The recession in the US has not only hit its economy but also the marriage prospects of its young male citizens of Indian origins.
AHMEDABAD: The recession in the US has not only hit its economy but also the marriage prospects of its young male citizens of Indian origins.
Gujarati girls are turning down marriage offers from eligible NRI grooms fearing that life in the US was no more as comfortable as it once used to be.
It is not only US citizens of Indian origin whose standing in the Gujarati marriage market has gone down; but NRI grooms, in general, are no more as sought after as they once were. Till very recently, NRI jamais were in great demand, so much so that they were considered the pride of their wives’ families. Such a craze now appears to be a thing of the past.
Nishit Jain is a software engineer working in Houston. He is currently in India looking for an eligible Indian girl to be his bride. He now says he is not sure this was the best time to come to India to look for an Indian wife because no girl seems to be willing to marry him.
“I had fixed meetings with a few girls and their families here,” said Nishit. “In some cases, everything seemed to be going fine but I was suddenly told by the girl’s family that they were not interested in marrying off their daughter to me. It seems the only reason I was rejected was that I live in the US which is currently going through a bad phase.”
Smita Sheth of Manpasand Marriage Bureau, who recently hosted a Yuva Mela, has a similar view of the current standing of NRIs in the Gujarati marriage market. Many eligible NRI youth flew in for the Yuva Mela which was organised mainly to give NRI youth and Gujarati girls a chance to meet each other and select a spouse.
“Before this year, there used to be a huge demand for NRI grooms, so much so that girls were disappointed if they were not chosen by an NRI boy,” Sheth said. “This time, things were very different. Many NRI men returned disappointed because they were turned down by the girls.”
Sakshi Patel, 24, explained why she does not want an NRI groom. “Earlier, life in US meant comfort and prestige and a little hard work. Now, it is synonymous with toil and turmoil,” Patel said. “The recession has made life there very insecure. Gujarat, on the other hand, is booming. I would rather stay here than go abroad.”
Parita Panchal has a case to report from her own family. “My sister’s husband was employed with a reputed company in the US. But he has now become a victim of recession,” said Panchal. “My sister and her husband are now planning to return to India.” Perhaps that’s why Panchal is not keen to marry abroad.
H Raj of Face-to-Face Marriage Bureau has come across a few odd cases where youth who had mentioned in their CV that they were ‘settled in the US’, were returning to India. “Nowadays, a family thinks a hundred times before marrying off their daughter to an NRI groom or to a youth working abroad. Parents do not see security for their daughters in marrying them off to NRIs.”
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