Bava Maradalu - has your opinion changed on how you viewed this after moving to the West

[Tyrannosauraus_Rex]

Being born in a typical and regular Telugu family - naaku varasaki maradallu ayyevallu unnaru. 

Ikkada unna varandaru - I am guessing chaala varaku Telugu valley kaabatti - I don't need to explain this relationship. 

Irony enti antey - maamulugu aadavallatho maatladalantey ibbandi ga feel ayye abbailaki - ee relationship oka pedda varam. Because it essentially is a ready made relation setting wherein you can at least start freely conversing with them.

It can be anywhere from pure conversations, innocent flirting to full blown relationships resulting in marriages.

Our movies have historically highlighted these relationships as part of generating intense family drama (Ninne Pelladutha comes to mind).

But obviously in other parts of India (especially North of India) and of course in the West - this romantic angle in cousin relationships is looked down upon with an element of disgust.

As quoted above one of the reasons Ninne Pelladutha was a flop in Hindi is due to this reason. They essentially saw it as a sister and brother falling in love.

I had a super tough time explaining to my wife about the various nuances in these cousin relationships. Till date she cannot understand why my Babai's daughters culturally are sisters but not the daughters of my Dad's younger sisters - who happen to be younger than me. Of course I had to explain her the entire history surrounding - how these were invented to keep the family property within the same family compound etc.,

Naaku annayya varasa ayye athani intiki vellanu konnela kritham. Athani ki iddaru koothurlu unnaru - iddaru ikkadey putti perigaaru. They obviously also see all cousins in the vein of sisters and brothers.

Sarey ippudu ikkadiki move aina taruvaatha - did I change how I view my female cousins today? No, ippatiki vallu maradalley and they do call me bava.

 

Meelo evarikaina maradallu unnara? Untey vallani chinnapati nunchey alagay chusara leda have you treated them as sisters?

 

Also if you happen to have your own kids who are born here in the US - how do you describe these relationships? Is it in the Western cultural setting where everyone is a cousin or do you maintain and expound on the difference between various female cousins - vis-a-vis some who are simply sisters and some who - for lack of English word -as maradallu.

 

 

 

 

[idibezwada]

inthaki mee wife aa planet nunchi bro?