she was possessive. But he did nothing to help,” says Mittal.
Three months in, Mittal returned to Mumbai and began divorce proceedings.
“Though he still denies it, he is clearly gay,” she says. “It really took a
toll on my self-esteem. It has made me develop trust issues, for which I’ve
been in therapy.”
"He changed after the wedding"
Marriage lasted: 2 years
Rashmi*, 30, is still in shock that her seven-year relationship fell apart less
than seven days after marriage. The two met in business school in 2006 and fell
in love. “He was very affectionate and caring,” says Rashmi. “But he had always
dreamed of moving to Mumbai to be an actor.” When the relationship became
serious, the couple discussed how she could move to Mumbai with him, find a
job, and support him while he looked for his break. They were married in 2012,
with the consent of both families. “I noticed a change in his behaviour the day
after our wedding,” says Rashmi. “He was no longer the loving, caring man I
knew. And he wanted to move to Mumbai immediately.” When Rashmi said she needed
time to quit her job in Lucknow and find a new one in Mumbai, he said she could
stay behind. “This was less than a week after the wedding,” she says. Finally,
Rashmi agreed to go with him for a short while. In Mumbai, he had friends he
had never told her about. “He was acting like a big shot. It was like he never
had any love for me.” Rashmi returned home. “For two years, I waited in
Lucknow,” she says. “I can count on my fingers the number of times we spoke
over the phone. We had very few meetings.”
Two months ago, she filed for divorce. Rashmi is now assistant general manager
at a frozen foods factory; Rahul* is in Mumbai, seeking his big break.
(With inputs from Sudipto Mondal, Richa Srivastava, Arpit Basu and
Danish Raza)
