Shyam Sharma’s marriage request in the Times of India’s classified section reads more like an eye chart than a matrimonial advertisement: SM/KKB invited 4 PQM earning 15 LPA.
Acronyms aside, Sharma is a professionally qualified match earning 15 lakhs (US$30,000) per annum seeking a suitable match who belongs to the Kanya Kubja Brahmin caste. To the untrained eye, the matchmaking vernacular that floods the matrimonial pages of Indian newspapers every Sunday can seem puzzling.
But for the lonely hearts — or their parents — who regularly pore over these ads, each detail, no matter how trivial, could potentially make or break an alliance. Personal ads cover every aspect of a person’s life that is considered important in India — religion, caste, profession, family status, dietary habits and skin complexion — which ranges from “fair” to “wheatish” to “very dark” in this color-conscious nation.
Even intimate details about whether or not an annulled marriage has been consummated are not off limits to people desperately seeking a partner. Fifteen hundred rupees (US$30) later, Sharma — whose advertisement describes him as a “V. h’some, fair, tall and smart boy” — says he has received a few responses from women who fit the ideal image.
“I have some figure in my mind and I want a girl according to that only,” the 28-year-old teacher said as he rolled off a list of requirements. “My height is 5’11” so at least I want a height of 5’4” and fair color and the features should be sharp and they should be beautiful. And for education, at least she should be a graduate.”
Any prospective spouse should be no older than 26, he said, considered a ripe age for settling down in India. Many families who opt for traditional arranged marriages choose to tap into their network of friends and acquaintances before turning to matchmaking services, viewed as a last resort for those who have weak family connections or have been overseas for some time.
“We have a very small family and we don’t have good social contacts and that’s why I’ve placed an ad,” he said.
Within the lucrative matchmaking industry, newspaper advertisements have emerged as the medium of choice for families who are not quite Internet savvy, even if they limit the scope of potential matches.
“A profile posted in a matrimonial classified column only gives one access to potential matches in one’s local area, which leads to narrow search results,” said Gourav Rakshit, business head at shaadi.com, one of the most popular matrimonial sites for South Asians worldwide.
Joycelin Jose, head of the matrimonial classified section of the Hindustan Times, said the paper’s clientele was “a mixed bag, cutting across socio-economic groups.”
“There are loads of people who come to us to find a match because they find it more reliable,” she says.
A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses. The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the Strait on Friday morning, ship-tracking data show. However, the same tanker was also recorded as having beached at an Indian demolition yard in October last year, where it is being broken up, according to market participants and port agent’s reports. The ship claiming to be Jamal is likely a zombie vessel that
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT: US President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, strangling the Caribbean island’s already antiquated grid Cuba’s national electric grid collapsed on Monday, the nation’s grid operator said, leaving about 10 million people without power amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the already obsolete generation system. Grid operator UNE on social media said that it is investigating the causes of the blackout, the latest in a series of widespread outages that last for hours or days and that this weekend sparked a rare violent protest in the communist-run nation. Officials ruled out a major power plant failure, but had still not pinpointed the root cause of the grid collapse, suggesting a problem with transmission. Officials said that
CONSERVING FUEL: State institutions are to operate only four days a week starting tomorrow, with the measures also applying to schools and universities Sri Lanka on Monday announced a shorter working week to conserve its scarce fuel reserves as it prepares for a prolonged war in the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about 20 percent of global exports pass in peacetime, has been effectively closed by Iran in retaliation over the US and Israeli war against it, now in its third week. Sri Lankan Commissioner-General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi said state institutions would operate only four days a week starting tomorrow. The new austerity measures would also apply to schools and universities, and would remain in place indefinitely. “We are
RSS