Thursday, April 26, 2012

Traditional Match Making is Passé

The traditional match making concept is gradually replacing with modern versions. Traditional ways of finding partners like with the help of family or friends is now passé. With online dating sites and matrimony sites offering free matchmaking services, matchmaking for contemporary youth is even more exciting.

Match Making
Traditionally, the village priest or elder of village or community fixed the match. The boy and girl had not much choice in this fixing of alliance. They cannot even object to the elder’s decision. There was minimum conversation between the boy and girl before the wedding. This kind of system was very common in Asian countries. It was popular in this region and was known as ‘the arranged marriage’.

With changes in mindset and education spreading its wings, the way of selecting life partner changed. Young people met strangers, talked and fell in love. The meeting usually happened in places like colleges or offices, where common friend or known person play the role of cupid. The friend here is the matchmaker. This became the commonest way of finding the life partner. Romancing, knowing the person well and then tying the knot became a new way of settling down. All this was common before the online craze.

With the Internet and online networking sites becoming the lifeblood of most, online match making is the newest way of finding that someone special. Online dating sites and matrimonial websites are the new official matchmakers. With most the world glued to the Internet, these sites are very popular among youth searching for that someone special. With the busy work schedules and limited time, these sites are the best way of finding your life partner. Best part of these matchmaking sites are they provide free membership and have a storehouse of millions of profiles. These sites keep your information safe and secure.

Author: Shipra Sinha

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Changing Trends of Weddings


I have always loved attending the weddings. No matter the person is close to me or not, as attending a wedding has really a charm. You would nowhere find such fun filled ceremonies where everyone, be it the youngest or the older family member, enjoys to the fullest. The weddings are indeed the best time to celebrate the togetherness with the family.

As the time passes, the ways to celebrate the wedding changes, and so does the customs associated with it. People always run short of time, and hence it is a great excuse for not attending the weddings. But as I do believe, the one whom you love, you will definitely spare some time from your busy schedule. The busy time table of people has been one of the main reasons why the children are unaware of the culture and also the customs of the family and like to search their partner on their own or through matrimonial sites

No community in India is untouched with this “shortage of time” virus now. Earlier, the weddings ought to be three-four days song ceremony, and all the moments of the wedding were fully enjoyed by the family members as well as the friends. How can on miss those awesome cultural moments!

The wedding rituals have been cut short to get rid of everything in short time. But I really think that there is need for us to revive our older traditions and get more involved with our family functions like our elders were.

The best thing that time has brought with it is the matrimonial websites; you can search your life partner without making any public announcement of it. Still, weddings are still fun to be a part of and some people still enjoy the feeling of togetherness with the family, after all, the wedding is all about uniting!

Author: Rashmi Karan

Monday, April 16, 2012

Some Decoration Ideas for Hindi Matrimony

The Hindi matrimony involves so many rituals that go on for a number of days, which involve gathering and lots of decorations. The wedding décor depends on the total budget and the theme of the wedding. Personally, I love the floral decoration most, especially the whites and pinks.

Colours: Bright red and golden colours can go with the traditional wedding parties in Hindi matrimony. You can drape the flowers in the bright red and golden ribbons and then decorate the walls with those. For the contemporary look, you can also choose bright greens, silver, shades of pinks, etc.

Lighting: For the ethnic look use lanterns and candles rather than electric lights. For better aesthetics, you can also make use of uniform lights that are not too bright and comfortable to eyes. Experimentation with different colours may spoil the look of the wedding venue, so go for traditional ways of lightening, but yes, ensure that there is enough light at the wedding areas so that you can have some bright photographs.

 Meals and dining tables: Your caterer can help to arrange the desired cutlery for the wedding. The items associated with the wedding can also be taken from the caterer only. The decoration of tables are also done by the caterers, you can ask them for further details.

Mandap: Another important section of the wedding venue, where the décor of the mandap is very important, as it is the place where all the rituals and customs of the Hindi matrimony are conducted. The backdrop of the wedding venue can be beautifully decorated with bright flowers like marigold, roses, jasmine, and others, paired with beautiful light effects. The furniture should also be matching to the decor. Silk curtains can be used to cover the pillars to give dramatic effects.

Author: Rashmi Karan

Monday, April 9, 2012

An Inter Caste Wedding of A Tamilian and A Punjabi


The weddings in Tamil are very simple affair, unlike those followed in the northern India. There are no show offs and the community believes in traditional rituals which are religiously followed during the weddings. The rituals and customs followed in a traditional Tamil Brahmin wedding different as compared to other communities.

I attended a Tamil wedding of one of my very good friends. The bride was Tamilian and the groom belonged to the Punjabi community. The rituals followed at the wedding involved the rituals from both the bride and the groom. Earlier, there was lots of confusion regarding the customs, but later on everything went very smoothly and followed the Tamil Matrimony rituals.. The groom’s family behaved very elegantly and allowed the bride’s family to follow their rituals and created a peaceful atmosphere.

Since we all know that Punjabi cuisine includes a number of lip-smacking and sumptuous non vegetarian delight, but taking care of the bride’s family’s religious sentiments, they compromised over the food. Being the Tamil Brahmin family, the bride’s side was purely vegetarian and the food served to us was vegetarian and included south Indian food mainly. However, to my surprise, I also saw stalls of north Indian food, which served paneer tikka and other north Indian food, but everything was purely vegetarian.

The bride was wearing an off white sari with gold border, while the groom wore typical Punjabi Paithani suit. The combination of the dresses of the bride and groom was extremely contrasting, but it represented both the cultures very beautifully. Even the groom’s family members wore very flashy and gorgeous dresses, for which Punjabi are famous. The bride’s family wore Kanchipuram and other south silk saris, while the male members were dressed in Dhoti and angavastram. Overall, it was fun to attend an inter-caste wedding, where we got glimpses of both Tamil and Punjabi Matrimony

Author: Rashmi Karan

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Advantages of Matrimony Sites


In this age of dot-com, every second business is through the Internet. From selling houses to household items, most of the business activities are going online. Even the traditional way of finding the bride and groom have undergone sea change. In the Internet age, finding prospective partners is through the matrimony sites.

Using the matrimony sites is simple and advantageous too. The growing popularity of these sites is the answer.

Some of the Advantages of the Matrimony Sites Are As Follows:

1.      Hundreds of Thousands of Members
Most of the popular matrimony sites have millions of registered members. You can select from numerous communities and castes.

2.      Profile screening applications
These sites have strict profile screening tests. Profiles are uploaded after ensuring the details are correct.

3.      Advanced Search Technology
The matrimony sites use the latest search technology, which gives quick search results. This helps the users to find relevant matches.

4.      Privacy and Security Controls
The matrimony websites maintains the privacy of the members. The contact information and other details of bridegroom are not shared by these matrimony sites.

5.      Methods of Effective Communication
Registered members can be in touch with other interested members through email, chat or telephone. Most of the matrimony sites provide these options for effective communication and experience better service.

6.      Available on Mobile app
These sites, keeping with the latest search and online technology, have mobile apps as well. Members can search these sites through mobile and be on the move. So now, you can find your life partner even on the move.

7.      Paid /Premium Memberships
Some of these matrimony sites offer paid plans to its members. These plans help connect to your partner in convenient ways.

Author: Shipra Sinha