High and low tides in a marriage

"Sania says she will quit tennis after marriage," The headlines is on this morning's The Times of India. India's most successful female tennis player Sania Mirza revealed that she will hang up her racquet after getting married.

For centuries, couples in a rush of passion had joined hands, locked eyes and optimistically promised to do impossible things for one another for the rest of their lives.

We had 13 years of high and low tides. On occassions, it was a day at the beach - smooth, sunny and calm. Other times, it was stormy and angry.

There are no marriage manuals. There are no exchanges nor refunds. No lifetime batteries.

We want to believe that marriage is harder now because of the times we live in. But every marriage since the beginning of time has had to contend with the same difficulties. Only the names change.