His parents hate me but I love and wanna marry him

Dear Diana,
My life's a mess. I'm 26 now and under immense pressure to get settled in life. My folks are okay with love marriages but they do have expectations from me. I'm in love with this guy and it's going great. For the first time, I am with someone who really makes me happy.

The problem is, he doesn't not want to get married now. Also, his parents hate me. He doesn't earn as much as I do. We don't belong to the same caste either. My parents are liberal enough to allow an inter-caste marriage but we come from different backgrounds (financially) as well.

What's most disturbing, though, is that his parents hate me and have warned their son to break all ties with me and have threatened me as well. In their community, love marriages are not accepted. He has stuck by me this far but I am afraid he won't be able to stand up to his parents. My friends advise me to move on but I am not able to. It's this guy that I want to marry!

Name withheld

Dear Friend,
All problems aside, the biggest thorn in your side is his family. No one can threaten you in the name of love. Tell your boyfriend that you can get by with just him by your side, that it doesn't matter if he earns as much or that the two of you have different backgrounds, it's just his folks that scare you the most. Tell him you are afraid that you might be setting yourself for a lifetime of pain and discomfort should they not accept you wholeheartedly.

How do I get my son to come straight home?

Dear Diana,
My 24-year-old son comes home late from work everyday. He always has a ready excuse, and the day inevitably ends with my wife shouting at him. All my advice falls on deaf ears. How can I ensure that my son comes straight home from work?

NN

Dear Friend,
While you can play tough and lay down the law by telling him to come home at a given time or not at all, I'm guessing you two are more like friends and that you would rather not upset that applecart. But that being said, he's beyond advice now. It's time for action.

Now, she has lost interest in sex

Dear Diana,
I am 35, my wife's 30. We've been married 10 years. We had a great sex life in the beginning and my wife would want to have sex daily but I kept putting it off as it tired me. But for four years now, she has lost interest in sex. I have to go to her if I wanna do it now. We do it once a week. Now she complains of tiredness and body pain. She used to be a great kisser but now she doesn't allow me to smooch her. She works 14 hours a day. I'm losing sleep over this. Do suggest something.

Sachin

Dear Friend,
You say she works 14 hours a day. Isn't that reason enough for anyone to lose interest in sex? You cannot expect her to get between the sheets on demand just because you feel like. She understood your reasons for avoiding sex when you needed the break. Why can't you be as understanding? Try to woo her when the two of you take a week off from work or so. If it has become more of a chore for her now to even kiss you, I feel it is high time the two of you met up with a counsellor to sort out your problems.