Bangalore, Oct 06: Mumbai's Hamsafar Matrimonial Services arranges 40 marriages a month. Of the 10 that involve Indian men working abroad, the UK accounts for six. A year ago, you could have bet the US would account for about seven or eight of any 10 matches struck with professionals employed abroad. It's not just the stock market that reacts to recession. India's booming marriage market is equally quick to read the winds of change. Indian men working in the US are no longer the preferred choice for women at home looking for foreign marriages. It’s a trend visible across India. The women blame the downturn in the US economy and infotech companies, and visa curbs. Marriage bureaus across the country agree that a US groom is no longer an automatic first choice, which he was till about a year ago. "It's not surprising because Indians working there are themselves coming back home," says K. Sivareddy of Hyderabad's Shivashivani Marriage Links. "Girls now find that IT projects are coming from the US to India and Indian salaries are pretty good," points out S. Rama Moorthy, regional manager, north India, bharatmatrimony.com, a leading marriage portal. Mohan Reddy, who runs a marriage bureau in Hyderabad, says an increasing number of brides are now looking for grooms in the UK, Canada, Australia and even New Zealand.
"Jobs in the UK are perceived to be more secure and better paying than in the US," says Anjali Desai, who runs Hamsafar Matrimonial Services.
However, those shopping for grooms abroad have not ticked off the US totally. G. Manjula of Chennai's Raja Rani Matrimonials says that the middle and upper-middle classes shun the US but some richer parents are ready to take risks.
And even if brides settle for working-in-the-US grooms, they pick only those who are highly qualified, work for reputed companies and can survive downturns and pink slips. Earlier, anybody based in the US would have fitted the bill.