Why this son married off his mother at 56

A photograph of a woman clad in a bright red saree over a matching blouse with a golden border set right above her elbows and the unmistakable reshmi hirvya silky green glass bangles sandwiched between two gold ones Oblivious to anyone else in the room she looks adoringly into her groomrsquos eyesShersquos Seema actor Siddharth Chandekarrsquos mother who posted the picture on Instagram on August 23 The caption in Marathi read ldquoTuzhe ek svatantra sundar jagh hava hai kadhi lakshyath nahi ga alle majhaya It never occurred to me that you need an independent world of your ownrdquo The post goes on to say how Chanderkarrsquos mother held a grand wedding for him and that today he is glad to return the favour Newly wed at 56 years of age this was probably the most wholesome thing on the Internet that dayWhen we connect with Chanderkar over the phone he sweetly apologises for not getting back to us sooner ldquoI was so busy with the weddingrdquo says the Jimma actor ldquoI just came back to Mumbai and have been trying to catch up with pending workrdquo He is palpably happy at his motherrsquos ldquoSecond Inningsrdquo as he calls ITLeft to right Mitali Mayekar Siddharth Chandekarrsquos wife Seema Chandekar Nitin Mhaswade and Siddharth ChandekarWhen we ask him how the match came about he admits she wasnrsquot too enthusiastic at first ldquoShe was a bit hesitant a little unsurehellip it took a few months of convincing but she came around to the idea soonrdquo Seema was a single parent to Chandekar and his sister Sumedha for 16 years ldquoWhen she got divorcedrdquo he says ldquoit felt like she decided to set looking after herself aside for a while It looked like a very firm and well thoughtout decision on her end which I realised much later in liferdquoA few years ago another realisation hit him when his mother requested to move back to Pune She Chanderkar and his actor spouse Mitali Mayekar Hashtag Prem and Urfi shared a home in Mumbai ldquoShe was cut off from her social circle at home in Sahakar Nagarrdquo her son realised ldquoWhen she said that I felt a stab of guiltmdashI knew she was lonely She wanted someone to talk to She needed companionshiphellip My sister and I had got busier with work and familyhellip I could sense she got lonelier and lonelierrdquoA year ago Chandekar took it upon himself to break the idea to his mother about marrying again and in a few months the motherson began sifting options ldquoWhen I tapped into my network to find someone for Aairdquo he says ldquoI realised there are many organisations that help men and women find someone later in life for the sheer joy of companionship This was the first thing that struck me when I spoke to Nitin Mhasawade Seemarsquos groom I knew it would work because that was one of my primary concerns Why a person wanted to get remarried and that too to aairdquoHe admits to struggling with the thought of his aairsquos second marriage ldquoI was firm that I would not let the phrase lsquoJagh kai bolel What will people sayrsquo even enter my headrdquo he says ldquoI just cut out everyone who might have a negative opinionrdquo Chandekar feels it is vital for those who are alone in the golden years and their children to not listen to anyone else ldquoWhile it might not be not everyonersquos cup of teardquo he says ldquoI appeal to anyone who is alone after losing a partner for whatever reason or their children that if you relate to my mothersrsquo story then give this option a tryhellip at least oncerdquoSeema has been in a good mood for the past 10 days since the wedding reports the dutiful son ldquoWhen I moved to Mumbai and got married she would complain that the number of times I called her in a day had drastically gone down Yesterday I mentioned to her that she has been off the grid for most of the day and her two to three calls per day have dropped to just one in the past weekrdquo he says with a chuckle