Here’s a solid, character-driven monologue for an “Indian Aunt” — think of her as the family’s sharp-eyed, loving, slightly-overbearing matriarch who says what everyone else is thinking. She could be addressing a younger niece/nephew, or the entire family at once.
I was twenty-two. I had dreams too. Not of America or an MBA – I wanted to be a singer. On the radio. Can you imagine? Your Auntie, with her bun and her back pain, singing love songs for the whole of Delhi? But life happens. Parents say, “ Shaadi karlo .” Husband says, “ Adjust karo .” Children say, “ Mummy, paratha banao .” And one day, you wake up and your voice is only used for scolding the maid and calling the electrician.
So when I ask you, “When will you get married?” – it is not because I want to trap you. It is because I know the world is hard, and a good partner is a shield. When I say, “Eat more, you are looking like a stick” – it is not about beauty. It is because I have seen girls faint in the office lift from not eating. And when I gossip about the Sharma girl who “ran away with her trainer” – I am not judging her. I am jealous . She had the guts I never did.
(She softens, just a little.)
Here’s a solid, character-driven monologue for an “Indian Aunt” — think of her as the family’s sharp-eyed, loving, slightly-overbearing matriarch who says what everyone else is thinking. She could be addressing a younger niece/nephew, or the entire family at once.
I was twenty-two. I had dreams too. Not of America or an MBA – I wanted to be a singer. On the radio. Can you imagine? Your Auntie, with her bun and her back pain, singing love songs for the whole of Delhi? But life happens. Parents say, “ Shaadi karlo .” Husband says, “ Adjust karo .” Children say, “ Mummy, paratha banao .” And one day, you wake up and your voice is only used for scolding the maid and calling the electrician.
So when I ask you, “When will you get married?” – it is not because I want to trap you. It is because I know the world is hard, and a good partner is a shield. When I say, “Eat more, you are looking like a stick” – it is not about beauty. It is because I have seen girls faint in the office lift from not eating. And when I gossip about the Sharma girl who “ran away with her trainer” – I am not judging her. I am jealous . She had the guts I never did.
(She softens, just a little.)