Picture this - a young girl bearing trays of sojjis and bajjis towards an awkward and gawky young man flanked by his hyper-critical relatives. The sojjis are eaten as are the bujjis, small talk is conducted (and probably big talk too), and finally the all-important decision is made - It's a yes from both sides.
If you are anything like me, the gawky young man will want to drag you to meet everyone he has every exchanged a word with who happened to be in the city on that day. Which was fine, except that he hadn't the remotest idea how to introduce me - this is my, my, my...
We thought at the time that there was no word coined to describe who I was at that moment in time, not a fiance, certainly not a girlfriend, not even a friend yet come to that!
But we were wrong, there is a word - well, not really a word, it's just a modal auxiliary paired with a verb, not even strictly grammatically correct, but it exists.
Would-be: The pair of words that has so much hope buried in it - One day we 'would be' friends, lovers, fiances, spouses - not today, not yet, but someday. It is an expression that doesn't exist in any dictionary anywhere else in the world, but here where a marriage follows this trajectory...
1. Can be: Relatives, aunts, uncles, and grandparents exchange horoscopes of relatives of relatives of relatives hoping against hope that somewhere somehow a pair of horoscopes will fall in love.
2. Maybe: The horoscopes are all set and all the mathematics, economics, astronomy, geography, and history make sense, but boy needs to meet girl...
3 Would be: Yes, wedding bells will ring - and in some months they 'would be' man and wife.
4 Is: Wedding happens after a great deal of hullabaloo with invitations that never made it through the post, several lost items, and sleepless nights
5. Has been: Well, everything must come to an end whatever that end may be even when the relatives, horoscopes, and the people in question fell in love at one time...
For all those occasions where things don't go as planned, it gives a new spin on those reminiscences of the life that 'might have been'.
If you are anything like me, the gawky young man will want to drag you to meet everyone he has every exchanged a word with who happened to be in the city on that day. Which was fine, except that he hadn't the remotest idea how to introduce me - this is my, my, my...
We thought at the time that there was no word coined to describe who I was at that moment in time, not a fiance, certainly not a girlfriend, not even a friend yet come to that!
But we were wrong, there is a word - well, not really a word, it's just a modal auxiliary paired with a verb, not even strictly grammatically correct, but it exists.
Would-be: The pair of words that has so much hope buried in it - One day we 'would be' friends, lovers, fiances, spouses - not today, not yet, but someday. It is an expression that doesn't exist in any dictionary anywhere else in the world, but here where a marriage follows this trajectory...
1. Can be: Relatives, aunts, uncles, and grandparents exchange horoscopes of relatives of relatives of relatives hoping against hope that somewhere somehow a pair of horoscopes will fall in love.
2. Maybe: The horoscopes are all set and all the mathematics, economics, astronomy, geography, and history make sense, but boy needs to meet girl...
3 Would be: Yes, wedding bells will ring - and in some months they 'would be' man and wife.
4 Is: Wedding happens after a great deal of hullabaloo with invitations that never made it through the post, several lost items, and sleepless nights
5. Has been: Well, everything must come to an end whatever that end may be even when the relatives, horoscopes, and the people in question fell in love at one time...
For all those occasions where things don't go as planned, it gives a new spin on those reminiscences of the life that 'might have been'.
Amazing one !
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