The arranged marriage market in India is bizarre, as families and even those looking for their potential partners come up with the most insane demands. One such story shared by Oendrila Kapoor, a matchmaker and dating coach, has sparked a conversation on social media.
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On April 20, Oendrila recalled an instance where a 37-year-old divorced man approached her matchmaking platform to help him find a partner who was younger than 30 years old, a Brahmin, had no previous partners or dating experience, and was a virgin. The story shocked her and led to her dating platform rejecting his profile. Here’s what happened.
37, divorced, and an IITian with outdated demands
Oendrila shared that the 37-year-old divorced man was an IITian and worked as a director with a billion-dollar company. However, his criteria for selecting a bride were as outdated as his elite degree. Sharing the story with her followers, she divulged, “He’s 37, divorced, an IITian, and he told me he wants someone under 30, never been married, in fact, never even been in a relationship, and she should be a Brahmin.”
According to Oendrila, he also said he prefers someone with a zero body count, and he said all of this with a straight face. Upon listening to his requests, the matchmaker called them absurd. She even inquired about his reason for such demands. To which, the man quoted a research.
He shared that there is apparently some research suggesting that the more partners a woman has had, the more directly proportional her chances of being unfaithful in the future are, and that’s why he’s asking for such a thing. However, Oendrila pointed out that by this logic, the same reasoning must apply to him, as he was married before.
However, he countered, saying he was a man and it wasn’t a fair comparison, highlighting his male privilege, hollow masculine pride, and misogyny.
Oendrila, then, noted that though a woman under 30, someone who’s a Brahmin and a virgin may exist, she probably belongs to a pretty conservative and traditional family who will probably not accept a 37-year-old divorced man.
To this, the man boasted that he was getting proposals from such a woman. However, he approached her because he didn’t trust matrimonial platforms due to scams and frauds, and needed someone to vet and verify these profiles for him.
Dumbfounded by his explanation, Oendrila never took on the man as a client and blasted him by saying, “Hey, I don’t think the scams and the fraud are happening with you. I think you are the one who’s going to scam these women with your orthodox, traditional, and patriarchal mindset and your absolutely unrealistic criteria.”
How did the internet react?
Though there were several misogynistic comments from trolls and men calling the man’s choice should be ‘respected’, and Oendrila as a matchmaker should have listened to his ‘demands as a service provider’, many were outraged.
One Instagram user commented, “Divorced people should look for other Divorced people, period.” Another said, “Biggest culprits are found at the top.” Someone else commented, “The audacity is astounding.” Another wrote, “Look at the comments from other men. No wonder the male loneliness epidemic is increasing.”
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only. This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
