Indian Matchmaking host Sima Taparia on why dating apps cant compete with her

Matchmaker
Sima Taparia (from Mumbai) has become the talk of the town after the release of
the new Netflix reality series, ‘Indian Matchmaking’. The series has been
criticised for encouraging outdated notions such as colourism, casteism, and
classism, but the host seems oblivious as her business is on the peak ever
since the series aired.

In an
interview with Conde Nast Traveller, Sima was asked about the controversial
aspects of the show where she reduces people to a set of adjectives as she goes
about finding a suitable match for them. Sima replied, “But who doesn’t want a
fair, beautiful wife, you tell me?”

“When people
come to me saying they have a son, daughter, nephew, niece or a grandchild who
is looking to get married, I immediately start thinking of all the people I
know of who could be a good match,” she said.

“I have
found matches for people when I was on vacation in Zermatt and in Interlaken
and even when we were in the Canadian Rockies, I was on duty matching people
up. Hell, I have even matched people up while waiting at the luggage carousel
at Mumbai airport,” she added.

The series
is about men and women, either Indian or of Indian heritage. Sima gave an
insight into how she prepares herself before saying yes to a prospective bride
or a groom. “I go and meet the boy and the family, see what their home is like,
where they work, where they have been to school,” she said. “This helps me
assess their lifestyles so I can recommend a match that is on an even keel.
This is where Tinder, Bumble, and Shaadi.com can’t compete. I get to the bottom
of things, finding out all the inside stories, the family’s values and other
such details you would never get from looking at a person’s online profile.”

She added,
“If I meet a family and I get the sense that they aren’t committed to the
process, I don’t bother with them. They are immediately removed from my
priority list,” she said.

Despite not
being able to successfully match a single couple on ‘Indian Matchmaking’, Sima
mentioned that she only works “with high-profile clients.” She added, “In India
when I meet clients they usually have a working wedding budget in mind. So
based on that golden number, I quote the price that I charge as a lump sum.”

“People have
these dated views that arranged marriage is all about dowry. But now people
place so much more importance on finding someone who is on the same wavelength,
whether it is in terms of family background or education and also whether the
bride and the groom have chemistry. This was not the case back in the day,” she
said while talking about the business of matchmaking and arranged marriages.

“Now young
people who have seen the series have been getting in touch with me from all
around the world and people in India are asking their parents to get in touch
with me to find them partners like Nadia and Aparna,” she said.