Few of my cousins who got married recently or are engaged to get married have made their own choice of a life partner. Couple of years ago parents would have reacted by absolutely not accepting the idea and openly disagreeing with their children without really giving them a chance to explain. I think its bad only when parents blindly refuse without seeing any reason.My uncles/aunts have been really gracious in approving the choices of their offsprings even before meeting the boy/girl.
Even though they have done that, I am not sure if they are just as happy. In a society like India where the parents provide for the children till they totally complete their education and find a job, inspite of their unconditional love, parents do expect that their children would give them the opportunity of being a part of this. But when they dont get to do it, they reconcile to the fact that they want their son/daughter to be happy and if this is what is going to make them happy then they go ahead and do it.
I am not stating its wrong to choose your life partner. I just think once we find someone whom we believe could be a great partner one needs to let his/her parents know and should be able to convince them and reassure them about our choices.
What seems correct today might not seem ok tomorrow. Life takes one through its ups and downs.
I for some reason , could never bring myself to choose a partner on my own because I had this strong feeling that I would fail my parents. I dint want my dad, mom and brother preparing for my marriage with an ounce of displeasure.
My parents had always dreamt of my marriage and planned for it for years and I did not want to make them compromise on that.
Yes, they could have been just has happy as they are if they hadnt chosen S for me and I had chosen him, but I never know.
Our choices could be the best ones that one could make & our parents could go wrong..but today am happy that I let my parents do that and that is all that matters to them.