Re: Love marriage
I've seen situations where boys have liked a certain girl and the parents have said 'no way' and the boys have basically married parents choice just to please them even tho there isn't an ounce of attraction or chemistry and then gone on with seeing their gfs behind their poor wife's (and parents) back. Imo some parents can be quite naive in that they think that kids that have grown up in the West and have had a completely different upbringing are basically the same and think the same way they do, that even if they aren't happy with a potential match they should marry and just get on with it to keep people happy and hopefully fall in love as time goes on and if they don't well that's just life. A lot of us born and raised in the West just aren't conditioned to that of thinking and it can lead to a lot of bitterness and resentment towards parents in the long run.
Imo best thing for ur friend to do would be wait till Mum comes round, could take months, could take more than a year but if he really loves the girl would be be worth it and altho the parents don't always come round as time ticks by most desi parents will back down. If he talks a lot about her they should realise it's a serious thing and not a matter they can just forget about or just brush under the carpet and pretend it's not there. If it was a girl u were talking about I would say tell her to 'dig her heels in.' I think it's quite sad that 'love' is almost like a dirty word in some communities and seen as a negative.
And in response to fbi786 parents don't **always **know best, that's a very dangerous view to have. Look how many desi parents will turn a potential son/daughter in law down purely on what job they do or don't do, they don't come from the same part as 'back home' as them, girl/boy isn't fair skinned enough or not attractive in their eyes, not the right 'caste' or ethnicity and other rubbish oh and of course those dodgy ones from back home who just have ££ signs in their eyes and will basically give their daughter/son to anyone with a British or US passport.