600 grooms for 200 brides!

AKOLA: A bleak picture emerged at the rally of prospective brides and bridegrooms belonging to the Brahmin community here recently. For the over 600 grooms who registered for the event, there were only around 200 girls to select a bride from. This dismal situation could well be an indicator of the future, as the state struggles to deal with a skewed sex ratio, where Nagpur tops with 908 females for every 1,000 males.The average for the state is a worrisome 850 females per 1,000 boys.
The skewed sex ratio is usually blamed on female foeticide and infanticide over the last 20 years. However, family planning and the preference for only one child among many nuclear families will also add to the problem over the next few decades, said sources.
The Sarva Shakhiya Maharashtriya Brahmin Mandal, Akola, held a meet of marriageable youths last week. Over 600 grooms and 200 brides turned up at the venue, Vir Savarkar Sabhagriha of Brahman Sabha here. This is the 19th year that the mandal has organised such a meet, and officials say that they have been noticing the reducing number of prospective brides in recent years.
The organisation's chairman Sudhir Deshpande, vice president Mohan Bhide, secretary Vinay Tole and spokesperson Vinayak Kajle take strenuous efforts to make the rally a success. However, they have noticed that as the number of prospective brides has gone down, the expectations of prospective brides have gone up. This has been resulting in a mismatch between the prospective grooms and brides who attend such rallies. This also leads to many youths going back without selecting a life partner, consequently delaying marriage for many of them.
Also, the officials said that they have noticed a rise in the tendency to consult horoscopes, which has turned into a big hurdle in selecting a match. Also, many parents have also begun to matching blood groups.
The mandal officials also believe that the exodus of prospective educated brides from Vidarbha region to Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Delhi etc has also affected their rally. Girls who live and work in these cities prefer life partners from there, greatly reducing the number of brides willing to attend such rallies in small towns.
The officials say that they have come across numerous parents who have found themselves in a fix since their well-educated daughters do no like the life partners proposed for them in their hometowns.
On the other hand, there are some parents who do not want their daughter to be married and live in different cities, thus creating yet another hurdle in choosing a match for their daughter. The prospective bridegrooms usually have a problem in finding a life partner if they are not well-educated or if they are into some trade or business, instead of a steady job.
If such trends continue, the day is not far when males would no longer be assured of finding a life partner, or a woman has to accept many husbands, like Draupadi in the Mahabharat.