American Hindus Turn to Computer Dating to Replace Matchmakers

While finding someone to marry with your same background is a cultural choice, it is also a spiritual one to keep up the traditions of a religion. I guess the occupation of matchmaker is not only going out of style but it’s being replaced by computer dating, especially for ethnic groups like the Indian-American Hindus. While the majority of people in India are Hindu, it’s difficult for Hindus in other countries to find partners for the same religious and cultural backgrounds, reports Megan Sweas in The Huffington Post (Religious Section). There are also dating “mixers” where prospective partners can meet each other on neutral territory, so to speak. Here’s part of what Megan writes.

American Hindus Turned to Computer Dating to Replace Matchmakers

Within Indian culture (which is predominantly Hindu), marriage is as much about families coming together as it is about couples coming together. Hinduism orders Afamilies into four major castes and thousands of sub-castes, each with their own particular ritual role or profession. Ideally, a couple must be in the same sub-caste, region and religion. Priests also compare their horoscopes to ensure compatibility.
Especially in Indian villages, matchmaking tends to be informal, using "extensive kinship networks," said Lindsey Harlan, chair of religious studies at Connecticut College. When an Indian gets to a marriageable age, "aunties," who are not necessarily related, start looking out for potential life partners.
"When you're working, it's really difficult to meet people," Thakur said. "You go there, you meet someone. You can meet them a few times. It's basically semi-arranged."
Thakur's desire to marry reflects Indians' traditional values at a time when only 51 percent of American adults are wed, according to 2010 Census data.
"It's not like a flirty or just everyday kind of party," Mittal said. "From the girls' side or boys' side, they are both serious about finding a life partner."
To read the original post click here.

Here is a selection from the Hindu matchmaking online service, Bharatmatchmaking.com about using mobile phone to hook up with that ideal partner.

Mobile Matrimony - Get matched through your mobile

BharatMatrimony Mobile Apps can now help you find a life partner right from your mobile phone. You can search and contact your matches from your mobile anytime, anywhere. You can login to your account, check your latest interests and messages and reply to them while on the move. All actions done on your mobile will be simultaneously updated on the site.

I’d like to tell you a short story. At one time an Indian-American woman came to me for a reading. She was a respected and well paid dentist in the US. She wanted to know if she should marry the Indian man in India that her parents (who were still living in India) had found for her to marry. What was I to say? It was not my culture, but it seemed rather extreme that she should marry a man she had only met once who had grown up in a very traditional way. What would happen to her job? I was at a loss to know what to say. What would you say if you were in my shoes? Leave a comment below to let me know.

Interview with Gotham Chopra about the Film, “Decoding Chopra”

Deepak Chopra, the world famous author, spiritual leader and founder of the Chopra Center, has pointed out that Indian films explore reality themes with depth such as poverty, aging and oppression, but rarely do they take on spirituality as a topic. Deepak Chopra is planning to change that, one film at a time. This article is an interview of his son, Gotham by Harish Rao in Buzzline Bollywood.

Interview with Gotham Chopra about the Film, “Decoding Chopra”

Sure, the film’s central character is probably one of the most prolific and recognizable spiritual cultural icons, but the motivation by filmmaker and son Gotham Chopra refreshingly comes from the perspective of exploring what his father represents and, beyond that, an honest look into all aspects and facets of Deepak Chopra the spiritual guru, the father, grandfather and human being.
I sat down with Gotham Chopra to explore more about the motivations, experiences, and a frank discussion about all of the curious questions you may have wanted to ask. I hope you enjoy the article, which I found to be as refreshing as the subject matter itself.

Harish Rao: Why did you decide now to follow your father and do this documentary?
Gautam Chopra: For me I never set out to make a spiritual film and the film attempts to answer (what is spirituality) and my father has become this spiritual icon and for me it was about pulling that apart and trying to reconcile this strange spiritual cultural icon he has become to the world and to the Lady Gagas of the world versus who he is really and what he is interested in and where he is going and who he is a person I grew up around and my sister grew up around. So I think spirituality is the state of awareness and for me this film is an exploration of that. And, in general, Indian cinema is undergoing an amazing transformation right now, as all the different genre space opens up and so we are seeing gangster, thriller, romantic comedies which is really moving away from the traditional song and dance Bollywood scene. So, it’s a really exciting time to be part of the Indian cinema movement whatever that is.
To view the original source of this post, click here.

For those of you not as familiar with India and Indian culture, Bollywood is (just as it seems) the Indian equivalent to Hollywood. Bollywood films, however, would not be produced in Hollywood as they are often mostly musicals with large, complicated dance numbers - more like Broadway plays than Hollywood movies. In India they are very cheap to attend and so they become the entertainment for the common people. Everyone lives happily ever after. “Decoding Chopra”, however is not of this genre. I’ll let you judge for yourself what Gotham has captured after a year of traveling around with his father. Here is the trailer to the film.