Bengaluru: My novelist friend Sreemoyee Piu Kundu is regular with her Facebook posts and updates. One such update was a quote of a woman who lives alone in Chennai where she talks about the difficulties she faces in her everyday life, owing to her single status. She is one of the many she has quoted in her yet-to-be published book on single women in India.

Is it still as hard as it used to be? “Perhaps yes, perhaps no. I am not sure what the right answer is. The level of suspicion and interference of family and neighbours were very high earlier. The woman had to face some kind of ostracisation but it is equally bad, because, the gaze of men and predators has become worse,” says Ayesha Banerjee, a 50-year-old fashionista, happily living as single in her own plush apartment.

Though many will talk about how difficult it is to be single, they still thank their stars as the trend is catching on. “Earlier, single women were unheard off. It was rare to find single women by choice. Now, women are choosing to stay single and happy rather than be in a stuckup marriage. Women are earning well, and making their life choices. So, it doesn’t cause as much shock as it used to be,” says Suhita Roy, Creative Writer.

“I am a single women, but not out of choice. I had to look after my ailing parents, so didn’t have the time to look after myself. It is scary to live alone in a metro city. Because, by default, you will attract many eyeballs. Your neighbours will spy on you, if they know you are single,” she say.

Expressing the same angst, Anu Verma, an HR, says, “We have evolved as a society. We are emulating the West. But some very Indian qualities; that of matchmaking, trying to find out if something is wrong, will never go. She will have to face public scrutiny.”