The most awkward relationship that exist in this world is this: mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. In western countries this may not be the case as they have nuclear family system, at a very young age children become independent and make their own choices of career or spouse. But in our country India, we still live in a joint family say a family consisting of a father, mother, son and daughter-in-law. Marriage is considered as a very sacred ritual which binds two different families together in a bond of one family forever. But most of the times this doesn't happen, instead of harmony people find themselves in a conflict which generally occurs via conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. People say that it's a story of every household, that it's normal that these two are always at loggerheads with each other. This conflict is age-old, it's believed. That's why nobody tries to solve the problem, nobody wants to know the reason behind the conflict. I've observed many mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws in my family and in my neighbourhood, and I've find a common link between these species.
What I've seen is: a mother-in-law behaves differently with her daughter-in-law as compared to her own daughter and likewise, a daughter-in-law behaves differently with her mother-in-law as compared to her own mother. I think the problem lies in mentality. If a mother-in-law loves her daughter-in-law as she loves her own daughter and a daughter-in-law respects her mother-in-law as her own mother then I don't think there is any chance of conflict ever! The old age thinking that a mother-in-law should keep a distance from her daughter-in-law in order to maintain her authority should be debunked. Then only the two can live together, and if all is well between them then ALL IS WELL!
Let's pray for every mother-in-law and daughter-in-law!
