Arpita Acharya

“Mummyji, however, is stuck at Mughal-e-Azam. She has raised her daughter to be independent and liberal, because that was the cue she got from others around her. She thinks of the freedom she allows her daughter as a short vacation.”
― Veena Venugopal, The Mother-in-Law: The Other Woman in Your Marriage

“Daughters-in-law who expect to live modern, post-liberalized lives are finding themselves stuck with pre-liberalized Mummyjis.”
― Veena Venugopal, The Mother-in-Law: The Other Woman in Your Marriage

“If ‘adjust’ were an Olympic sport, India would be assured of a gold medal.”
― Veena Venugopal, The Mother-in-Law: The Other Woman in Your Marriage

“Recently, I watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory. One of the characters, Howard—an astrophysicist—is in space. His new bride, Bernadette, convinces him that it would be best if they lived by themselves when he comes back to earth and not with his loud, annoying mother. Howard agrees. He’s too scared to take ownership of the decision, so he pitches it to his mother like it was his wife’s idea. The mother yells so loud, she barely needs any equipment to be heard in space. Howard dutifully tells her that he will convince Bernadette and they’ll live with her. When Bernadette calls, he doesn’t have the, er, balls, to tell her the truth either. So he tells her all is well with the move. His counterpart, a Russian astronaut, cannot believe his country lost the Cold War to wusses like Howard. When he asks him what he plans to do, Howard has only one option. He’ll stay in space. Earth is where there are problems between his wife and mother. He’s safe in space. He’s not the only one. The world is full of conflicted husbands wishing they could be in space and”
― Veena Venugopal, The Mother-in-Law: The Other Woman in Your Marriage