Confessions of a Matrimony Service Provider

“Some clients are delusional about their personality and looks, and get offended when we match them with similar people.”

Matchmaking is the toughest job in the world. Everyone comes to us looking for the perfect man or perfect woman. It is hard to wean them away from preconceived notions of a tall, dark, handsome man or a fair, cherubic damsel. Some even come with a wish list and expect me to find someone like that. One infotech professional wanted us to look for a woman with a Roman nose, dimpled chin and peaches-and-cream complexion. I somehow found five such women, but he rejected every one.  

It is still easy to talk to suitors. It is the parents who take a bit of convincing. They all have notions about how the ideal Indian bride should look or behave. I have known parents rejecting prospective brides on account of the kind of shoes she wears: “High heels hai toh model type hogi. Hamaari family mein kaise fit ho paayegi.” (She wears high heels, must be a model. How will she fit in with our family?) We sometimes get hate mail from some of them asking us for a refund for misleading them through our ads. But this lot forms only 1 to 2 per cent of the applicants.

There have been some instances when people have registered simply to find a date or short-term relationship. However, after dealing with so many clients, it is easy to figure out which ones are serious and which are not. Also, some people send in photographs from five or six years ago or photoshop them. 

Some clients also tend to be a bit delusional about their personality and looks. Some less attractive people get very offended when we match them with applicants who are like them in looks and age. There was a phase when women wanted us to find someone who looked like Abhishek Bachchan, now it’s Ranbir Kapoor. As for men, the Aishwarya Rai fixation will never end.  

(She has been a matrimony service coordinator with bharatmatrimony.com for the past ten months now)

As told to Avantika Bhuyan

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