I received a message from a friend in London the other day. “I have some huge news for you, I’ll tell you when I actually catch you online.”

I knew he had been in India the last two months – he and his brother are native Brits but his parents migrated from Northern India many moons ago. His parents, namely his mother, have been on him for a year or so to go to India to find a wife. He’s been pretty opposed to this idea, images of eager young – very young – women looking at him as a potential green card. But in his words “I’m sick of fighting them”, so he agreed.

I think he’s contemplating writing a book on the experience at this point. He indeed was seen as a walking green card, I wish I had been a fly on the wall for these meetings. He’s what you would consider a “serious sort”…needless to say parading him in front of 15 families is not his idea of fun! I haven’t gotten the details yet, but apparently he met some doozies!!!

But at last a “normal” family and a “normal” girl was presented to him. Now this is the fascinating part. He met her, liked her, had his cousin inquire about whether she was being pressured into all this or not and how she felt about him. All of her answers were positive so they met again, hit it off and decided to get married. “Do you think this will work?” he asks, “I think it would work, you are easy to be with” was her response. And boom it was done! They courted for two weeks, got engaged and were married within the following two weeks.

He came home to London a married man! Now if that isn’t efficiency I don’t know what is!! So can arranged marriages work in today’s world? I don’t know, but it is intriguing I must say.