FINDERS FOR KEEPERS
If you thought matrimonial ads still started off with the ‘Wanted: tall, dark and handsome boy’, Ram Sadhe, who runs Glory Matchmakers in Mumbai, will steer you into the present. “I recently had a lady fill out a form for her daughter, which did not specify how she wanted the prospective groom to look, but had written in big, bold letters: BOY MUST BE FUNNY,” says Sadhe, 50, laughing.
Glory has been forging alliances among Roman Catholics since 2008 and claims to have made 150 matches, but says the game has changed. “Now, I have to find out if the boys on my list are not only trust worthy but also have a funny bone.” Young men seek Kareena Kapoor look-alikes. NRIS walk in with photographs of actresses they want to marry, overestimating the city of dreams. And 70-year-old men come in looking for 50-year-old brides.
Deepika Godiawala, 71, who runs a marriage bureau, Parichay, in Ahmedabad, says that traditional matchmakers are opening up their horizons to accommodate a wider demographic. “We now include categories like young divorcees, widows and widowers, which helps remove the stigma,” she says. She’s found some of them partners too. “That’s where the personal touch comes into play in the matrimonial business.”
Online services may have thousands of profiles you can sift through, algorithms and filters for your every preference. But human matchmakers cast their nets deep, not wide. The process is part-analogue (cupboards of files, arranged by sect and sub-sect) and part-digital (connections on Whatsapp). “I share and collect information about prospective grooms and brides through Facebook,” says Taruni Shroff, who has been helping Gujaratis in Mumbai tie the knot. “But deciding who will be a good match for whom is what my skill and experience is about.” For Mumbai Parsis Marazban, 49 and his wife Jasmine Maney, 46, who operate out of their home in Mahim, matchmaking is a way to help the everdwindling community. Their tools: astrology, numerology and psychology.
“It’s mostly parents who bring their children to matchmakers, because most kids are headstrong about finding their own partners,” says Jasmine. “Instead of forcing them into marriage, we call them home to learn about their personality and aspirations.” It’s worked. Of the