In India, Business Of Love Is A Pot Of Gold

The word ‘love’ is probably the most used term in English. It traverses generations, countries and languages. Much as it evokes the image of a mushy romance, the emotion also carries the connotations of culture and its peripheral aspects. In countries like India and China, love is a means to the end. The ‘end’ is a logical one from where things are taken to another level such as marriage, unlike the literary meaning of the word ‘end’.

West has a perspective about Indian marriages. Arranged ‘happy’ marriage is something west has not been able to understand till date, much to the chagrin of Indians who have been taking pride in the fool-proof system where families come together instead of just two people – much like a curated bollywood film. All that’s well; ends well too!

But with the advent of technology, and most of the upper middle class youth accessing internet through various means, decisions are often at finger tips. Click and find a doorway into something new, something exciting and something that’s far from the world around.

Much after the dotcom bubble burst and internet settled into a moderately-paced mode, India took to matrimonial websites with much ado. While the traditional middleman became redundant, Indian youth also took a plunge into dating sites.

And, in the last few years, dating has turned as casual as can ever be. Unlike previous generations which met and dated with the intention of taking things further, India today is fearless and free for experimentation.

Forget marriage, Indians have been very progressive about casual dating, even when things do not lead to marriage. Since it is aided by technology, heartbreaks are much more matured and respectful – sometimes all too contrary.

Dating websites such as Truly Madly or Footloose no more, Sirf Coffee, all cater to different set of people. Actually, dating puts a lot of things in perspective without giving scope for any ambiguity. Soulmate in a box (SMIB) is a new dating trend that brings home the reality that cyber intimacy is here to stay, and it might be long before we discover something else that can replace this.

Youth believe meeting through dating sites is more like meeting a client to set right expectations, without leading on false pretexts. That way, terms and conditions are much clear for both parties. When breakup happens, and if it happens, it is mostly a smooth operation without too much of pain or embarrassing moments involved.

Coming to think of it, the informal tone of dating sites has a great upside to it. This is somewhat a super significant thing about modern life and the access it provides to various aspects of life that otherwise would have gotten difficult.

Now, everything is ‘not so rosy’ about dating online, with the help of some basic details about each other. Falling in love over common friends, similar likes, almost identical political opinions, hobbies et al, don’t make for a real meeting that actually might fall apart when it happens.

On the other hand, dating sites promise a great growth in terms of revenues too. In countries like US, where dating is a done and accepted practice, the growth of dating sites is saturated. The growth is restricted to about 12 to 15%. But, countries like India hold greater promise than that. The growth of dating sites here is anywhere between 15 – 20%, with China also being in the similar league.

Culturally, India and China present the same scenario. Both are old civilisations, and rely on ancient practices for modern life. Hence, a clash lands them at the doorstep of technology and sometimes, science, which may provide answers.

As the whole idea of marriage and relationship goes through a sea of change, India as a melting pot of cultures, is going through a revolution of sorts. Today, most Indians are comfortable with the thought of dating a person before getting married. Of course, this is restricted to urban upper middle class, which is at crossroads with culture and modernity.

Whatever be the change, dating sites will remain gung-ho even after that, for an eternal optimist who hopes to see a pot of gold at the end of the dating rainbow.