‘Family comes first’ is a mantra everyone comes to realize sooner or later. When all else fails, family is what comes to your rescue. If you’ve grown up in a joint family, you know that nothing comes in moderation in a huge family. If you’ve ever lived in a joint family or still do, here are things you will definitely relate to.
1. Privacy Is A Myth
There is no concept of privacy in a joint family. Even your thoughts aren’t your own. There will be somebody with you or around you constantly. Forget having a boyfriend because where will you hide to talk to him?!
2. A lot of adjustment
‘Sharing is caring’ is a saying that has been drilled into you since forever!! You learn to adjust from a young age. A joint family has all sorts of characters – some that you like a lot, some not so much but you learn to adjust and compromise with all of them since you live together.
3. Party All Night
Life is a huge party when you’re living in a joint family. You never feel the need to leave the house and go for a party because there are always enough people around you to have an impromptu dance party.
4. Never Ending Food
You’ll never go hungry in a joint family. In fact, quite the opposite will happen. You’ll always be overfed by all the chachis, buas and taijis. So if mummy is not at home, that will never be an issue!
5. Permission To Leave
When you need to go somewhere, taking permission from your parents is never the problem. You need to take permission from everyone, including your grandparents, uncles and aunts. Have fun answering all those questions!
6. School Woes
All your teacher and friends know you live in a joint family because chances are that all of your cousins were in the same school as you too! You can’t live down any of their suspensions or gold medals!
7. Gossip Girls!
The amount of gossip that goes around in a joint family is endless. With the number of family members, extended family and relatives, the sheer volume of gossip that you get rises exponentially. And all of it is hilarious and SO entertaining, by the way!
8. Cousins First!
The saying ‘cousins are your first friends’ holds true for you. You really cannot differentiate between real siblings and cousins because you’ve lived with them for so long. Also, there is a high chance you get along better with one of your cousins than you do with your real sibling.
9. One Too Less!
You are NEVER allowed to buy just one item of something when you’re out shopping. If you happen to have a cousin of the same age group and gender, then you’ll have to buy two of everything. If you come back with one, then according to joint family rules, you need to share – which is a nice way of saying it belongs to her now!!
10. Endless Jokes
You’re a constant butt of jokes, just like everyone else in the family. It is almost a tradition to make fun of family members and everyone is really sporty about it!
11. Elaborate Affairs
Family dinners and functions are a grand, Sooraj Barjatya-esque affair with endless dancing, eating and laughing. Also, it is absolutely necessary for everyone to be there otherwise the taunts can last a lifetime!
12. Free Therapy
Chances are that you’ll be close to at least one person in the family who you will be able to share all your problems and secrets with. This person will be your best friend, secret keeper and therapist – all in one!
13. Bullies Be Gone
Nobody ever dared to mess with you when you were younger or for that matter even now because everybody knew that you had a support system (read: cousins) who would fight anybody who troubled you.
14. Team Work
You’ve been a pro at team work since childhood because of the sheer number of people you need to work and deal with at a daily basis. Plus, your communication skills are also better than most of your peers considering the variety of people you interact with.
15. All for one and one for all
The unity in a joint family is unmatched. Everyone is everybody else’s support system. We learn to work, function and even think like one unit instead of individuals. #WeAreFamily
