Today morning someone forwarded to me two pictures of Queen Elizabeth and Duke Of Edinburgh - the accompanying text said that the two photos were taken 68 years apart, 68 being the number of years that the royal couple has spent in holy (Gosh!) matrimony. I could not help but think that many of us will wonder if we will even live long enough to be 68, let alone being married for so many years.
I looked at the pictures closely. The one taken 68 years ago shows a charming couple - an almost shy bride smiling happily at her husband and a dapper looking Duke is smiling back at his young wife. 68 years later, the wife is still smiling but I cannot quite figure out if the Duke is smiling back at her. Though he is far from keeping the proverbial British stiff upper lip, to call it a smile would be stretching the imagination all the way to the moon and back at least three times over. I am sure the husband brigade would waste no time in coming up with witty one-liners and other assorted humorous takes on the photos. But I would give the Duke a benefit of doubt - maybe he had indigestion or not enough sleep last night. Hell, either of those would wipe the smile off anyone's face - royal or not.
As I looked at the photos of the couple that is well into their 90s (The Queen is 90 and her husband is 95), I wondered about something else. Has the love and affection that they (might have) felt so many years earlier survived the test of time? There are plenty of reasons if the answer is a No and even someone like me who knows next-to-nothing about the British monarchy can guess at a number of them. She is the Queen and he is, well, the Duke. I must confess that I am not upto the mark when it comes to the distinction between dukes and barons and what-nots, my only introduction to them being the P.G. Wodehouse novels. But I am pretty sure they don't measure upto being the reigning monarch. And though the British males might not be as narrow-minded as the Indian males are about the wife being a step ahead of them in the race of life, I rather doubt if they will be over-the-moon about it. Then, the marriages of their children were far from being happy ones. The royal family has had more than their fair share of controversies over the years. Add to that the fact that in the present day and age, monarchies are not something that they once used to be. All this can take a toll on a relationship.
But enough of this pessimism. The eternal romantic that I am, I would rather look at the half full glass. It would be far more interesting to think about the reasons if the answer to the above question is a resounding (though, in all probability, impossible!) Yes. Oh, the possibilities are endless. Soulmates who the Universe conspired to bring together. A husband who is totally supportive of his wife's position and totally devoted to her (absolutely no symptoms of the Roving Eye!). A wife who is equally devoted to her husband. Their ability to set aside their differences and to agree to disagree. The sharing of common interests. The freedom & space to pursue their own hobbies and interests. Support in moments of grief. A healthy share of arguments and fights. An unshakeable belief in the relationship. And a deep all-pervading love that everyone tells us has the ability to endure anything and to conquer everything. Like I said, endless possibilities. And it all sounds as if it is possible 'in theory only'. I know :-)
In any other frame of mind, I would have refused to forward the photos as my way of protesting against their 300+ years of colonial rule. Especially if the British cricket team had defeated the Boys in Blue anytime in the recent past (if they have, I have no idea about it as I have stopped following the sports pages eons ago). But I have been brought up on the diet of the Hindi romantic films where no matter what happens in the rest of the movie, the hero manages to ride off into the sunset with his lady to live happily forever. Since the British no longer have the empire over which the sun reportedly never set, I guess we are fine as far as the sunset goes. :-)
So I forwarded the photos - but only to my female friends. I am sure there would have been sighs from the married ones and 'that's the kind of marriage I want' from the singles. As for my male friends, sorry guys, I didn't want to allow you the luxury of a smirk followed by the 'Poor Fella' comments.
Though I have no reason whatsoever to swoon over the British royalty, as a gesture of appreciation for the quintessential British dish of Shepherd's Pie (which I recently enjoyed at the British Brewing Company!), I will say this much - Long Live The Queen, and the Duke, of course.
I looked at the pictures closely. The one taken 68 years ago shows a charming couple - an almost shy bride smiling happily at her husband and a dapper looking Duke is smiling back at his young wife. 68 years later, the wife is still smiling but I cannot quite figure out if the Duke is smiling back at her. Though he is far from keeping the proverbial British stiff upper lip, to call it a smile would be stretching the imagination all the way to the moon and back at least three times over. I am sure the husband brigade would waste no time in coming up with witty one-liners and other assorted humorous takes on the photos. But I would give the Duke a benefit of doubt - maybe he had indigestion or not enough sleep last night. Hell, either of those would wipe the smile off anyone's face - royal or not.
As I looked at the photos of the couple that is well into their 90s (The Queen is 90 and her husband is 95), I wondered about something else. Has the love and affection that they (might have) felt so many years earlier survived the test of time? There are plenty of reasons if the answer is a No and even someone like me who knows next-to-nothing about the British monarchy can guess at a number of them. She is the Queen and he is, well, the Duke. I must confess that I am not upto the mark when it comes to the distinction between dukes and barons and what-nots, my only introduction to them being the P.G. Wodehouse novels. But I am pretty sure they don't measure upto being the reigning monarch. And though the British males might not be as narrow-minded as the Indian males are about the wife being a step ahead of them in the race of life, I rather doubt if they will be over-the-moon about it. Then, the marriages of their children were far from being happy ones. The royal family has had more than their fair share of controversies over the years. Add to that the fact that in the present day and age, monarchies are not something that they once used to be. All this can take a toll on a relationship.
But enough of this pessimism. The eternal romantic that I am, I would rather look at the half full glass. It would be far more interesting to think about the reasons if the answer to the above question is a resounding (though, in all probability, impossible!) Yes. Oh, the possibilities are endless. Soulmates who the Universe conspired to bring together. A husband who is totally supportive of his wife's position and totally devoted to her (absolutely no symptoms of the Roving Eye!). A wife who is equally devoted to her husband. Their ability to set aside their differences and to agree to disagree. The sharing of common interests. The freedom & space to pursue their own hobbies and interests. Support in moments of grief. A healthy share of arguments and fights. An unshakeable belief in the relationship. And a deep all-pervading love that everyone tells us has the ability to endure anything and to conquer everything. Like I said, endless possibilities. And it all sounds as if it is possible 'in theory only'. I know :-)
In any other frame of mind, I would have refused to forward the photos as my way of protesting against their 300+ years of colonial rule. Especially if the British cricket team had defeated the Boys in Blue anytime in the recent past (if they have, I have no idea about it as I have stopped following the sports pages eons ago). But I have been brought up on the diet of the Hindi romantic films where no matter what happens in the rest of the movie, the hero manages to ride off into the sunset with his lady to live happily forever. Since the British no longer have the empire over which the sun reportedly never set, I guess we are fine as far as the sunset goes. :-)
So I forwarded the photos - but only to my female friends. I am sure there would have been sighs from the married ones and 'that's the kind of marriage I want' from the singles. As for my male friends, sorry guys, I didn't want to allow you the luxury of a smirk followed by the 'Poor Fella' comments.
Though I have no reason whatsoever to swoon over the British royalty, as a gesture of appreciation for the quintessential British dish of Shepherd's Pie (which I recently enjoyed at the British Brewing Company!), I will say this much - Long Live The Queen, and the Duke, of course.
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