Caste & Marriage
If the pandemic has somehow made you miss old-school, judgmental aunties, then add Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking to your watch list.
The eight-part reality series premieres today and follows multiple single millennials in India and the U.S. who have decided — or in some cases, been told by their parents — to employ the services of matchmaker Sima Taparia, “Mumbai’s top matchmaker,” to find a partner. On paper, it’s a blend of Meet the Patels (2014) with the slick, voyeuristic aesthetic of Netflix’s Dating Around (2019- ). In reality, it is nowhere near either.
Indian Matchmaking, by its very title, purports to show viewers the realities of the multimillion-dollar arranged marriage industry, both in India and within the diaspora. Instead, it gives viewers a series that glosses over or, in some cases, completely ignores the pressing problems with matchmaking. For me, that was the ultimate dealbreaker. Indian Matchmaking and Caste: A tale of flipping stances in a few steps When Indian Matchmaking premiered in 2020, the desi diaspora (including Indian American journalists) hailed it as the holy grail of representation Paeans were penned about its significance to South Asians.
It 'authentically repped Indian culture', showed 'real South Asians' on screen & made Seema aunty an instant star - everyone, even non-SAs wanted one in their life Her acid-dripping aphorisms & disgustingly regressive views on women were excused: "Just an aunty being an aunty.” Caste addressed, benignly & agreeably as 'community' on the show was *just* how Indians worked.
Titled 'Indian Matchmaking Exposes the Easy Acceptance of Caste', it addressed how the show obfuscated that caste runs Indian American societies, especially marriages.
The conversation around caste thanks to the incessant labor of Dalits & allies who made sure desis can no longer ignore it.
Now that caste is 'MAINSTREAM', everyone, especially dominant caste journalists who never bothered with this earlier wants a piece. But do they credit the Dalit labor & thought that made this change possible? Take a guess. Caste NEEDS to be addressed,and it's heartening that it's finally getting the attention it deserves But not by brushing past the work of marginalized folks who do this work at cost to their safety & with way less material privilege than what allows one to be a working journalist