for years now, i have been loving all the novels, dramas and films with the central theme - husband & wife. this sensation has become my source of interest as i've always dream about what it is like to live a married life. those days seems far away for me now to be true but it never stop my passion to read or view work of such theme. once a friend said that i like those stuffs simply because i like 'cinta suci'. haha~ perhaps that is true. i am always eager to find out how two people figure out their differences to dwell on together. and now the issue, married because of love or married without love and grow it over time? those are the key factor that made the whole story interesting. it revolves around how two people forced into a loveless marriage and later on they fall in love. it is kind of a cliche actually since malay novels tend to have that as framework for the plot development. nonetheless, i still like each and everyone of them. hehe. yes, they may have the same framework like all hindi movies, but the causes and situations make the difference.

this is not strange because it has been a practice for our ancestors during the old times. arranged marriage is a norm back then. most of the couple barely know each other but agreed to get married and live a life together for convenience and a large number of them stay together until old. perhaps they managed to find love on the way? however, this is rare to be happening nowadays since most young people have the freedom to choose whomever they want to be married to. for many, it is a norm to experience love before marriage. they be friends first, love and then get married. some may stick to the old way especially those who view love before marriage is forbidden. or some simply do not know how to flirt and want to straight away go into marriage. hmmm.. wonder which category i will be in?? haha

some story may have one-sided love meaning that there is only one spouse that really love the other and yet they are not considered as a loving couple since the other side doesn't feel the same way until way later.

here is a number of novels with such theme and they will always be my favourite.

1. cemburu seorang perempuan
- a story about two best friends, zik & dhiya' trying to adjust to their new relationship as husband and wife.

2. angin dingin dari utara
- nabila Amin & nashrique, the two got married without knowing or seeing each other but love each other once they met.

3. the magic of ordinary days
- livvy got pregnant after a one-night stand and her father married her off to a farmer, ray, who loves her despite her condition.

 5. perempuan tanpa dosa
- similar to livvy, lily is unexpectedly pregnant before marriage and Rizal became the 'pak sanggup'. the difference from the above novel is that both spouses don't love each other for a while.

6.ombak rindu
- arranged marriage again between taufik and country bumpkin salina to pay his father's gratitude to hers. people deem this one as an all-time favourite and a must-read to all novel readers.

and some dramas and films too.

1. the magic of ordinary days
- the film version of the novel. equally interesting. my all-time fav. =)

2. the painted veil
- a motion picture version of the classic novel where walter marry kitty even though she doesn't love him back. they fought so much and love blossoms quite late. tragic ending.

3. hum dil de chuke sanam
- nandini married vanraj when her heart belongs to other man. vanraj's strong love shown through out the effort of returning nandini back to her lover made nandini change her mind. happy ending.

4. wedding
- Korean drama series in which sena falls deeply for seungwoo and they got married despite the one-sided love. very compelling drama.

5. love comes softly
- recently widowed marty married clark out of survival and found love later on.

6. just married
- arranged marriage through the indian custom and just the insight of what the initial step in living with a stranger during their honeymoon. abhay and ritika learn to love each other in the end.

every one of them are indeed beautiful. you know more? why don't you name them? ;-)