Farahad Zama

Arranged marriages remain a mystery to most of us who live in cultures where young singles are expected to find their own spouses. Farahad Zama's 2008 novel “The Marriage Bureau for Rich People” helps to erase some of this mystery.

The story, set in India, tells of a retiree named Hyder Ali who, looking for something to do, sets up a marriage bureau in his home. The business becomes an unexpected success, helping many families find suitable mates for their sons or daughters, nephews or show more nieces, even brothers or sisters. By suitable, they usually mean someone of the right caste (in the case of Hindus), someone who can afford a proper dowry, someone who has the right kind of job and lives in the right area. Families would prefer their daughters not have to move into a home where their mother-in-law lives. Rich people don't want daughters-in-law who want to work. Being previously married, whether widowed or divorced, usually disqualifies a candidate. And everyone it seems wants a match with "fair skin," meaning light skin.

One part of Ali's success is that he preaches compromise. Finding someone who checks off every box may be impossible. First decide what's most important, he says, then make allowances for the rest.

Another part of his success is Aruna, the young woman he hires to assist him and who quickly become indispensable, not just to the office but to the novel itself. In fact, what begins as Ali's story soon turns into Aruna's story.

She comes from a relatively poor family, and because of her father's medical bills there is no money for either Aruna or her younger sister to get married. Aruna needs the job to support her family, never imagining that she might find her own husband through the marriage bureau.

A love marriage is frowned upon, even scandalous, in this culture where marriage comes first, love later. So what happens when love comes first? Zama shows us in this always fascinating, ever pleasurable, constantly informative story. show less

A light, entertaining read.

(The casual way in which skin color is constantly rated here - always with lighter skin being more desirable in a potential marriage match - is the main turn-off in the book. I know it's an issue in India and in the US, but to hear people speaking so casually and uncritically about it is uncomfortable.)

Mr. Ali is retired and bored. His wife is frustrated with his continual presence disrupting her long-standing routine. So Mr. Ali sets up a small business as a marriage arranger to keep himself busy. He's soon busy and his wife finds him an assistant to help him. The story line is pleasant to read, but not slight. While the emphasis is on the light-hearted joys and tribulations of finding the right matches for his clients, Farahad Zama doesn't shy away from the more difficult aspects of show more Indian society. Mr. Ali's son is involved in protests around a planned industrial park and his assistant, Aruna, as well as his maid, have problems produced by poverty. Mr. Ali is a stubborn man, more so when he knows he is in the wrong.

The best thing about this book is the effortless way that it gives the reader a peak at daily life and marriage customs in India. Zama is Indian, but has lived for sixteen years in Britain. He understands what benefits from a brief description and writes well enough that those explanations flow naturally within the story. He writes vividly of the what, adding bits of why as needed. From a trip to shop for a new sari, to attending both a muslim and a hindi wedding, the reader is given a valuable and entertaining glimpse into another culture. show less

When I heard this book described as a cross between Jane Austen and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency set in India, I could hardly contain myself. Just how many things that I love reading could one author load into one book? And really, how well could an author incorporate all of these disparate elements? Color me thrilled to be able to tell you that Zama incorporated them all beautifully. I really did love this book.

Mr. Ali has been rather at loose ends since his retirement so he and his show more wife think that a marriage bureau will provide the perfect solution to his boredom. However, it is not long before his agency is awash in more work than he can handle, becoming more than the hobby it was intended. Mrs. Ali finds Aruna, a young woman who seems to be the perfect employee, despite the slight air of melancholy surrounding her. The novel weaves shorter stories about the people who come to Mr. Ali to find them their perfect match with the more involved stories of the Alis' son and the mystery in Aruna's life that accounts for her sadness. While seemingly simple in scope: connecting like-minded people in arranged marriages, there is more depth here than one originally suspects. But Zama doesn't dwell on the heavier subjects like the caste system, the disparity between the wealthy and the poor, reverence for and obedience towards parents, and the practice of corporate land grabbing. Instead, he touches on them lightly, acknowledging their importance in Indian life, but keeping this charming book less about the politics in India and more about the politics of marriage.

The episodic feel of the marriages Mr. Ali arranges lend credence to the comparison to The No. One Ladies' Detective Agency and the thwarted romance between Aruna and one of the wealthy clients of the agency is his nod to Austen. But this novel is pure India and these pages will transport the reader to the sights and sound and people of the subcontinent. The cultural side notes and evocation of place were authentic and fascinating, reminding me of our own visit there a couple years ago. The characters were endearing and delightful and completely real. And the descriptions were vivid, colorful, and completely enticing. I hope that other readers find the joy in reading it that I did. show less