Age is just a number for 60-year-old Sultana Abdullah, a retired Air India hostess who is looking for a suitable groom for herself. While many constantly debate about the right age to get married, 60-year-old Ms Abdullah is showing us that ‘marriageable age’ is an antiquated idea.
A lot of us might think that an independent, self-sufficient woman who has enjoyed a stellar career might not need anything else in life. But the truth is, we all seek companionship.
With her own apartment in a posh central Delhi locality Sultana states she did not meet anyone fit to be her husband in the past and now wants to marry a bookish romantic handsome man. Even after serving as an air hostess for more than 30 years, she rues that nobody could impress her.
Sultana wants her groom to have certain qualities. Some of them include ‘common sense, pride in Indian heritage while also possessing western sensibilities, and a happy balance of liberal and conservative instincts’. She added that her prospective husband should also be fond of good music and must refrain from talking politics on the dining table. Also, he should be sufficiently prosperous to take care of his own comforts ‘at least’. For her, a man with children and grandchildren is a bonus for she likes extended families because ‘they’re great fun’.
While religion doesn’t matter for Sultana being a Parsi would be an advantage. Sultana has lived in Bombay for 18 years and since Air India was founded and nurtured by Parsis, she has a special attachment towards the clan. Also, men with safari suits, paunches and hair colour must refrain from making proposals, she has stated.
Sultana has said she has a ‘wicked sense of humour’. Her other qualities include- in her own words- ‘unfailing loyalty to friends’ and the fact that ‘I check my email only once a month’.
She has described her lifestyle as ‘lavish’. She goes to Paris for haircuts, Rome for shoes, Nairobi for spices and Wenger’s for sandwiches. Although she got married once many years ago in London but in her own words, ‘the wedding lasted longer than the marriage’. She has been single since her last relationship which ended three years ago.
PNN