Matchmaking in Middle Class India: Beyond Arranged and Love Marriage

Description

Acknowledgements Contents About the Author 1 Introduction 1.1 Approaches and Paradigms 1.1.1 Defining the Middle Class 1.1.2 The Post-liberalisation Era 1.1.3 Marriage in India 1.2 Conducting Research 1.2.1 Inception and Motivation 1.2.2 Identifying the Sample of Study 1.2.3 Interviews 1.2.4 My Presence and Biases 1.3 Book Plan References 2 Pre-marital Journeys of Romance 2.1 Delayed Marriages and Makings of a Modern Life 2.1.1 Marriage and Modernity 2.1.2 Operating with Deadlines 2.2 Moral Economies of Romance 2.2.1 ‘This Is the Time to Have Fun’ 2.2.2 Unexpected ‘Love’ 2.2.3 Fatigue of Fun References 3 The Modern Family 3.1 Shaping Romantic Relationships 3.2 The Formal Process of Spouse-Selection 3.3 Meet the Parents 3.4 Muted References to Dowry 3.5 Reproduction of Class and Status References 4 The Third Wheel: ‘New’ Matchmakers 4.1 Matrimonial Bureaus/Agencies 4.1.1 Acting as a Bridge 4.1.2 Professional Ethics 4.2 Matrimonial Websites 4.2.1 Registration Process 4.2.2 ‘About me’ 4.2.3 Making of ‘Choice’ References 5 In Pursuit of a ‘Good’ Match 5.1 Caste Endogamy and Its Flexibility 5.2 Class Homogamy: Lifestyles and Professional Choices 5.3 Exposure as Class Reality and Ambition 5.4 A Good-Looking Spouse References 6 The Gendered Makings of a Modern Couple 6.1 The Imagery of the Couple 6.2 The Good Wife: Establishing Respectable Modernity 6.2.1 The Working Woman 6.2.2 Patrilocality 6.2.3 The Moral Project of Disciplining: Dressing, Eating, and Drinking 6.2.4 Resistance and Agency 6.3 The Ideal Husband: ‘Higher and Better’ References 7 Love in the Time of Middle-Classness 7.1 Surbhi: Establishing Status with Professional Degrees 7.2 Sangeeta: Resistance as Acquiesce and with Time 7.3 Jayant: Cosmopolitanism and Fear of the Other References 8 The Injuries of Love and Matchmaking 8.1 Sex, Drugs, and Self-harm: ‘It helped ease pain’ 8.2 Emotional Numbness: ‘I did not marry for love’ 8.3 Normalisation of Violence: ‘I was in love’ 8.4 Humiliation: “It is like a poodle show” References 9 Conclusion 9.1 Are Matches ‘Made in Heaven’? 9.2 Viewing Society Through the Lens of Matchmaking 9.3 Central Themes References Index Blank Page