An ideal combination. A good career, a great husband and a mess-free life. But with no compromises... The generation of today has no qualms. They are focussed and clear-cut in their plans..." And what if you meet an interesting guy in the meantime who wants to get married right away?" This was the clever reply: "Too bad. If he loves me, he'll wait." !

The so-called age for marriage is slowly being pushed upwards as more and more young women of today want a career, financial independence and then marriage. Till then, she's quite happy being a single woman. Of course if by then she hasn't met a man she has liked, then she continues to remain single, quite often and much to her family's disbelief, quite happy to remain single.

A mother says about a conversation she had with her two daughters regarding marriage: " I gingerly called up my elder daughter who was studying in America and told her "I think it is time I started looking for boys and you should be settled at the right age." "Right age," she screamed" and pray who decides the right age, you." She screamed so loudly that it was as though I was not talking long distance but to someone in the next room. When she called up her second daughter this was the reply: "Too much work and too much responsibility, in a marriage," said she"and why should I get married when one can have all the fun without marriage." "Beta, are you ready to get married?" I said all honey and sugar and spice. "That is the tone I adopt when I have to deal with my Libran daughter." the mother says... "No mom," she laughed "why don't you get married. I think dad and you are really bored with each other," and she giggled devilishly on the phone.

With more and more women deciding to marry only after they have settled down in their careers, the marriage age seems to be more and more flexible. What is the correct age to tie the knot for a woman? Early 20s or early 30s? Or later?

As for men, they seem to think they dont need to marry to get what they want. They would like to wait till they have a few bucks in the bank... in fact men who marry later may be more financially stable and emotionally mature but late marriages makes them lousy at making the compromises that help a marriage get over the rough spots... says a survey. The fear of failure also may be a reason for them to delay their marriage or probably they want to enjoy the single life for a long time.

What is then the right age for men for their first trip to the altar?

HPriya Sivan