But given that (spoiler) none of the couples matched on the show lasted beyond its run time or ended up together, it goes to show what we already knew: love is a gamble.īut don’t take my word for it. There is also some value in matching people with similar cultural backgrounds, interests and life goals. Along with the evolving cultural landscape are the views of families who have tried to undo the problematic aspects of the tradition, much like we see on the show. This isn’t to say arranged marriages as a concept is evil. Arranged marriages in India often function like a business transaction: the couple typically belong to the same religion, caste, social strata, and are matched based on their astrological birth charts and their collective (mostly the woman’s) ability to “adjust”. But this is in no way a marker of a successful formula of love. This should be enviable, especially to countries like America, where close to 50 per cent of marriages end in divorces. The country currently ranks the lowest in terms of divorce rates in the world. (New couples will often be gifted a car or apartment by the bride’s parents.)Įven today, 90 per cent of marriages in India are arranged. There is also the question of dowry, which, although officially outlawed in 1961, has persisted in creative ways within arranged set ups. ![]() These comments are hardly uncommon and mirror multiple matrimonial ads in local newspapers all shamelessly demanding a “fair, flexible, homely and cultured bride” for their sons. My parents, luckily, were a little more supportive of my ambitions, which stretched further than being a good housewife. The mostly frequently parroted responses by my moderately conservative Indian relatives centered around cooking, staying out of the sun for a “fair skin tone”, and preserving my chastity, if you will, to land a good match. Until I rigidly put my foot down a few years ago, a chunk of my young adult life growing up in India played out like a gendered training course of sorts to condition me into being a suitable bride. But its efforts to dodge the uncomfortable realities of a tradition rooted in a cultural web of misogyny, colourism and casteism hasn’t gone unnoticed. The show has successfully ticked a lot of boxes in its portrayal of modern arranged marriages. While most were wonderfully fascinated by this seemingly off-kilter alternative to dating apps, others simply ridiculed its often obnoxious characters. ![]() Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking – and its surface-level attempt to provide insight into arranged marriages in India – has triggered a range of reactions on the internet.
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