Arranged Marriage via Hindi Matrimony: Is it still traditional?

Arrange marriages are a popular concept in ancient India as well as modern India. Still, it is the most preferred way among the Indians to enter into their marital life in almost every religion and language speaking people. For example, in Hindi Matrimony, an individual matrimonial candidate or their family and relatives decide on a marital candidate who seemed to be most suitable for marrying. Criteria may be different for boys and girls while the selection process is going on. It is a tradition that every Indian from every corner of the nation finds it hard to get apart.

Do Indians still prefer an arranged marriage?

According to various surveys and research results, even in this 2020, around 85% of Indian grooms (or vice versa) prefer marrying a boy (or vice versa) chosen by their parents or relatives, rather than deciding on their own. And, the success rate of arranged marriages is higher than love marriages in this country. So, it can be said that Indian marital candidates prefer to remain obedient to their parents and find it cool to follow their traditions!

Some other marriage surveys reveal that arranged marriages survive longer than love marriages. So, valuing your traditions and listening to your elders is not always a conservative thing to do, right?

The process of arranged marriages in today’s scenario:

Normally Indian matrimony processes are time taking. From the very beginning of finding the perfect life partner to the final occurrence of the ceremony may take a couple of months to a few years. And, this is the continued scenario to date.

In the ancient ages, parents and seniors in the family used to finalize brides or bridegrooms for their children and then carry on every aspect of the process on their own. The responsibility of the marital couples was to be present at the ceremony to get married. And, there used to be a traditional pandit or matchmaker who used to bring the desirable candidates for a wedding.

But today, arranged marriages are mostly turned into arranged-cum-love marriages and this is why couples are having more friendly and comfortable life-long relationships with the blessings of their family members. Let’s dig dip into it. Along with traditional matchmakers, this technology-advanced era brings thousands of candidate profiles into the eyes of parents who are searching for the perfect partner for their children. They together with their children sit and finalize the candidate for the wedding.

Criteria for the suitable match — still the same!

The criteria for finding the right match in an arranged marriage are the same as before. A few major of them are –

• Religion —

when the wedding is getting arranged everyone tries to find his / her match from their similar religion. It is believed that this will smooth their life and needs less adjustment. This preserves the heritage and culture of their religions.

• Caste –

Caste is another major criterion in the row. Every religion such as Hindu, Muslim, Christian, etc. is divided into some castes and sub-castes. So, while a Hindi matrimonial bride is seeking a match, her parents prefer choosing a candidate of the same caste and sub-caste to her who also speaks a similar language. Everything is meant for ensuring better compatibility between the spouses.

• Culture –

The similar cultural background between the two families is also preferred. An orthodox family and an open-minded family do not make the best match. The educational background of the families also a decider.

• Horoscope –

Matching horoscope is an essential part of the matchmaking process arranged by family members. It is a way to assess the compatibility between the two people who are going to tie the knot.

• Professional stature –

This criterion is generally considered by the Indian bride and her family members. The bride wants a stable job of her would-be husband so that they can live a comfortable and secure life together.

• Physical appearance –

People have advanced, technology has innovated, but still skin color of the candidates, especially for the grooms is a major deciding factor for arranged marriages. Also, height, weight and physical disabilities are a few important considerations.

• Engagement –

After horoscopes are matched and the wedding is fixed, an engagement ceremony is organized between the two families of the spouses. It signifies a formal announcement of their match and the shaadi is going to be arranged soon.

Technology-advanced arranged marriages in Modern times:

Previously, arranged marriages were dependent only on the ‘rishtas’ bought by the family matchmaker. They were the responsible heads for bringing the details family backgrounds for the desired candidates of marriage. After having a clean certificate on the characters of the marital candidates, the ‘ghataks’ finally used to visit their clients’ houses.

But today, ‘rishtas’ is not only dependent on the ‘ghataks’. The biggest help is the marriage matrimony sites, which bring options of thousands and lakhs of candidates to marry in front of you within a few minutes. In a gist, websites, portals, and computers can occupy the job of old-fashioned matchmakers.

Criteria for marriages have also changed or modified. In the urban areas today working women are a preferred match. Now, people emphasize values and educational backgrounds in their first meeting. The concept of ‘courtship’ is another important step to the process of knowing each other better the actual marriage takes place.

Conclusion:

So, the moral of the story is, Indians still believe in arranged marriages, but the concept of choosing the life partner is changed. The people who want to get married believe in understanding each other before the actual ceremony takes place.

After all, happiness is all we expect from our marriage!