‘Match’ing Partners!

Niikhil Ballal / Juili Kulkarni

‘It is said that marriages are made in heaven but according to us marriages are made in Anuroop, say innumerable couples who found their life partner through this popular Marathi matrimony website –Anuroop. It has more than 40,000 marriages to their credit and the couples who got married through this website proudly announce that they are Anuroop products. 

Anuroop Vivaah Sanstha was started by Mrs. Anjali Kanitkar in Pune in 1975. Her daughter-in law Gauri Kanitkar would assist her in this endeavour. It was not looked as a business then. After working for more than two decades as a banker, Mrs. Gauri decided to pursue her interest in psychology through her family business.

Prior to which she worked as a counsellor in Dr. Anand Nadkarni’s  Muktangan. She gathered such vast experience that she felt she can use this experience in match-making. ‘After globalisation, things have drastically changed and so have the rules of marriage. Some changes are good but some have become consequential to divorces. It is painful to see, couples break up for trivial reasons. Marriage is not only a union of two human beings but also of two families, lot of emotions and sentiments are involved. In some cases, huge money is involved too,’ states Mrs. Gauri.

‘The crux of the problem is improper communication. Couples fail to understand each other as they don’t ask right questions when they meet for the first time.  In Anuroop, we have not just restricted our roles in providing leads but we also guide them till their marriage happens. Since, the couples have to make up our biggest decision of life in barely a couple of meetings we provide them tips of how to make effective utilisation of time by asking right questions,’ said mrs Gauri.

I warn my couples that when you meet stick to the purpose, don’t deviate. It is observed couples spend hours together and still remain confused; reason for this is that they don’t ask right questions. Does it rain in your area, how hot was the temperature yesterday or will the government retain power in next tenure? are irrelevant questions that come up. During the crucial meeting. Instead of being concerned about government’s future, one should check their retention of relation with that person, stated Mrs. Gauri sarcashially. Afterall its a matter of lifetime decision, one has to be focussed, she adds witha pinch of humour.

Currently, we have 26,000 proposals of all Maharashtrian castes which also include proposals of America. We are happy to fix around 3,500 marriages in a year, smiles Mrs. Gauri. Anuroop’ success lies in technology. Had my son not insisted me to start a website of Anuroop we wouldn’t have been able to progress so much, says Mrs. Gauri. Anuroop has therefore made a global presence.

In 2000, Ameya Kanitkar son of Mrs. Gauri who currently looks after their overseas operations made this website. He possesses Master’s Degree in Information Systems Management and has been instrumental in the website coordination and website security. In today’s era, security is utmost important. It makes the candidate, feel safe and secure while searching for their “Anuroop” companion. Anuroop has achived ten on ten on the credibility parameter.

What make Anuroop more successful and popular than other matrimonial website are their innovations. They have launched 12 programs catering not only to couples but to in-laws, pertaining to role of astrology, pre-marital counselling etc. We feel only the girl shouldn’t change after marriage, all are required to change themselves, says Mrs. Gauri. Anuroop have also started playing a role of wedding planner by giving best wedding deals. The brain behind this is Tanmay Kanitkar younger son of Mrs. Gauri.

He joined the organisation in full capacity and is involved in bringing in a new perspective in this conventional business. Being a good leader and an accomplished orator has helped him conduct many successful Anuroop events in India and abroad. His primary focus is on improving the quality of service and introducing new features and services. With all these responsibilities he also takes care of daily office operations and is involved in Branch management and marketing.

Anuroop’s team comprises of 70 efficient people who work tirelessly to find perfect match for couples. They have expanded in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, Ahmednagar, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Indore and Vadodara.

The marriages which happen through Anuroop also have a good success rate, smiles Mrs. Gauri. As they undergo through so much of detailed procedure that they don’t fail.

Though this generation is bold but even then arrange marriages still rule the roost of matrimony world. When asked about todays marriage scenario, she said “I feel today’s generation is pampered so much that their expectations have increased, very few are ready to compromise and adjust. I am against compromises but one should have a practical approach as well. Demanding nature of boys and girls leads to late marriages and further add to their depression. Right time to get married is between 25 and 28.” says Mrs. Gauri.

She feels magic happens only when we leave our comfort zone. We leave our school, college, job for better career prospects. One feels it is better to remain single but for good life prospects one should come out of this singlehood and get married, adds Mrs. Gauri.

‘Marriage revolves around three प (Marathi alphabet)- Pagaar( salary), Patrika( ) and Parivar( family). Unfortunately, first two are given too much priority and last one the least importance. I feel the most important P is personality. I recollect one incident where a boy was not able to find bride due to his vocation. He was a tabla player and performed shows in US. I started interacting with him and tried to understand his personality. When asked what he does during weekdays when he is not performing, he said I sell tablas. I was amazed! And was anxious how does he manage to do it? He told me he would ship instruments to US and would sell them in idle time. This depicted his hard working personality. He had that killer instinct in him! It was unfortunate that girls couldn’t realise it and the boy couldn’t communicate his attributes, states Mrs. Gauri.

Anuroop is perhaps fast becoming a leader in the market which is flooded with of more than 1500 matrimonia sites. They are living up to their name-Anuroop which means a perfect-match!.