Ideal marriage, chapter one

Located on outskirts of Bhopal, in Bairagarh township that has a sizeable Sindhi population is a school for women — one with a differen...

Located on outskirts of Bhopal, in Bairagarh township that has a sizeable Sindhi population is a school for women — one with a difference. The Manju Sanskar Kendra offers a three-month course on ‘‘art of being adarsh bahus (ideal daughters-in-law)’’.

Founded in 1987 by Bhau Ayaldas Hemnani, a retired government servant, more than 4,500 women have ‘‘graduated’’ from here.

As part of the three-month course, the students spend the first month learning gurbani in the Gurmukhi script and Hindu scriptures. Another month is spent on learning naturopathy and in the third, everything about grihasth jeevan (domestic life) is taught.

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‘‘My sister-in-law inspired me to join the course. She is the ideal bahu,’’ says Kavita Devnani, one of the 10 students taking the course.

While the school is quite popular, it is difficult to imagine how some of the lessons taught can actually be put into practice. Sample this on ‘‘Conduct in Married Life’’. ‘‘Intercourse is allowed but only for conception.’’ Surely there would be many who do not agree.

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