BENGALURU: For many of us, our partners are very much part of our social circles. We might have found them within our usual group of friends or acquaintances in the first place, and if not within the circle itself; chances are the partner is well within six degrees of separation of our closest people. In the context of an arranged relationship, it might feel like there is no real connection, but even there, people will typically find someone with some degree of commonality.
When we don’t have too much in common with each other, if and when we separate from each other, it feels like our worlds can quickly drift apart and we each find our own peaceful havens. If one moves to Toronto and the other to Chitradurga, chances are slim that their worlds will collide over and over, making it difficult for both. Practically speaking, we often do not have that luxury to move or change our world.
We breakup and end up still swimming in the same little fishbowl, bumping into each other all the time. Even if temporarily, we stay away from each other, pointedly not going to parties or events where the ex- might be there, sooner or later we will end up seeing each other. We cannot always ask our friends and family to choose one or the other, especially if the breakup occurred in a ‘no fault’ scenario, where neither party had any grievous fault, but simply broke up.
In such situations, friends might sympathise with us and try and keep us apart for a few weeks or even months, but after th.