Is he a bank manager, or a bank clerk... already married or even gay? Let's hire a private detective
Business is booming for Sanjay Singh, the chief executive of the Indian Detective Agency. The Delhi company, which previously focused on corporate fraud and trademark infringements, has a new and highly lucrative specialism - matchmaking.
"My clients want me to check if a man is a bad character or look into a girl's lifestyle and morals," said Mr Singh, sitting in a rundown office that is the perfect caricature of a seedy detective agency. "It used to be just the rich who came to me, but now it's also the middle class."
Ever-vigilant Indian parents are increasingly resorting to gumshoes, asking them to check not only the income and professional details of a potential son or daughter-in-law, but also to establish whether they indulge in drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, are concealing infidelity or are even homosexual.
Despite Indian society's increased exposure to Western culture, arranged marriages remain a timeless feature, the norm for more than 90 per cent of the country's one-billion-plus population. The rules of the game have changed, however, as India's powerhouse economy has led to millions migrating to different cities for work. The social dislocation has brought an end to the days when battalions of formidable aunts and inquisitive uncles could be roped in to verify a potential spouse's personal background.
Now, with parents living far from their children's potential spouses, they rely increasingly on matrimonial advertisements in newspapers or on websites to find a match, and the checking of credentials is left to the professionals.
For brides, it is more often than not their chastity that is being checked, whereas for bridegrooms, it is their income and assets.
If a potential daughter-in-law is discovered to be involved with a man, the wedding is swiftly called off. In India's still conservative society, the private eye does not have to produce pictures of her in flagrante delicto: brides-to-be have been spurned on the strength of photographs showing them sitting close to a male friend in a restaurant, or with their arms around a man's waist while riding pillion on a scooter.
On the other hand, would-be husbands who claim to be bank managers have been exposed by investigators as mere counter clerks, alleged homeowners revealed to be tenants, and supposedly single men unmasked as divorcees. Closet homosexuals, who have gone ahead with weddings under pressure from unsuspecting parents, have occasionally been exposed, to the enormous humiliation of the bride's family.
Such was the fate of one of the wealthiest families in Lucknow, who spent vast amounts of money on their daughter's marriage only to discover, within days of a lavish ceremony, that the husband was gay.
They learned the hard way that finding a spouse for one's child from matrimonial advertisements is fraught with risk - which is why a detective's investigations can be so reassuring.
Some reports, however, accompanied by audio recordings, photographs and videos, unearth shocking facts.
"We had a father who had a vague suspicion about a boy," recalled Baldev Puri, the chief executive of AMX Detectives. "We found out that he was already married and had a two-year-old son. Even his parents were in the dark. They'd been pushing him to marry and he didn't have the courage to tell them about his secret wife."
On occasions, however, the information gleaned by private eyes can dispel unfounded accusations. An affluent business consultant, who requested anonymity, came to Mr Singh earlier this year distressed and confused and about to call off his daughter's wedding.
He had selected a wonderful man for his daughter, but the family had received emails from an unknown person. "They were filthy, dirty emails accusing him of obnoxious habits and going to prostitutes," said the father.
Mr Singh's inquiries revealed the allegations to be false. The father, relieved that his instincts had not been proved wrong, allowed the marriage to go ahead.
"For me, hiring a detective was a way of being doubly sure about this big decision," he said. "If I hadn't, my daughter would have lost out on a wonderful husband."
"My clients want me to check if a man is a bad character or look into a girl's lifestyle and morals," said Mr Singh, sitting in a rundown office that is the perfect caricature of a seedy detective agency. "It used to be just the rich who came to me, but now it's also the middle class."
Ever-vigilant Indian parents are increasingly resorting to gumshoes, asking them to check not only the income and professional details of a potential son or daughter-in-law, but also to establish whether they indulge in drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, are concealing infidelity or are even homosexual.
Despite Indian society's increased exposure to Western culture, arranged marriages remain a timeless feature, the norm for more than 90 per cent of the country's one-billion-plus population. The rules of the game have changed, however, as India's powerhouse economy has led to millions migrating to different cities for work. The social dislocation has brought an end to the days when battalions of formidable aunts and inquisitive uncles could be roped in to verify a potential spouse's personal background.
Now, with parents living far from their children's potential spouses, they rely increasingly on matrimonial advertisements in newspapers or on websites to find a match, and the checking of credentials is left to the professionals.
For brides, it is more often than not their chastity that is being checked, whereas for bridegrooms, it is their income and assets.
If a potential daughter-in-law is discovered to be involved with a man, the wedding is swiftly called off. In India's still conservative society, the private eye does not have to produce pictures of her in flagrante delicto: brides-to-be have been spurned on the strength of photographs showing them sitting close to a male friend in a restaurant, or with their arms around a man's waist while riding pillion on a scooter.
On the other hand, would-be husbands who claim to be bank managers have been exposed by investigators as mere counter clerks, alleged homeowners revealed to be tenants, and supposedly single men unmasked as divorcees. Closet homosexuals, who have gone ahead with weddings under pressure from unsuspecting parents, have occasionally been exposed, to the enormous humiliation of the bride's family.
Such was the fate of one of the wealthiest families in Lucknow, who spent vast amounts of money on their daughter's marriage only to discover, within days of a lavish ceremony, that the husband was gay.
They learned the hard way that finding a spouse for one's child from matrimonial advertisements is fraught with risk - which is why a detective's investigations can be so reassuring.
Some reports, however, accompanied by audio recordings, photographs and videos, unearth shocking facts.
"We had a father who had a vague suspicion about a boy," recalled Baldev Puri, the chief executive of AMX Detectives. "We found out that he was already married and had a two-year-old son. Even his parents were in the dark. They'd been pushing him to marry and he didn't have the courage to tell them about his secret wife."
On occasions, however, the information gleaned by private eyes can dispel unfounded accusations. An affluent business consultant, who requested anonymity, came to Mr Singh earlier this year distressed and confused and about to call off his daughter's wedding.
He had selected a wonderful man for his daughter, but the family had received emails from an unknown person. "They were filthy, dirty emails accusing him of obnoxious habits and going to prostitutes," said the father.
Mr Singh's inquiries revealed the allegations to be false. The father, relieved that his instincts had not been proved wrong, allowed the marriage to go ahead.
"For me, hiring a detective was a way of being doubly sure about this big decision," he said. "If I hadn't, my daughter would have lost out on a wonderful husband."
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