Tradition–Technology Wedlock: The Paradoxical Modernisation of Matrimony

Abstract

The advent of online matrimony ushered in a new era of matchmaking in the wake of globalisation. This paper aims to examine the impact of globalisation on Hindu–Bengali matrimony. The study attempts to find out the impact of online matrimony on marriages in Kolkata. On the basis of personal interviews and content analysis of advertisements in newspapers and online matrimonial websites, the study shows the impact of globalisation on the institution of marriage. The paper argues that globalisation has not made potential changes in the process of selection of prospective brides and grooms. The newspapers and online portals function as the twin matchmakers in contemporary Kolkata, with little difference from the way traditional matchmakers used to work. The paper examines the fate and impact of technology when introduced in deeply entrenched traditional social institutions. The increase in the pool of selection of mates has reinforced patriarchal ties with globalisation adjusting itself in a tradition-bound society, putting tradition and technology in a curious and cumbersome paradox.

The Uneasy Gaze – Appearing for Interviews to get Married – An Empirical Investigation into the Pre-marital Arranged Marriage Negotiations in Urban Kolkata

“…Thus, children conform to the expectations and wishes of their parents, and parents to the gazes of their neighbours, as well as to those of 'teachers, doctors, classmates, and the parents of classmates, whom they monitor in turn'. Thus, the authority of the family over its members is more intimate, irreplaceable and deemed vital in an individual's life (Sen, 2020). This two-tiered surveillance, I argue is exercised within the norms and injunctions of patriarchy.…”