Five Proposals and Big B

In this 2020 pandemic year, meeting people face to face has become a very difficult task. My parents, especially my mom, are pushing me to get married. I am only twenty-five but, when your parents are from India, born and raised, for their kids, they must get married at a young age. I just graduated from mechanical engineering with honors. I would like to work in my field now. Gain work experience, earn and save money before even thinking about tying the knot. But no, I need to listen to these long lectures of my mom about marriage, being a wife, being a mom, to be a complete woman…

It is Christmas Eve. We see the beautiful white landscape from outside our house in Montreal. We had five centimeters of snow last night. Seems like we will have a white Christmas which will make it special and a memorable December 25^th.

I would not say I have agreed to my mom’s wishes but I told her I would keep an open mind. She keeps pushing. Telling that she was twenty when she got married and by twenty-five, she had two kids. My brother is thirty and he is still single. Mom would say that is not the same. He is a man. I hate these double standards.

I decided to create a profile on a matrimonial website. At least, I can show my mom that I am not ignoring her wishes. I heard from friends and relatives that I should try shaadi.com. Mostly for Indians so that can narrow down my search to an Indian man compared to a North American dating or other matrimonial website. I would like an Indian man but, I am not limiting to South East Asians. I will leave the door open to any nationality. Just in case. This stays a secret. My parents would not easily accept that. Not in the short term at least.

I am staying home and no one is visiting us. It will be a Christmas Eve with only my parents and my brother. Holidays 2020 will be unique in history with the government imposing a full lockdown and asking the population to stay home. In their households, in their ‘’bubbles’’.

My mom is preparing a meal for tonight while my dad is helping her. My brother is watching a movie on Netflix. We will have a late supper. Around 8 PM. I am almost done with my profile on shaadi.com. Press on submit! My profile is on the web, to the world. Let me go get some appetizers my mom made. Some good home-made samosas. I will return to my Shaadi profile later. I am out there now but I don’t feel like searching for now. I will see if I get messages or a hit on my profile that someone viewed. 

I am back after an hour, and I see already five profiles of potential life partners. For me, potential boyfriends that can lead up to a very long-term relationship. I won’t say boyfriend to my mom. I must be careful with the words I choose with my parents. All five are very interested. Not only they have viewed my profile but they all sent me a first private message. Let me check all their profiles, pictures and the content of their messages.

Profile number one. He is 33. Lives in Toronto. Looks. Not so bad. What concerns me is the distance and the age gap. I want to stay in the five years gap range, plus or minus, but would prefer someone older than me. I have no intention to leave my province. I love Montreal too much. I will politely reply that I am not interested and wish him the best of luck.

Profile number two. He lives in India. Willing to relocate. I would prefer someone born and raised in North America so I can relate to that person. Also, I am not in the mood of sponsoring someone, spend money, he arrives here, then leaves me for the citizenship or another woman. Skip!

Profile number three. He is from Montreal! Wow! Good education. He is 28. Fairly good looking. Asking for a dowry? Pardon? In 2020??? Pass.

Profile number four. He is 30. Good age. Good looking. A doctor! Wow! Profile well written. He wishes to have three kids at least and wants his future wife to stay home. Be a stay-at-home mom. That is a big no for me.

I am down to the last message for tonight. I will close my laptop after. I want to have supper with my family, then maybe we can watch a good Hindi movie.

Profile number five. Here we go. He is 27. Height, six feet two. Nice physique. Not too skinny. Not too bulky. He is a financial advisor for a bank. I would need a man to help with my finances to be honest. He lives an hour away from Montreal. That is great. Beside Hindi, he speaks English and French. He went to a French elementary school. Like me! For sure I want someone who masters French in this province for a better future and career opportunities. I will keep him in my favorites and start a conversation tomorrow. I love the profile he wrote about himself. He mentions he is an INFJ, the rarest of the sixteen personality types from the Myers-Briggs type indicator. He loves going to the movies and going for walks. That is totally me! He does not seem to be too materialist. From his profile, he seems more of a minimalist. I am starting to fall in love with his profile. Okay, let’s stop. I will continue tomorrow…

We found a good old classic movie of Big B. The one and only Amitabh Bachchan! The Al Pacino, the Robert De Niro, the Clint Eastwood of Indian cinema. The actor was at one point, a one-man industry in Hindi cinema. We will watch Satte Pe Satta which translate to Seven on Seven. A good classic comedy, drama and romance. I love it! My dad is a big fan of Amitabh. Ah, so is Kapil. The man from shaadi.com. Okay, let’s concentrate on supper, then the movie night with the family. I will write him a meaningful message and try to get to know him. I am not saying I am going to get married in less than a year. Let’s start to get to know him and dip my toes in the water first…