It might be my eyesight, but I hardly spot any handsome hunk in weddings these days (I wouldn’t know about those eyeful eves, of course). Most of the macho men, they tell me, have been moved to foreign pastures.

Wedding ceremonies used to be a lot of fun. The relatives you never got to see for most of the year, you came across in marriage parties. And there was no shortage of matches for girls either. As things stand,

all my relatives (and the far and fair ones) of my age group have literally vanished. One day they are seen in marriage parties worrying about their future, the next day you might hear that they are packing up or have already flown away.

Imagine a marriage gathering ten years down the line. There will be plenty of old folks around, interrupted occasionally by the “returnees” who may remember their land of origin when their lonely and lowly existence in the lands of opportunity begin to pinch them. There are no dearth of the guys who look to make merry in Madison, but get married in their Motherland. And the offeres advertised for a match for all descriptions of US returnees of either sex will multiply. And Hey Presto! A thousand proposals come knocking.

Gone are the days when girls shopped around for doctors and engineers. Those in high demand these days are those punks who can get you to the Promised Land. What does it matter if he shines spoons in San Francisco or tends toilets in Texas!

The boy is quick to remind one and all that no job is high or low out there. The eyes of the statue of liberty do not differentiate between a dumpster and a doctor. Everyone is equal (even if some are more than others). At the end of the day, if you land up with ten times more money than many in your circle, why should anybody make a fuss over your education and job?

Perhaps I had now start hunting for my best man myself. But the shortage of the most eligible bachelors over here may be a serious problem given the rate of migration of youth from Nepal.

But if they cannot come over, why shouldn’t I go instead? The land of Gold Rush does not hold me spell-bound at all. But you can’t expect me to remain an old maid, either, can you?