BHOPAL:

at the family court are puzzled by a strange case that has come their way. A couple — married for around 10 years — is facing problems over

. Unlike other cases, where one spouse is troubled by another’s drinking problem, the husband in this case is asking the wife to start drinking at family gatherings and parties, like the rest of his family members.

“This is a very strange case and it is really for the first time that I have heard of something like this. The family is a middle-class family, not very wealthy and the man has a private job. The whole family of the man, including his mother, father, siblings, aunts and cousins, all like to drink at social gatherings, while the wife does not drink. It was fine at first, but slowly they started asking her to drink to give them company at gatherings. She refused and that is when the fight started,” said counsellor Shail Awasthi.

The counsellor also told TOI that the couple was not newly-wed and have three children from their marriage, aged 9, 6 and 4. They have been fighting since the time they got married, but are now seeking counselling as the problem has started getting bigger every passing day.

“The wife used to take her kids and go to her mother’s place whenever they had an argument about this matter. She has refused to even touch alcohol as no one in her side of the family drinks. But she doesn’t ask the husband to give up as she realizes that it was a part of his family culture. But the in-laws are not ready to accept that she only takes juices and soft-drinks at parties,” said Awasthi, adding, “As the years went by, the tension started growing as the mother-inlaw also drinks and asks the daughter-in-law to give her company. But when she refuses, everyone gets upset.”

The woman told the counsellor that she did not like to have liquor and did not want her children to think of her as an alcoholic.

The couple then decided to seek counselling as the matter was getting out of hand as neither party is willing to compromise. The counsellor is trying to explain to the husband and his family not to force the wife to drink if she doesn’t like it.