The Big Culture Divide: What Happens When A North Indian Marries A South Indian.

In India, you are asked to love a person's Shaadi.com Profile, her family and then, if any love remains, the actual woman herself. But if Cupid decided to strike you halfway across India, we know you are dreading to think of how the both of you are going to convince your families about your relationship. Worse is, if you are a North Indian, who is in love with somebody from the other end of the country, or vice-versa. We give you a step by step guide of the things you might have to tackle from the day you decide to get married to the time when you have kids!

1. The Wedding Day

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Convincing your parents is only a small part of the big picture. Think about the wedding celebrations! There will be challenges because of the vast cultural differences, the language barrier, family customs and even minor things like food preferences. Let's start with what kind of food has to be served at the wedding? What customs need to be followed? Whether the classic Punjabi combination of Butter Chicken and Daaru would rule the night or the wedding would be a dry affair. Either way, relatives of one side are going to be a disappointed lot!

2. The Language Issue

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Language will continue to be a major barrier in the North-South divide. Imagine the situation where your mother and mother-in-law can't speak to each other because of the language barrier. All they can do to show their regards to each other is by hugging and smiling. Most of the relatives in a North-South marriage cannot talk to the relatives of the spouse. This is a common occurrence at all family functions. And it remains awkward even 10 years from the marriage!

3. The Questions

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The questions are not going to be easy for both of you. If you are the North Indian in the relationship, you will have to explain your choice of having picked a South Indian who doesn't share your family's lifestyle, skin tone, caste, language or state. The South Indian, on the other hand would have to explain the same things including why he/she didn't find someone of his own caste/state worthy enough to love.

4. The Lifestyles

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We listen to Honey Singh. They listen to Ilaiyaraaja. We are loud. They are mellow.

They are super achievers. We are super spenders. Not just geographically and topographically, North Indians and South Indians are miles apart, even lifestyle wise.

5. It's All A Big Fat Compromise

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We all love our families, but it's okay to be a little selfish about our marriage choices. Most families have a problem with inter-community marriages. But if the person you are with is worth fighting it for, then don't give up. After the family realizes, how much it means to you, they will definitely come around.