It's time to get a bit of wisdom and perspective from actress and author Shobna Gulati!

In this special episode of The Thing About That, we hear from Shobna Gulati, star of Coronation Street, Dinnerladies and Everybody's Talking About Jamie. She opens up about the expectations of marriage within her Hindu Punjabi family, what her favourite bits of a Hindu wedding are and what happens when your marriage doesn't actually last forever...

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Guest Special length: 34 mins 36 seconds

Marriage expectations within a North Indian family (02:24)

• Cultural pressures added to patriarchal pressures.
• Match-making and rishta. What makes a good match?
• When losing a father pushes you into the arms of a husband too quickly.

Gender specific pressures (09:32)

• Why hasn't the world caught up with the idea that you can be an unmarried woman and secure.
• Expectation to join the Indian Society at university and meet a husband there.

Shobna's favourite hallmarks of a Hindu wedding (12:01)

• Promises around the fire.
• Enormous guest lists of people you don't necessarily know.
• Mehndi ceremonies and beautifying the bride and groom.

What happens after divorce? (19:51)

• Is your identity tied up in your relationship with your husband?
• Sense of injustice and guilt when the marriage didn't work out.
• The idea of a marriageable age.
• Kamala Harris: "I'm speaking now."

The finances of a Hindu wedding (28:20)

• Bollywood productions.
• Dowries.

Punjabi wedding traditions (29:30)

• Girls stealing the man's shoes, like bridesmaid gifts.
• Bringing the family in and joining 2 families together.

And you can find Shobna's book Remember Me? here: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Remember-Me-by-Shobna-Gulati-author/9781788402477

Thank you for listening!