While the debate is still on whether live-in relationships should be legalised or not, we spoke to television actor Achint Kaur about the kind of repercussions it would carry if it is legalised across the country.
Achint Kaur has been living in with co-actor Mohan Kapur for the past nine years and they are very happy with the kind of comfort level they share in their relationship.
“For Mohan and me, we really don’t have any reasons to justify our relationship. We just found each other compatible and went ahead. We have been staying together for almost a decade and our day-to-day life is like a normal husband and wife,” she says.
Didn’t she give marriage a thought? “Actually, we never bother ourselves with this thought. We are happy in each other’s company and people recognise us as a couple.
There is no urge to get married. One fine morning, we might just get up and say let’s get married,” she says.
Achint has also travelled across India and had spent three years in different areas of Nagaland. She shares an interesting anecdote with us.
“Over there, there is an interesting tradition, which allows a couple to stay in a specially designated fully furnished hut for a month with the consent of both the parties. In this time period, they would be able to decide whether they are made for each other. Whether an yes or no, the decision is respected by the parents and the community alike. I think it is a very progressive tradition,” she says.
The actress feels that if live-in relationships are legalised in India, it would have both its positives and negatives.
About the positives, she says, “I think a lot of situations might get sorted out especially in smaller towns. I know it for a fact that in smaller towns, females are not
allowed to work. And if they are living-in and not working simultaneously, the break-up would lead to a dicey situation for them. In that way, they would be relieved if they get assurance from the law of the land.”
On the negatives, she says, “I think a lot of women would take undue advantage of it. If the woman feels that the relationship is not working out, she might just walk out asking for alimony.”
The actor also feels that the legalisation would make people wary of getting into a relationship. “People would think twice before going for live-in.”
In the end, she doesn’t want to justify a reason for live-ins. “I am no one to judge or pass comments. Period. Every society has a different approach to benchmark what is right and what is wrong. In fact, I don’t even know the reason to comment on why two people live in and why they actually opted for that relationship instead of a traditional marriage. Every relationship has its pros and cons. It all depends on a lot of factors like mindsets of people, situations and how we react to it,” she ends.
m_ranjib@dnaindia.net
