For my final cultural post, I would like to talk about dating/marriage culture in India.
Historically, India relied on an arranged marriage system, where the parents would choose a suitable spouse for their child. This was usually done when their son/daughter was an adult, but there are instances of younger teens being promised for the future.
Currently, the arranged system is still used, but other systems are gaining recognition. One is the "love marriage" system, which is what Westerners consider "normal", and the other is matrimony websites. Love marriage simply means that the couple chose each other based on shared love, instead of based on their parents' recommendations or societal/economic pressure. When I go to India and walk with my fiancé, even then people in public will ask "love-relationship?". Matrimony websites are similar to dating websites, except the goal is marriage! Each candidate enters all pertinent information about themselves (height, weight, age, income, religion, language, etc.) and wait for a "matrimony match"! When they get matched with someone, it doesn't mean they are required to get married, of course. It simply means that they are alerted to a potentially good partner for marriage.
A funny story is that the very evening before my now-fiancé told me he liked me, he had a phone call with a matrimony match. He said she was "not repelling" but he didn't seem too excited. The next day I believe he called her back and called off the match. :)
Comments
This is a fascinating post, Kelly. Arranged marriages are common in many cultures outside of India, as well, and the practice had also been prevalent in the West until only relatively recently, especially in monarchical and aristocratic social structures. How do these matrimony websites determine a suitable match? Have people objected to the metrics by which prospective partners are paired? Are they at all subject to corruption or disingenuous self-reported detail? How do they collect and share data between eligible couples? I would definitely be interested in learning more about the practice, and how these sites have ramifications in all different sectors public life.
Also, congratulations on your engagement and upcoming wedding! Wishing you both a bright, happy, healthy, and loving future!
People often bash the arranged marriage system, but don't always consider that the parents who often arrange it are doing do to secure a good husband for their daughter, to make sure it is a good marriage. I always thought it was only the parents that did the choosing, now it's computers! Technology will never fail to amaze me.
Wow, Kelly, what a story! I knew about arranged and love marriages in India, but I had no idea about the matrimony websites - that's crazy! Also, congratulations! I hope the wedding is all you have imagined it to be!