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The Marriage Bureau for Rich People ON a crisp winter morning, Hyder Ali, a retired government clerk is taking in the fragrance of the jasmine flowers and enjoying being in the garden he has created in his modest yard when he sees a man ‘stealing’ a bright blossom. Ali is livid.
So, Hyder gets busy. He decides to open a marriage bureau that will cater for a wide range of clients from all walks of life. A modest advertisement in the classifieds lays out the extent of his ambition: "For widest choice among Hindu, Muslim, Christian Brides/Grooms contact Ali’s Marriage Bureau for Rich People `85" Encouraged by the indomitable Mrs Ali, Hyder has the good sense to appoint a local girl, Aruna, as his assistant. A comic yet emotional and colourful daily drama unfolds for them as prospective grooms, brides and an array of characters make the beeline for Hyder’s advice. At first his operation is rather hand to mouth and touchingly amateurish but under Mrs Ali’s and Aruna’s imaginative care, the bureau flourishes as it sorts out the future for many happy clients. Each of these individual stories is a little episode in itself. The book transports the reader to a world of arranged marriages, dowries and choosy parents with near-impossible requirements for their offsprings. These parents seem to want everything—a tall son-in-law in a good job who is the only son of a wealthy family even when their daughter is rather plain and they are not willing to pay a large dowry, or they want a beautiful, well-educated daughter-in-law in an executive position when their own son is inadequately qualified. One Ramana demands a tall groom for his short daughter on the grounds that this way the children should at least be a medium height. A small family size was important for an engineer father as he felt that his only child would find it difficult to adjust to a big household. His wife views a dead mother-in-law as an added bonus. Other clients include singles and divorcees looking for suitable matches, sometimes with no backing from their families. Though Hyder believes that nobody can guarantee a wedding as it depends on God’s will and how willing one is to make compromises, he does make a serious effort to marry off his clients. It is interesting how he collates their information and makes cross-references with potential suitors. The book is set in the colourful coastal town of Visakhapatnam in South India. It is beautifully written in the authentic voice of someone who has grown up there and so his writing has a vivid sense of place. Two major stories are intertwined in it—that of Mr and Mrs Ali and the young girl, Aruna. Mr and Mrs Ali are worried about their idealist son, Rehman, who is leading a protest against a government takeover of farmers land. They want him "to give up all this nonsense", pick up a job with a big company and get married. Things get so bad that Mr Ali refuses to talk to his son. Aruna is a poor girl with a tragedy in her past. She herself is unable to marry as her family needs her income. However, by her simplicity and grace, she captivates one of the agency’s most eligible bachelor client who finally declares himself to her. She is horrified (despite her secret love for him). "We don’t marry for love, Ram," she protests. "You know that. Love is supposed to follow marriage, not the other way around. It is about two families. You haven’t thought this through at all." A modern-day comedy of manners, it is in part a love story, but it also deals with serious themes such as the caste system, religion and family. Charming, warm hearted and funny—it is a treat to read.
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This act of petty larceny
sparks off the major plot of the book. Mrs Ali scolds her husband for
getting worked up too much over trivial things. She goes on to tell him
that she had been running the house for more than 40 years but how the
last few years since he retired had been the worst. She accuses him of
interfering and disturbing her routine. "Let’s hope that from
today you will be a bit busier and I get some peace," she tells
him.