It isn’t quite a formal business sector yet, but in the near future it might be
T
By Ariba Shahid
he scene is a common one if not a familiar one. In a lavishly decorated drawing room, complete with paintings and gaudy golden furniture that belongs in a catalogue of Victorian antiques, two families sit opposite each other smiling politely. The room is a cacophony of spoons clanging onto plates, teeth munching soft food, tea being slurped, and trolley upon trolley loaded with food being carted in and out of the room. The conversation is polite but superficial. The conversation centers mainly around the weather, past events, and other mundane pleasantries that occupy the airwaves in a room when two groups of people first meeting each other are trying to keep the conversation going. The two families are, of course, meeting to decide the fate of their children - more specifically whether the son of one of the families is a good match for the daughter of the other. It is entirely possible that the children are not even present. But there is one presence that is usually even more vital to the proceedings than the prospective bride and the groom. That is the rishta aunty or uncle. This is the person that has arranged the meeting between the two families. It is usually a mutual friend, or a relative that knows the other people and is the bridge that allows the two families to interact and get to know each other. And even as both families exchange their inane drawls about what they do, where they come from, and what television they are thinking of buying - behind the scenes before the formal meeting, the matchmaker has already provided details like how rich the other family is, how much the boy makes,
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