It was Tanisha who, kind of, triggered this venture. Her family had set her up with many ‘matches’ with known and unknown men, when they thought she was of a marriageable age. However, each meeting just threw her off the marriage scene instead of making her see the positive side of it. The sisters, who were close to each other emotionally, often discussed the meetings in detail and wondered if that’s the only way to meet guys or get married.
Somewhere down the line, Tanisha did meet her life partner in US and Priyanka’s long-time buddy became her husband. But the trauma that Tanisha had gone through stayed at the back of her mind. When she came back from US with her husband after a few years of married life there, the sisters wanted to begin a venture together. Something that they would love doing and something that will help the society at large. After toying with some ideas, they zeroed down on a website that would help like-minded people to meet.
“We had quite a few friends and acquaintances mention that they were not happy with the existing dating apps. Some women said that the men were married and just looking for fun…” said Tanisha. “Primarily, the bottom line for everyone was ‘nobody is serious on these dating apps and I am looking for a serious relationship’… and that’s what triggered this,” Priyanka chipped in. “My experience in ‘matchmaking market’ was good enough to put me off arranged marriages. And experiences of our peers about dating apps was good enough as an added reason…” Tanisha added.
Not So Arranged (NSA) was the outcome. A website that caters to persons who want to seriously date like-minded people and are looking for marriage or a long-term relationship. “The website was created after a lot of research. We spoke to many persons and psychologists, counsellors, etc.,” Tanisha said. “We were very clear that we didn’t want to put anyone in awkward situations. Only persons who had at least 70 percent chances of being like-minded would be matched.”
To get that right, the sisters sought help of a psychiatrist who helped them create a quiz for their website. “The quiz is very thoughtfully created. You won’t understand while filling it up that it reveals your personality quite well,” Priyanka said.
“The next step is a discussion with us,” Tanisha added. “In the discussion, we ask more questions to be able to understand the person better.” What if the person lies? “It’s a difficult,” Tanisha explained. “Our questionnaire and discussion pattern are crafted by a known psychiatrist. That helps us judge the person and his seriousness. The membership fee is quite high. Nobody would cough up more than 35K just for the fun of it. Also, if we find that the member is not serious about it, there have been times when we have returned the membership fee.”
The NSA arranges for the first date, usually near the girl’s home for her comfort level. “Then we ask for the feedback. Based on that we leave it to the couple if they want to take it forward…”
Priyanka emphatically stressed that this was not a matrimonial site. “If they want to take it to that level, we would be more than happy,” she said. “However, these days quite a few are happy to have a serious relationship but not marry. This way they can respect each others’ space.”
“Our site offers them that liberty,” added Tanisha.
Has it happened that a girl has come back and complained? “Not yet, thankfully,” answered Priyanka.
What if a couple they ‘not so arranged’ decide to marry tomorrow? “We hope they invite us!” both sisters said in one voice!
