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Marriage for generations
were made either in the anonymous world of newspaper classifieds
or through traditional family matchmakers. But growing popularity
of Internet is changing all that with cyber media emerging
as the new meeting ground of future spouses. TWF correspondent
Avijit Chatterjee checks out the trend.
Sujata Bhatnagar's high flying job with a multinational bank
in Texas left her with little time to choose a life partner
on her own. She decided to leave the job to her parents, who
tried everything possible to find a suitable groom for their
daughter like advertising in leading newspapers, poring over
the several matrimonial ads and even consulting the family
matchmaker. Then one day, her friends suggested that she try
the matrimonial websites and Sujata was hooked within a month.
"It's just amazing how fast it worked. Within a few
days of posting my profile on a matrimonial website, I received
an interesting email from a guy working as a software engineer
in New Jersey. Soon we started exchanging emails and chatted
long hours on the phone. I fell in love with Amit online before
I met him in person," says Sujata, who exchanged wedding
vows this November.
Matrimonial websites are increasingly turning into a better
option for the GenX in their search for potential mates and
for the NRIs looking for Indian match for their sons and daughters.
And the payoff is certainly big as it provides a global choice
of lakhs of members cutting across age groups, professions,
regions, religions, and communities.
"Online matchmaking is a very cost effective and economical
way of finding a suitable life partner. Customers can access
a wide and varied database of profiles without revealing their
identity. The initial membership for customers is absolutely
free thereby eliminating the barrier to entry for customers,"
says Vandana Assija, spokeswoman of Shaadi.com, which claims
to have two million registered members.
“Also the shelf life of an ad in a website is much more
than in a classified. The profile is displayed for several
months as compared to one day in the case of newspaper classifieds,"
she says.
Adds Sujata," I tell my unmarried friends to search
for life partners on the web sites as it offers a more personal,
interactive and quick way of searching for good matches. "
"I didn't have to spend time and money dating someone.
The only money spent was for a three-month membership and
the phone calls, which followed after I got positive replies
from profiles I had contacted," says Dipak Shah, an automobile
spare parts dealer, who met his wife Deepa while surfing the
Internet during his free time.
Also, he feels that it saves one from the embarrassment of
asking personal questions as profiles posted on the sites
are generally more personalized and detailed, compared to
the newspaper, but he thinks that the "the photos are
really the main attraction”. “I could see some good
photos, and I posted my own photo, too. This made a big difference
compared to the newspaper, where there are no photos."
"The interactivity, accessibility and hence effectiveness
of the online medium make it a preferred medium for finding
a life partner," says Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO, Bharatmatrimony.com,
which started its operations in 1997 with only 4000 members
and now has more than a million members registered with 14
regional portals.
Bharatmatrimony.com has 24-hour online chat support, 22 offices
in India and more than 2300 franchises around the world. Listing
profiles on the Internet is proving to be good business for
these sites. Bharatmatrimony.com charges Rs 950 for three
months. Shaadi.com charges almost same for three months. The
sites categorize profiles according to Indian state, language,
religion, caste, resident and nonresident Indians. There also
is a section for brides and grooms with mental or physical
disabilities. Also a range of services is offered, including
an
Indian wedding planner, Indian marriage rituals, astrology,
wedding directory, beauty advice and fashion articles.
Bharatmatrimony.com has recently launched "matchmaker"
aired on Radio City, Mambai, where individuals can say a few
words about themselves and voice their expectation about their
life partner. Also it is offering matrimony on mobile through
its short code across major GSM service providers.
Shaadi.com claims to receive 20 reported success stories
a day. "From our experience we believe that for every
one member who takes the effort to inform us that they found
their partner through our site there are at least 5 who do
not inform us," says Vandana. Jeevansathi.com, which
has around 50,000 profiles, offers free registration and uploading
of three photographs and personalized matches and contacts.
These sites are proving to be a big draw for expatriates living
in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Since Indian communities living in the United States are
small, families rely on advertising to be their matchmaker.
The web sites offer a more personal, interactive and quick
way of searching for good matches.
Says Arvind Agarwal, whose family has been living in Colorado
for the past 40 years, "These web sites provide a great
service for nonresident Indians. The communication gap barely
exists anymore. I contacted over 200 profiles, then from the
replies I got back, selected about 10 who I kept in touch
with via e- mails/phone calls, and then narrowed it down to
Meeta."
But for every Internet romance that ends in marriage, there
are others that leave a bitter taste in the mouth. "I
think many of the men listed on the sites are not seriously
interested in marriage but are just looking for dates and
are treating the sites as they would one with common personals,”
says Anisha, whose Internet love turned out to be a fraud.
“I think some guys surf the Net and get in touch with
girls just so that they can go out on dates. They are not
serious at all," she says.
Faced with the increasing incidence of fraud, some websites
like bharatmatrimony.com and perfectpartner.com have launched
a system that will enable the members to verify the details
of prospective life partners without revealing their own identity.
Also, a person can have his/her own profile certified.
"Veriprofile is Bharatmatrimony.com’s endeavour
to eliminate the fears of prospective brides and grooms and
help them take the first step towards a delightful journey,"
Mr Janakiraman said.
Veriprofile seeks to verify details like name, age, income,
marital status, address, family background and blood group
A member of our website can verify the details of a prospective
life partner, who is also a member of bharatmatrimony.com
by clicking on the VeriProfile link available on his profile.
The verification agency by making prior appointments will
send their agents to verify the details of the member.
But the identity of the requesting party will not be revealed.
So Internet is a happy hunting ground for the significant
other among the young and not so young Indians.
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