Note: Thanks to many of you for your responses.
Here is another story, hope you enjoy.
I am Raja, I have a family of my wife, Rukmini, and two kids, everything is normal at home, only thing different from normal is the mother of my children is also my mother.
I was 18 at the time, my mother was 37, having been married as soon she was 18 as the tradition was during those days where a girl was married as soon as she was eligible. My father left her before I was even born, and she just ended up being cursed for it. She was forced to live alone, her parents sent her money to live by, but would not let her back into their home for fear of incurring the community's wrath. My mother raised me in these circumstances and I grew adoring her strong self inspite of all these difficulties and not having an education to support her. As I grew older , I wanted to help women who were victims of these social circumstances to resettle in their lives. Men, whose wives left them could easily remarry, but women had to live with it their entire life. This bothered me seeing my mother suffer by herself trying to raise me. My opinions about these got stronger and stronger and I used to voice the same to anyone who would listen. My mother was proud of me for that and would encourage me.
I asked her if she wanted to marry anybody and she said she did not have that interest in anyone and thanked me for asking her. "You are my life, my dear son, I am so proud you want these things for everybody, but as for me, I am quite content now," She used to reply to me. I used to tell her "You would be a good catch even now, mom". My mom would just smile back and tell me "Let's see whom you catch," and tell me to do my work. I admired mom for the way she handled everything. I would wish for a woman like her to come into my life.
I used to smile at the thought and smile back at her.
Mother used to smile back saying I was a little naughty and used to pat me on the back, saying her handsome son will get a lovely woman. We used to flirt lightly, of course I did not know whether mother had such thoughts!!
There was a young woman in our village whose husband had left her and she lived alone, and another man who had fallen in love with her. Both of them wanted to be with each other and get married. The village elders used to frown upon these kind of things and they knew they had a very little chance of success in their love lives. I was 18 at the time and they knew I was sympathetic to their cause, they asked for both my help and my mother's help, mother was sympathetic to their cause and promised we would help them and asked me to help them. I started telling everyone in the village, they should get married and we should help them do that, this way both of them will be happy. These only infuriated the village leaders and they called me and warned not to spread these thoughts, otherwise they would make me pay for my actions. I cared a damn, knowing fully well, I would be in trouble, my mom also encouraged me.
Finally, tired of me making trouble for them, they called a meeting and told me, I should stop doing all these things as it was against the traditions, and that it is fate that such things happen and I should not be tempting fate.
"But you cannot destroy a person's life for no fault of theirs," I retorted.
"This village traditions cannot be broken, and she must have been bad for this to happen to her" They replied.
"What if it happened to any of your daughters or sisters?" I asked
"They are not bad for this to happen to them" they replied mocking at me.
"All of you are playing with others, this is not right."
I told them.
"Dont preach to us, why don't you get married to the so many abandoned women?" they asked.
"I will marry a abandoned woman only," I said.
"So you think you are a saviour?" They asked again.
"No, I just do want to make it difficult for people who suffer for no fault of theirs" I said
"You are just a bad seed, like your mother" They shouted at me.
I was so angry and shouted "You are all idiots who think you know everything"
"Why don't you get your mother married, then we will let this couple married," They said mocking me knowing my mother had said publicly she did not want to be married.
My mother listening to this, came to my rescue.
"I am ready to get married now," she said.
"Thank you mother," I said.
"What do you elders say?" I asked them now.
"First get her married, then we will see," they said
"Who is willing to be married to my mother?" I shouted addressing the crowd.
I saw everyone silent, including some of the men who had shown interest in her , but feared the leaders' wrath. I was so angry at their response.
"Well, it seems like nobody will marry her," they told me.
"I will get her married to some other person in a different town," I said
They started laughing, "Yes, you will , where they don't know your mother's history."
I was pissed at them for saying this "What is your problem?"
"Get her married to some one from this village and we will let this couple marry," They replied.
None of the faces in the crowd was up as I searched their faces. As I kept my face not knowing how to resolve the situation and getting more and more angry at each instant.
"Only you are left," One of the leaders said coming near my and lifting my face.
I pushed him aside and announced "I will marry her."
All the people were completely shocked, the leaders looked at one another and started whispering amongst themselves.
"He wants to marry his own mother, he is going to destroy his own life and hers, let him do what he wants, at least we will be rid of him, everyone will lose respect for him" They came to an understanding.
"We have no objection, but have you asked the bride?"