Marriages may be made in heaven, but the thriving matrimonial markets between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have driven a wedge, thanks to bifurcation.
After 56 years of living as one, the acrimonious divorce between Telugus has led to a fall in the number of marriage matches between the people of the two states.
But one thing has remained unchanged. Hyderabad, even post bifurcation, remains the key deciding factor in the marriage market when it comes to matches between Telanganaites and Andhraites. This has led to a peculiar problem.
Though marriage bureaus in Hyderabad are reporting a substantial fall in the number of Telanganites interested in striking matrimonial alliances with grooms from AP, the reverse doesn’t hold true as a bride or groom settled in Hyderabad is still much in demand.
According to M Venkateswarlu of Hyderabad based Venus Marriage Bureau, the number of matches being struck by Telanganites with their counterparts in AP has plunged by nearly 50% in the last one year mainly because of insecurities about the future prospects in terms of employment opportunities and financial security among other things.
“After bifurcation I have fixed hardly any matches between the people of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Post split, most people from Hyderabad, including Andhra settlers, are preferring only local candidates for their sons or daughters as they feel AP is a new state and are concerned over internal problems between the two states,” said Venkateswarlu, who has been running the marriage bureau for the last eight years.
Quite the opposite, Jayanti Nirmala, proprietor of Vizagbased Jayanti Brahmina Marriage Bureau, said that people of Andhra Pradesh, particularly coastal Andhra, still have a preference for eligible brides or grooms from Telangana, especially those settled in Hyderabad.
“We are still getting clients seeking a good bride or groom from Telangana,” said Jayanti, who has been running the bureau for the last 16 years.
DL Mohan of Tirupati-based Rajalakshmi Marriage Bureau has the same opinion. He pointed out that they had recently fixed a match between a Tirupati bride and Telangana groom.
“The groom is not a settler but a Telangana native settled in Hyderabad, which made him very eligible,” said Mohan.
As per marriage bureaus, nearly 80% of matrimonial alliances are brokered by bureaus and only the remaining 20% are facilitated by family members and friends.