Matrimonial advertisements in newspapers are the most popular and reliable trend for finding out suitable partner of his/her choice, religion, community, status etc. Marriage is very important decision and seeking a good partner is a big dream and wish but fulfilling this dream is not an easy task earlier there was the traditional method of the matchmaking which was like contacting and asking people in social gatherings, forwarding relatives to look for suitable bride or bride-groom as finding an appropriate match was like half the marriage did. Match-making and seeking appropriate partners has been very complex work but today this complexity of finding a match has been reduced to a great extent with the introduction of matrimonial advertisements in the newspapers. Many people get married via matrimonial advertisements published in newspapers and are happy with each other. Matrimonial ads benefit from finding out the partner of their choice with specifications as these classifieds provide eye-catching content and variety that people seek and demand in their future partner such as region-specific, language-specific, veg/non-veg, manglik, Iets passed, etc. 

The newspaper has a great readership and one cannot stop his/her eye going on the matrimonial ads at least once. These matrimonial ads add revenue to the newspapers and strengthen their financial position as the charges in the matrimonial ads are made per word. It also gains the trust and loyalty of the people as they publish the same content written by the people in the matrimonial ads. Newspapers have become a popular choice for seeking matrimonial information in the form of classified advertisements. Seekers can choose their desired partner silently. The sharing of information happens to be made through telephonic conversation or by mail investing optimum cost and effort. Almost all leading newspapers (national and regional) in India have the classified matrimonial column. For example- Saturday and Sunday pullout of classifieds in The Tribune, every Sunday in Times of India and daily in Ajit. It also has a common platform for online classified booking services. Newspapers have become a popular choice for transmitting matrimonial information in the form of classified ads.

Criteria of matrimonial ads in Newspapers are categorized in numerous ways in which the seekers express their criteria for a good match which is influenced by family considerations but also includes personal preferences of the son/daughter. These considerations vary but can include specifications which are enlisted as follows:

RELIGION

Marriages are usually arranged between individuals belonging to the same religion. Same-religion marriages are the norm in arranged –marriages among higher caste people usually due to family considerations, belonging to the same region, and having the same language and food habits.

For example – Religion specific matrimonial advertisement in The Times of India (3 April 2016)

CASTE AND CULTURE

Usually first preference is given to the same caste. The ancestry of the individual and family culture and traditions also play an important role.

PROFESSION AND STATUS

The profession, financial position and the social status of the individual is also taken into account. This has higher evaluation criteria in case of boys.

HOROSCOPE

Numerology and the positions of stars at birth are often used in Indian Culture to predict the success of a particular match. The higher the match percentage the more fruitful will be the marriage. Horoscope becomes a determining factor if one of the partners is Manglik present time there is great popularity and relevance of Matrimonial advertisement in newspapers. People take good advantage of these matrimonial ads for seeking better life partners as per one’s choice, interest, religion, region and other specifications such as similar caste, similar community, well-established spouse, employed etc. This research has been significant with astonishing facts to discover what specifications do the youth at present seek in their future partner and to what extent they get positive results with the means of these matrimonial ads.

How many people do really follow this trend of matchmaking and what are the various techniques of publication of matrimonial ads in three daily newspapers under observation that was Times of India, The Tribune and Ajit? This research study would be beneficial to further researchers to study various perspectives, and approaches demanded in Matrimonial ads and to know the common content of the ads in various newspapers and the most utilised mode of contact in matrimonial ads by various newspapers. For this research project, three newspapers have been taken into consideration-National Daily, Vernacular. Two English newspapers - Times of India, The Tribune and one vernacular newspaper in Punjabi Ajit to research the difference between the language, content, format, style, approaches, classification and strategy used in matrimonial advertisements in the respective newspapers.

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