The word marriage, as we all know elicits varied emotions within us all. This is specifically true for the Indian subcontinent where the stress on marriage is quite strong. Both, the concept of ‘love marriage’ & ‘arrange marriage’ are often juxtaposed to one another. Factors like kinship, class status, caste affiliation etc. play a significant role in these. Emotions run high when discussing & pondering over each of these categories. The survival of the entire gigantic wedding industry depends on these emotions. From the finding & fixing of the match to the event planning to the dresses to the dance & songs; there is so much that is going on within this space.
It is amidst this paraphernalia of marriage, that this paper seeks to explore the existence, effects, validity of emotions. This shall be done specifically by taking ‘Indian Matchmaking’ as a case study. The reality show literally brought the entire nexus of arranged marriages within our drawing rooms through Netflix. As she introduces herself to all clients, “Sima from Mumbai’, the matchmaker, Sima Tapuriah has gained immense popularity through the show. Her opinions & ideas are deeply entrenched in certain traditions that live on emotions. The mix of reactions of clients as well as the viewers provide a rather interesting lens of society. Placing them within the sociology of emotions is significant to develop an understanding of this interesting facet. Emotions can literally be understood as things that are controlled, changes, modified and managed in our daily lives and push the boundaries of any limited sociological investigation. With this understanding, the paper shall attempt to articulate the conception of Indian Matchmaking through the stream of emotion building and thereby see the interrelationship between various emotions & trends.
