Founder of the Chennai-based Bharat Matrimony. com Murugavel Janakiraman said: "At the end of the day, every Indian wants to marry someone from the same community - someone who speaks the same language, eats the same food and shares the same culture. We chose to provide a website which addresses these concerns."

By allowing members to be specific and detailed in their searches, the power of choice is in the hands of the single Indian. But when tabla! spoke to members of these sites, it became clear that family expectations are still a huge factor in the marital decision- making process.

Ms Lata Devan (not her real name) represents the modern Indian woman who wanted to marry a man from her own community, which was what her parents wanted. She chose the Internet to find that man, something her parents knew about but not her relatives.

Ms Devan, who is in her early 30s and works as an account manager in a multinational corporation, saw it as the most natural thing to do and put her profile online.

She was very clear about the kind of man she was looking for - a professional who shared her passion for art but the non-negotiable was that it had to be someone from her community.

"My parents' blessings are very important to me and they would have a very hard time accepting an outsider," she said.

And more of these matches made in cyberheaven are making their way onto the wedding dais. President of the Sindhi Association in Singapore and a justice of peace for three years, Mrs Divya Advani solemnises at least three to four marriages a week.

She told tabla! that most of the couples whose weddings she solemnises met online, choosing their mates from their own community. "One couple came from the same village and the same community as the bride was very specific about who she wanted to marry," she said.

Obviously online matrimonial sites are big business.

Last year, US-based research company EmPower Research published a report predicting that the online matrimony industry in India may reach 21 million registrations with revenues of US$63 million (S$89 million) by 2011.

The money in the business has created a whole slew of websites catering to the big, fat Indian wedding.

Just type Indian weddings in any search engine and hundreds of sites pop up, catering to the needs of global Indians who want to have a traditional wedding.

It ranges from getting the caterers to finding the wedding outfits and jewellery.

Even astrologers have jumped into the act by offering their services online.

While the rules of engagement have changed in the arranged marriage and wedding business, one thing is clear - Indians remain steadfast to the traditions of their ancestors.

Said Ms Arul: "Today's Indians want the same thing as their parents wanted; nothing has really changed - most of them want someone from the same caste, community, language background and it is still based on word-of-mouth as they talk about which sites are the best. The only difference is the platform - it happens be on the Net now."

Cost of finding love

Shaadi.com
Gold membership: Three months for US$76
Diamond membership: Six months for US$111
Platinum membership: 12 months for US$161

Bharat Matrimony Classic Package
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Six months for US$114
Nine months for US$145

Classic Plus Package
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Six months for US$147
Nine months for US$194

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Nine months for US$227

Privilege Package
Three months for US$499

Jeevansathi.com

eRishta
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Unlimited for US$89

eValue
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sheela@sph.com.sg

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