Dating techniques are location and culture specific. Traditionally the man chases the woman with flowers, chocolates and jewellery. Candlelight dinners and dates to movies and plays help the couple on their way to intimacy. But in a society like the one in India, dating before marriage has been a taboo till recent times.
Indian dating has evolved over time and has received a recent fillip due to the changing socio-economic and technological conditions. Today Indian dating is more acceptable than in the past. Indian singles have an array of options to explore like speed dating, singles clubs, SMS-dating, online dating, and T.V. and Radio dating. Geographical, religious and caste divides are crumbling.
The advent of the Internet has seen a spurt of online Indian dating sites and online dating encounters. Indian singles meet on the net and start virtual relationships, which are fun but very unlikely to develop into serious relationships. In long-distance Indian dating, the couple lives and works in different cities and meets up for dates only on weekends and holidays. Though it implies a lot of excitement for the few hours that the couple meets for, this type of relationship requires a great deal of commitment. Interracial dating has caught up due to the opening of the global village, more racial tolerance and fascination for different cultures and races. Modern India dating customers are not only young adults but also middle-aged groups.
Another fad that is catching up in the India dating scene and its urban techno-savvy populace is speed- dating. It consists of a quick succession of 15-20 three minute blind dates for Indian singles. Life in the fast lane is reflected in the speed-dating phenomenon and singles play a game to select partners after a brief encounter.
Indian singles aged twenty-something in urban India are increasingly turning to the deliberately set-up dating forums. Other avenues of Indian dating include singles nights, television and radio shows, dating portals and SMS-dating. Technology and television have altered the rules of the Indian dating scene. There is a variety of Indian dating companies like 'BombaySpeedD8' and 5minutesdates.com. Also for Indian singles T.V. shows like Channel V's 'Agent Love' and websites like www.dates.com are all playing cupid.
It is amazing how technology has changed Indian dating. Traditionally, the bride and the groom could not even be sure of meeting before their marriage. Families decided on the marriage after consulting and matching horoscopes. A woman may be condemned to a single life if she was a "manglik" according to her stars.
Today, Indian singles both men and women can search for their partner at the click of a mouse. Besides surfing profiles on websites and logging on chat rooms, advanced tools like Bluetooth allow hi-tech cell phone owners to post their profiles that are accessible to other Bluetooth users in the same area. SMS- dating is also a fun for many users. Religion or region, language or diet no longer poses problems.
Indian dating has been dramatically altered. It has broadened the options for Indian singles seeking a partner and freed it from traditional bonds of superstition and orthodoxy.