Remember when you were young…….and train journeys in most parts of India meant you saw this ubiquitous ad by the tracks everywhere: “Rishte hi rishte. Milen Prof Arora 28 Ragairpura, Karol Bagh, Nai Dilli…”
Remember the matrimonial ads in the newspapers: ‘….wanted suitable decent match for 19, 150 cms, tall, fair, milky-white gori, convent-educated, homely, comely, status family girl father having own house in South Delhi…..’? Or the slightly edgier ones, but as hilarious nonetheless: ‘Wanted suitable match for 27, innocent divorcee, sharp features……..’ Innocent? What does that mean? That they didn’t get past second base?
Well, how times have changed! Here’s an interesting picture, clicked by Mid-Day reader R Sridevi, that appeared in the Mumbai Mid-Day on Saturday.
Photograph by R Sridevi, from Mid-Day Mumbai
I wonder how this works. Do they teach people how to fall in love and then get married? Do they do the Indian version of a ‘dating game’, with all the various kinds of Aunties as chaperones? Do they match ‘attributes’? Shouldn’t their slogan be “Come fall in love…..with someone in our database!”? Have they dispensed with horoscopes? How the eff does one facilitate a ‘love marriage’? If indeed they fix you up with someone, can it still be called a ‘love marriage”? Or is this ad meant for the intrepid couple that, in the face of all kinds of opposition, elopes? Do these guys specialise in weddings for eloped (and on-the-run) lovers? All of the above? Some of the above? None of the above?
People?
September 15, 2008 at 5:16 pm
@ QI:
Thanks – or should that be an ‘Oye, I heard that!’ – for that nod 🙂
I know of some people who think love can be ‘arranged’. Whomever their parents introduce them to is the ‘girlfriend’ or ‘boyfriend’ and parents happen to be the by-the-way element in the story.
Besides – that Prof Arora ad said ‘mil to len’ – which has greater emphasis and exhortation in it than the ‘milen’ you cite 😉
PS: This is no different from a match.com guarantee that in 6months you will fall in love or else paisa-waapis. Serious. I am not making this up; there are TV ads. And did you see Liam’s (ChickenMonkeyDog) wisdom today?
September 15, 2008 at 5:17 pm
@ QI:
And for the record, I have never chaperoned anybody. That is one duty I may never get to carry out (said not without a hint of sadness and irony)… 😉
September 15, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I think what the ad is saying is United States(US) ke saath contact karne ke baad, India aur US ka love marriage ho gaya!Jat hai na woh!Kar Jat!LOL!
September 15, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Hehehehe when I had seen that I too had my list of questions. May be they help eloped couples in getting married 😉
September 15, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I think its intriguing enough to make you remember them, and maybe that’s the deal!
It’s definitely got all of us thinking & talking about it..
It also depends on where/which part of the country this banner was spotted!
🙂
September 15, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Maybe its an agency which convinces the parents of the couple in love in case they follow different religions, castes, EPL teams etc.
Cheers,
Hades
http://thetimesofbullshit.blogspot.com
September 15, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Ha there is some hope left in this world 😉
September 16, 2008 at 2:31 am
This same sign was at Sarah Palin’s house in Alaska once she learned her daughter was pregnant by a boy who had on his Facebook page something to the effect that he never wanted children.
Oh, I kid the future American VP. And to the National Intelligence Service, which is monitoring all communications from the U.S., I think Bush is just dandy. Darn those term limits.
September 16, 2008 at 6:20 am
i would have loved to join their classes. unfortunately, am married now 😉
September 16, 2008 at 8:05 am
quirky – the slogan went – rishte hi rishte mil to lein.
Now it goes love marriages hi love marriages, mil to lein.
Maybe the agency used the adverb (adjective?) love to entice romantic souls, the ones jaded by the thought of a dry ‘arranged’ marriage.
September 16, 2008 at 10:22 am
@Shefaly – that nod was too opportune to resist. 😉 You’re right about the ‘mil to len’ bit….well, the times, they are a-changin’….and don’t give up on the chaperone thingy….there is hope yet. 🙂
@krsnaknows – 🙂
@Smita – that is a possibility!
@Aparna – Good point. But what’s the damned service that is provided? The ad was spotted in Karjat, just outside Mumbai.
@Hades – also a possibility….though different IPL teams may be closer to the mark….that was also a theme used in the IPL ads earlier this year.
@Che – I suppose the ad could be seen as a harbinger of change!
@Supercynic – the only difference being, the Indian ad implies….’fall in love….after you pay us’ and the Palin ad probably went ‘fall in love…or else!’. Liked the disclaimer the end of your comment! 🙂
@Liju – that’s one potential customer lost! 🙂
@Ava – you’re right, it was ‘mil to len’. I stand corrected. We’re all trying to find out what the agency meant. 🙂
September 16, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Hehehehe earlier there were “love marriages that had to be arranged”, now this is another twist …..
September 16, 2008 at 2:27 pm
i can actually see one of those ‘learn english in 30 days’ kind of programmes that are followed…
this is so funny !
September 16, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Hmm..almost all the options I had thought have already been covered.
So here’s my two cents:
The firm specializes in consultancy for parents who want to ensure that their children who plan to get into the travesty that is “love marriage” are suitably dissuaded. Methods include
1) For cases in the early stages(2 days-6 months)–“evidence” of morally dubious character
2) For cases in the middle stages(from 6 months to 1 year)–Roughing up the boy/Stalking the girl, sustained pressure on the boy/girl’s family.
3)For “serious” cases–Organizing sudden disappearances and reappearance in a slightly inanimate form on railway tracks, deserted buildings etc.
September 16, 2008 at 3:07 pm
– “Love, LOve, LOVE…you… DAMN IT! & *sigh* now please Marry!”
Wow!
September 16, 2008 at 3:21 pm
As a love guru, I can tell you that it’s a booming industry! I am looking at invading this market space! 😀
September 16, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Maybe it is a grooming etiquette class for guys and girls to be able to pattao the other sex and thus get themselves a love marriage!!
Someone should go check it out!
😀
September 16, 2008 at 3:55 pm
rofl.
This is just too good.
Contact for love marriage. What a gem!
September 16, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Karjat? Karjat! No, doesn’t ring any bells! Nikhil, did you put up that banner as a cheap publicity stunt for your blog? 🙂
@QI – I say, since you are the Quirky Indian, we bloggers at your blog space unanimously vote for you to check out what service he / she does offer and let us all know. Educate us QI! 😀
September 17, 2008 at 9:07 am
I guess they are the Indian Version of “Love Doctor” from Hitch. Not as subtle though.
September 17, 2008 at 2:29 pm
@Phoenixritu – twist it certainly is.
@Harini – welcome to my blog. Interesting thought. Would be fun to see their course material. 🙂
@Prasanth – in other words, couples are ‘singled’ out…. :-)Good ones!
@Anshul – 🙂 I would be curious to understand their grading system….
@Nikhil – Guruji, you could talk to them about a Bengaluru franchise! 🙂
@Priyanka – it’s on Mumbai’s outskirts, unfortunately. And seems to be one of those ‘we-have-no-branches’ joints…..
@Sonaljhuj – 🙂
@Aparna – Full marks for trying!
@Vaibhav – now that’s an interesting thought….so should they also have a tagline that goes “Do you wanna Partner…?” 🙂
September 17, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Simble, he is modern day cupid who cant fly and is hampered by the rising cost of petrol, so he stays put in his office with his quiver full of love arrows and shoots at you for a fee.
September 17, 2008 at 6:35 pm
It could be some out-of-work Agony Aunt writer or radio jockeys (the love guru types) deciding to do some social service. And what do you know, you might have karan johar coming over to do research for his next films – it’s all about setting up
September 18, 2008 at 10:07 pm
You have been tagged! 😀
September 18, 2008 at 11:06 pm
ROFL.. Who know’s!! OMGEEZ!! til l8er
September 19, 2008 at 3:53 pm
hehe!!
i am guessing they help the elopers!! you know paperwork for registered hsaadi, getting witnesses etc! sab kuch for a fee! :p
quite a gem this one!! 😀
cheers!
abha
September 19, 2008 at 8:54 pm
haha maybe they teach dating etiquette? 😀
September 19, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I think the web ad for that, should play the partner song 😀
September 20, 2008 at 12:48 am
rofl!!
Was blog hopping and came across yours. .
I could imagine a guy dressed like a cupid wearing suit boot , addressing this to his pupils!
Good evening ladies and gentleman , you have passed the “love test!” and have been selected for the love class .We will have 2 subjects this semester
1. Best places to dine
2. 101 reliable Pickup lines
September 20, 2008 at 1:15 pm
@Ava – hmmmm, that is a very creative explanation…good one!
@Annanyad – welcome to my blog, and thanks for the comment.
Could be, could be! But the Karan Johar bit is far-fetched….no way is Karan going to shoot at Karjat – not even sure if he’s heard of it. Give him ‘saddaa Noo Yark’ any day!
@Aparna – yup, I predicted that would happen.. 🙂
@wavemaker2 – glad you lijed it. 🙂
@Abha – you mean the ‘dalals’ from bandra court have moved to karjat? 🙂
@Roop – God knows Indians need to be taught etiquette…and not just dating etiquette. 😉
@vaibhav – that would work!
@Priya – welcome to my blog and thanks for the comment.
So we could now hear some really corny and cheesy pick-up lines? 🙂
September 20, 2008 at 4:45 pm
You have been tagged, check my blog
September 22, 2008 at 4:36 pm
isn’t is possible that this advertisement is a jest; an answer to all the multifarious manifestations of arranged matrimony, even using the so-called modernized techniques bestowed by the Internet?????
but of course, there is no harm in reading too much into anything
to researchers/journalists/critics, that is what pays!!!!!
September 22, 2008 at 5:11 pm
LOL You have been awarded too – check my blog
September 24, 2008 at 1:54 pm
thanks for stopping by my blog! 🙂 i don’t always give desi nicknames, but i guess the two major ones happened to have them. your blog is very interesting too. i agree about needing a balance of sense and sensitivity.
September 25, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Wow! Thats so funny!!!! *giggle*
September 30, 2008 at 2:08 pm
LOL .. yea.. WTF ??
October 1, 2008 at 12:15 pm
@Phoenixritu – thank you very much. Again. Appreciate it. So what if I’m an escape artist.
@Anwesha – welcome to my blog. Thanks for the comment.
That’s an interesting thought, but somehow I don’t think that’s the case…. 🙂
@Aspoonfulofghee – welcome, and thanks!
@Nova – 🙂
@Dinu – welcome to my blog and thanks for the comment. 🙂
October 4, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Strange adv it is.
u have a cute blog
October 4, 2008 at 10:53 pm
That ad sounds more like “We are modern pimps we can set you up .. come fall in love”
Yikes !
October 7, 2008 at 2:58 pm
@Kiransawhney – welcome to my blog and thanks for the comment.
@unconventionaldesi – An interesting possibility – a front for ‘modern’ pimps.
Welcome and thanks for the comment.
October 10, 2008 at 6:43 am
Hilarious advertisement. 🙂
P.S – You have a great blog here!
Thanks Sindhu. 🙂