Arranged marriages can be quite tricky at times, especially during the initial stages when you’re meeting prospective matches. You do not know them, their family or anything else about them at all. Therefore, there’s always a bit of an apprehension amongst youngsters these days when opting to get married through an arranged marriage set-up. And after reading these responses about the weirdest and most bizarre things people have been asked or have experienced during a rishta meeting, I can definitely understand where the apprehension comes from. Read on and you will know too!
1. Property kahan hai?
“A family once came to my house for a meeting. When the guy and I were sent away to talk in private, without asking me about my hobbies or anything, the guy proceeded to ask me this – How much do you earn and how much property have your parents put in your name? Needless to say, I was shocked, so I just smiled at him, got up and went back inside without saying another word to him.”
2. When I got to know that I’m dangerously progressive…
“I am very well educated and have been working for a year in an MNC now. Once I went to meet a guy through an arranged marriage set-up. After a couple usual questions, he drops this: ‘Whats your take on gays?’
I told him that there is a lot of time to discuss such issues in detail, perhaps later if he would wish. The conversation ended there and he left with his family. Later I got to know that they cancelled proceeding with the rishta because I was ‘too dangerously progressive to not have denounced homosexuality without a second thought.'”
3. What is the value of pi? *mind-blown*
“When I was a kid, a guy’s family came to our house to see my aunt. My aunt is a post graduate in Science. The guy was a scientist in DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation). They both went upstairs to spend some time with each other. After having some chit chat, the guy suddenly asked her this question – ‘Can you tell me the value of pi that too till 6 decimal places?’
My aunt was shocked by that question, obviously. The conversation continued for two more minutes and after that, they came downstairs. After she told us this incident, we couldn’t stop laughing for atleast 10 minutes!”
4. We don’t want dowry but gifts toh…
“My uncle and aunt were looking for a suitable match for my cousin sister. One day they went to meet a guy’s family. It all seemed great until they said this – ‘We do not want any dowry but, we want to know about the stuff you are going to give to your daughter. And oh, the sagan ceremony should be grand!’ My uncle and aunt got up, said namaste and left.”
5. Taking a cab to work daily? Why such luxurious demands?
“This was a nightmare. I once met a guy for marriage prospects and after a normal conversation of about 10 minutes, he asked me how I travelled to work, to which I said that I took a cab. This was his answer – ‘Please don’t expect to continue this after marriage. I would like to be explicit, no exorbitant expenses like taking cabs. Those things are for luxury. We ain’t billionaires to flush down money like spendthrifts. I will never tolerate such things.’ It is still among the worst meetings I ever had for a matrimonial alliance.”
6. Make sure you walk English, you talk English!
“This was something that happened to a friend of mine. He was working abroad in the US. A marriage proposal came up and the girl’s dad was in town while his family, including the girl were in Kerala, his hometown. So, he first met the dad. They chit-chatted for a while. The father seemed like a nice chap. All okay. And then the dad made a request which was outright bizarre. He said, ‘After you get married, you can talk to my daughter only in English. You should not talk to her in Malayalam.’ Umm, very weird because that was their mother tongue!”
7. Do you have more money than my dad?
“This was the first girl I met in a very informal setting. Her dad and my uncle were classmates in medical school in India. She was from Britain. She was pleasant. I asked her what kind of man she was looking for. She said ‘I want him to have more money saved up than what my parents have.’ (btw, her parents had done very well financially). Even though I am an atheist, I thanked God for the help.”
8. Proof of educational qualifications, please?
“Though this might not sound very weird, I thought it was pretty demeaning. I am from a small town in UP. So, once a rishta came for me from Delhi and this guy visited our house with his parents. We talked for a bit and then he did something really crazy. He asked me to show him my 10th and 12th certificates and my other college degrees because he wanted to make sure I was actually as educated as I said I was! And I think he also wanted to confirm my age, that creep.”
9. Ogle fest right there…
“This was something really creepy, but funny. A guy came to ‘see’ my friend for a matrimonial alliance. An hour into the meeting, the girl’s extremely beautiful aunt, in her mid-thirties, came for a visit to their house. The boy spent the entire time looking at the aunt (a married lady)! The girl laughed about it and took it in her stride but she must have felt bad.”
If you’ve had rishta meeting experiences as crazy, weird, funny or even infuriating as these then let us know about them in the comments!
GIFs: Giphy
