| Description |
1 online resource (196 pages) |
| Contents |
Intro -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- About the Author -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Approaches and Paradigms -- 1.1.1 Defining the Middle Class -- 1.1.2 The Post-liberalisation Era -- 1.1.3 Marriage in India -- 1.2 Conducting Research -- 1.2.1 Inception and Motivation -- 1.2.2 Identifying the Sample of Study -- 1.2.3 Interviews -- 1.2.4 My Presence and Biases -- 1.3 Book Plan -- References -- 2 Pre-marital Journeys of Romance -- 2.1 Delayed Marriages and Makings of a Modern Life -- 2.1.1 Marriage and Modernity -- 2.1.2 Operating with Deadlines -- 2.2 Moral Economies of Romance |
|
2.2.1 'This Is the Time to Have Fun' -- 2.2.2 Unexpected 'Love' -- 2.2.3 Fatigue of Fun -- References -- 3 The Modern Family -- 3.1 Shaping Romantic Relationships -- 3.2 The Formal Process of Spouse-Selection -- 3.3 Meet the Parents -- 3.4 Muted References to Dowry -- 3.5 Reproduction of Class and Status -- References -- 4 The Third Wheel: 'New' Matchmakers -- 4.1 Matrimonial Bureaus/Agencies -- 4.1.1 Acting as a Bridge -- 4.1.2 Professional Ethics -- 4.2 Matrimonial Websites -- 4.2.1 Registration Process -- 4.2.2 'About me' -- 4.2.3 Making of 'Choice' -- References |
|
5 In Pursuit of a 'Good' Match -- 5.1 Caste Endogamy and Its Flexibility -- 5.2 Class Homogamy: Lifestyles and Professional Choices -- 5.3 Exposure as Class Reality and Ambition -- 5.4 A Good-Looking Spouse -- References -- 6 The Gendered Makings of a Modern Couple -- 6.1 The Imagery of the Couple -- 6.2 The Good Wife: Establishing Respectable Modernity -- 6.2.1 The Working Woman -- 6.2.2 Patrilocality -- 6.2.3 The Moral Project of Disciplining: Dressing, Eating, and Drinking -- 6.2.4 Resistance and Agency -- 6.3 The Ideal Husband: 'Higher and Better' -- References |
|
7 Love in the Time of Middle-Classness -- 7.1 Surbhi: Establishing Status with Professional Degrees -- 7.2 Sangeeta: Resistance as Acquiesce and with Time -- 7.3 Jayant: Cosmopolitanism and Fear of the Other -- References -- 8 The Injuries of Love and Matchmaking -- 8.1 Sex, Drugs, and Self-harm: 'It helped ease pain' -- 8.2 Emotional Numbness: 'I did not marry for love' -- 8.3 Normalisation of Violence: 'I was in love' -- 8.4 Humiliation: "It is like a poodle show" -- References -- 9 Conclusion -- 9.1 Are Matches 'Made in Heaven'? -- 9.2 Viewing Society Through the Lens of Matchmaking |
|
9.3 Central Themes -- References -- Index |
| Summary |
This book is an extensive and thorough exploration of the ways in which the middle class in India select their spouse. Using the prism of matchmaking, this book critically unpacks the concept of the 'modern' and traces the importance of moralities and values in the making of middle class identities, by bringing to the fore intersections and dynamics of caste, class, gender, and neoliberalism. The author discusses a range of issues: romantic relationships among youth, use of online technology and of professional services like matrimonial agencies and detective agencies, encounters of love and heartbreak, impact of experiences of pain and humiliation on spouse-selection, and the involvement of family in matchmaking. Based on this comprehensive account, she elucidates how the categories of 'love' and 'arranged' marriages fall short of explaining, in its entirety and essence, the contemporary process of spouse-selection in urban India. Though the ethnographic research has been conducted in India, this book is of relevance to social scientists studying matchmaking practices, youth cultures, modernity and the middle class in other societies, particularly in parts of Asia. While being based on thorough scholarship, the book is written in accessible language to appeal to a larger audience |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Mate selection -- India
|
|
Marriage brokerage -- India
|
|
Marriage -- India
|
|
Marriage
|
|
Marriage brokerage
|
|
Mate selection
|
|
India
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9789811515996 |
|
9811515999 |
|
9811515980 |
|
9789811515989 |
|
9789811516009 |
|
9811516006 |
|
9789811516016 |
|
9811516014 |
|
