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sochia tuhade nal share karan te tuhade views janan di koshish kite jawe
Recession ends lure of dating game
New Delhi: There was a time, in Punjab, north India, when any Indian male returning from the west - the UK, US, Canada, Australia - to find a pretty bride back home would have hordes of gorgeous women queuing outside his door, desperate for marriage, no questions asked.
The man's appeal was extrinsic, namely, the chance to escape poverty and hardship for a better, more comfortable life abroad.
He used to swagger into town, knowing that in the arranged marriage market he was king and could take his pick. For the parents of eligible girls, his ranking was far ahead of any homegrown Indian.
Next in line were the professionals who worked in India's booming IT and software industry and call centres. Their salaries, promotion prospects and chances of overseas postings made them very desirable.
Marriage market
The global meltdown has changed the rules of the mating game. With job losses and insecurity raging in the west, suddenly the humble Indian government employee has become attractive once again after years of languishing as a country cousin to the 'fat cats' of the marriage market.
"I want someone with job security for my daughter. What's the point of a big salary when it can disappear any day?" said Paramjit Bhansal, the mother of a 25 year old daughter in Ludhiana, Punjab.
Indian doctors have always commanded a premium as potential spouses. The dowries they demand are gigantic. But now teachers and people such as state-owned bank managers have acquired a new sheen.
"I've got a lovely engineer from California registered with me. We lined up some meetings for him but nothing has worked out. Families say they don't want to take the risk of sending their daughters to the States," said Shalini Kumar of Kumar Marriage Bureau in New Delhi.
Asha Patel, 27, who works in Delhi as a PR professional, is registered with a matrimonial website. As part of her profile on the site, she had stated clearly her preference for a man based in the US.
"My cousin works as a banker in New York and lost his job before Christmas. It made me think again about my priorities. I've decided it's OK to find someone here who has a solid job and comes from a nice family," said Patel.
Parents also tend to believe that India, with a project economic growth rate of 7 per cent this year, is still a far better bet than western economies which have been far more badly affected by the recession.
Apart from the global slowdown, horror stories abound of girls joining their husbands in the west to find they are already married or lied about their careers or financial status.
Cases of fraud
Engineers turn out to be taxi drivers. Homeowners turn out to be tenants. These cases of fraud have also played a part in turning the tide against Non-Resident Indians or NRIs.
Mrs Bhansal, a garment exporter, knows scores of families in Punjab who have discovered, on sending the bride to join her NRI husband in the UK, that he had lied.
"At least if the boy lives in India, we can check out his background and see if he is genuine. Earlier, the gamble of finding an NRI husband might have been worth it but now, with things so grim there, it's better to avoid it," she said.
Source
sochia tuhade nal share karan te tuhade views janan di koshish kite jawe
Recession ends lure of dating game
New Delhi: There was a time, in Punjab, north India, when any Indian male returning from the west - the UK, US, Canada, Australia - to find a pretty bride back home would have hordes of gorgeous women queuing outside his door, desperate for marriage, no questions asked.
The man's appeal was extrinsic, namely, the chance to escape poverty and hardship for a better, more comfortable life abroad.
He used to swagger into town, knowing that in the arranged marriage market he was king and could take his pick. For the parents of eligible girls, his ranking was far ahead of any homegrown Indian.
Next in line were the professionals who worked in India's booming IT and software industry and call centres. Their salaries, promotion prospects and chances of overseas postings made them very desirable.
Marriage market
The global meltdown has changed the rules of the mating game. With job losses and insecurity raging in the west, suddenly the humble Indian government employee has become attractive once again after years of languishing as a country cousin to the 'fat cats' of the marriage market.
"I want someone with job security for my daughter. What's the point of a big salary when it can disappear any day?" said Paramjit Bhansal, the mother of a 25 year old daughter in Ludhiana, Punjab.
Indian doctors have always commanded a premium as potential spouses. The dowries they demand are gigantic. But now teachers and people such as state-owned bank managers have acquired a new sheen.
"I've got a lovely engineer from California registered with me. We lined up some meetings for him but nothing has worked out. Families say they don't want to take the risk of sending their daughters to the States," said Shalini Kumar of Kumar Marriage Bureau in New Delhi.
Asha Patel, 27, who works in Delhi as a PR professional, is registered with a matrimonial website. As part of her profile on the site, she had stated clearly her preference for a man based in the US.
"My cousin works as a banker in New York and lost his job before Christmas. It made me think again about my priorities. I've decided it's OK to find someone here who has a solid job and comes from a nice family," said Patel.
Parents also tend to believe that India, with a project economic growth rate of 7 per cent this year, is still a far better bet than western economies which have been far more badly affected by the recession.
Apart from the global slowdown, horror stories abound of girls joining their husbands in the west to find they are already married or lied about their careers or financial status.
Cases of fraud
Engineers turn out to be taxi drivers. Homeowners turn out to be tenants. These cases of fraud have also played a part in turning the tide against Non-Resident Indians or NRIs.
Mrs Bhansal, a garment exporter, knows scores of families in Punjab who have discovered, on sending the bride to join her NRI husband in the UK, that he had lied.
"At least if the boy lives in India, we can check out his background and see if he is genuine. Earlier, the gamble of finding an NRI husband might have been worth it but now, with things so grim there, it's better to avoid it," she said.
Source