This quirky title is enough to make many eyebrows go up in dissing me for my espousal of the spouse swap. Breathe easy, my intentions are totally in sync with the dire need to reduce one's carbon footprint by recycling. So let's chant the mantra, ricocheting around the globe, of up-cycling to save the planet in diverse ways.
Why not apply this concept to marriage?
I know the counter question hurled at me by stats-beasts would be that marriage is going out of fashion globally. The wedding vow of 'till death do us part' is so yesterday and 'they lived happily ever after' is a feel good phrase found in fairy tales. Single by choice is a growing demographic.
Even in the Indian patriarchal society there are more single women than at any time in history. According to the Pew Research Centre, 38% of US adults between the ages of 25 and 54 were not married and a similar trend was evident in a study of many other countries. Riding on this wave there is a popular website for merchandise called Happily Unmarried, which aspires to be India's coolest company.
Millennials everywhere are upending the old concept of marriage. From live-in partners to no strings attached attachments, all is possible. The newest threat to matchmaking sites is the concept of 'sologamy' (self marriage). Many non-celebs in India have recently tied the knot to oneself. If that sounds unusual, a 38 year old guy in Japan married a fictional character, Hatsune Mika, a virtual idol. He calls himself fictosexual.
But fear not, I am ideating for some simpatico entrepreneurs to set up a portal for ex-spouses on offer. It could be a brilliant niche for ending jaded relationships by shuffling the cards. Voila! you have a second innings. The site should have services open to all genderfluid combos without bias.
It is also a piece of received wisdom that married people live longer. Hence the abundance of matchmaking sites like Shaadi.com and others. One goes by the intriguing name Footloose No More, which sounds more like a veiled threat of incarceration!
Now one could persist in asking why would a divorced person plunge into another liaison? Once bitten twice shy doesn't apply here, particularly in the celeb world of stars and the starry eyed. Hollywood actress Zsa Zsa Gabor had nine husbands and the storied Liz Taylor was married eight times (twice to Richard Burton). These two could easily be the poster girls for this site and to bring gender parity one can include the Twitter sensation, the much married Elon Musk!
A handful of Bollywood stars have also tied the knot more than once though Indian society remains a tad conservative. So all in all a site for offloading exes could be a winning idea.
P.S. The idea germinated in my mind after seeing an Instagram site that recycles pre-loved Saris. So why not market pre-loved spouses?!
We start a new column 'A Nod and a Wink' by Ushi Kak.