Bridal Want Ads

I saw this today on McClatchy blog: China Rises, which is usually about Chinese life and his adventures as foreign correspondent. Today he’s talking about an interesting section in the Indian paper: The bridal want-ads:

Some friends chuckled the other day as I rummaged through the Sunday Times of India and pulled away an eight-page section entitled “matrimonials.”

It is a little window into India, shedding light on the economic and social hopes of the families of would-be brides and grooms who take out personal ads to look for marriage partners.

Forget about the usual acronyms of U.S. personal ads, with the heavy overlay of sexual innuendo and orientation.

In India, the lingo is about a transaction of a different nature. Potential mates are described as “boys” and “girls” even if they are in their 30s and 40s. Women are described as “very qualified” and “issueless,” though I can only guess at the latter. Ads boast of salaries, graduate degrees, skin complexion and resident status abroad. Parents seek “alliances” rather than marriages.

Here are some examples:

“Looking for a very Beautiful, Fair, Slim and compatible girl with family values. The girl should be at least 5’5” Tall and from a respectable and well-connected family for Handsome Punjabi Khatri boy 38/6ft/US citizen, Electrical and Computer Engineer and Masters of Management from Top US Schools, President and CEO of his own Multiple Business. The Boy is on a very short visit to Delhi.”

Read the rest (it’s SO worth it!) at McClatchy blog: China Rises