Indians take this a bit too seriously. As in, they literally look for a match made in heaven. It might seem funny to most westerners how Indian marriages are.

Before I begin, like I always say, culture, traditions and lifestyles of Indians change from state to state. So, this is based on what I have seen in my state.



Westerners: They tend to start living away from their parents by the time they're in college, and then just kinda start living away when they get a job or something. Then it's up to them to find a girl/guy, date for a while and if he/she is good, then ask her to marry/wish he asks you to marry.

Indians: They live with their parents till they're married, unless they have to go somewhere far for a job. Even then, very rarely would Indian parents allow their son/daughter to marry his/her boyfriend/girlfriend. Wanna know how the process goes for us?

1. The start: Well, it is like the official announcement that the son/daughter is ready for marriage. It is mostly made once the son/daughter has a well paying job. It is firstly made to the close relatives of the family, friends at work and neighbours. Even though it is the official announcement, it's done very secretly.


But, it is considered as the official announcement because, given the gossiping nature of women, they know that word will soon reach out.

2. The basic choices: From this point onward, I'll just discuss about males finding a wife. So, once the word is out, relatives, friends etc. bring you pictures and biographies of their 'candidates'.


"She's slightly shorter than you, has beautiful long hair, and works at ___."

All these choices are, of course, rejected, as the next step is an important one.

3. The meet: No, it is not the meeting of the bride and groom. It is the meeting of brides and grooms. We have events where guys and girls can get on a stage, talk about themselves and the kind of spouse that they want. No personal information is given and everyone is known by numbers only. If interested, the guy can talk to a girl and ask her about herself.

Also, they serve food and most people only go for that.


A girl here is picked for 'further trials'.

4. The first visit: Now, the groom, with his family, visits the might-be-future-bride. Both families speak highly of their children, while the children shyly stare at the floor. Traditionally, the girl serves tea and a snack, cooked by herself. And customarily, the guy's family asks if the girl can sing (for whatever reasons)

5. Then, once both sides like the 'candidate', they go on for 'The Last Trial'. That is, to check if God approves.

So, a brahmin/priest is called. He reads the palms (or something, I don't know) of both bride and groom. And tries to match the readings. I have never actually been to this sort of thing, but, there are 36 readings of each and if all 36 match, the couple has God's blessing. I think anything above 30 is accepted. But, if not, bye bye.




So, to sum it up