#ARRANGED MARRIAGE TELEVISION SHOW SERIES#
#ARRANGED MARRIAGE TELEVISION SHOW DOWNLOAD#

This series chronicles each couple's relationship from the lead-up to their weddings, to the several months after the reality of married life sinks in. From a young Romani gypsy couple in New York City, to a southern couple from the Bible belt, to a couple raised by traditional Eastern Indian parents living in Los Angeles, these brides and grooms don't just marry each other, their unions include their entire family. So my search for the right partner is still on - as I try to balance my expectations with those of my traditional Indian family.ARRANGED is a one-hour reality series that follows three couples from different cultural backgrounds who have one thing in common - the belief in arranged marriages. Looking at Devang and Urvi gives me hope. 'You follow your heart and don't worry, the right one will come along when they're supposed to.' 'Have a little more faith in the process,' he told me. Still, this process has worked for many people – like my friend Devang who met his wife Urvi through and is now happily married. 'And it's just, you know, I'm missing the genuine personal connection.' 'It's almost like, 'Look at me, I'm this new product on sale and look at my six-figure salary and my Ivy League degree and my shiny car and big house,'' I said.

I told my mom I feel like I'm in a marketplace where everyone is on display. I don't want it to be like a job interview. I want to get married, but not just to anyone.

#ARRANGED MARRIAGE TELEVISION SHOW DOWNLOAD#

You can download it for yourself here.īut I'm not just doing this for my family. Pooja Joshi's father gave her some motivational advice on finding a husband: 'Just do it!' She thought she'd make it a ringtone for her phone. I'm expected to project myself as the perfect Indian wife material: a great cook, timid, and homely - whatever that means. My parents arrange most of them - they do the 'swiping' and pre-interview the families of potential suitors before I know anything about them. I have been on quite a few dates through this process. The pandemic has complicated this process further with vaccination status becoming a factor, to say nothing of the challenges that social distancing and masking add to first encounters. And families rate a person's characteristics and background to assess the worthiness and compatibility of prospective matches. Unlike other dating apps where a bathroom selfie or a picture with your pet can be enough to earn you a 'swipe to the right,' members on must complete an extensive profile that includes details of their income, profession, height, weight, eye colour, complexion, diet, mother tongue, religious and caste background - even birth horoscope.Īs an Indian, you don't just marry the person - you marry the whole family. So I signed up for the online Indian matrimonial site,, in the hopes of finding a husband.

But with the increased isolation brought on by the pandemic, I grew tired of swiping, ghosting, catfishing and no commitment. So initially, I was drawn to online dating. I'm much more suited to striking up a conversation with a stranger on my smartphone than I am in the real world. And as a millennial, I find it harder to date offline. (Ironically, if you are an unmarried Indian man in your 30s or maybe early 40s, you're still a catch.)ĭating is hard. But none of that changes my culture's valuation of a woman in my position - if you are an Indian girl unmarried in her 30s, you are fast approaching the status of an old maid. I can assemble IKEA furniture and even change a flat tire. I pay my own bills and I have my own house. I live in Toronto, work in television and am a stand-up comic. Pooja Joshi, seen as a baby, has grown up on a steady diet of Hollywood and Bollywood romcoms. Their child typically can then exercise 'veto' power. But now it's more like a dating service enabled by families who pre-select 'suitable' partners. In previous generations, the parents picked the partner.

It's a common way to get married in the South Asian community - where parents find a prospective groom or bride for their adult children. If it were up to my family, I would have already married as my parents did: in an arranged match. They're expecting babies, while I'm still inspecting dating profiles. My younger cousins are all wed and seemingly happily so. In my culture, I am late to board the marriage train. But for my Indian family, alarm bells are ringing. I am 34 and still single which is no big deal for many people. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ. She currently works as a producer for CBC Radio's The Debaters. This First Person column is written by Pooja Joshi, a first-generation Indian Canadian.

Arranged marriage television show