‘America Varan’ Marriages among Tamil Brahmans

Abstract

In this article I explore how diasporic matrimonial arrangements among Tamil Brahmans are settled. In recent years the preference for ‘America varan’ marriages has increased on account of a large number of short-term working professionals going to the US. Along with changes in the Immigration and Naturalisation Services rules, the nature of marriage-related migration of women has also changed, as many now migrate with some degree of uncertainty about their permanent stay there. Here we explore how the search for suitable partners is conducted and the kinds of social expectations that currently prevail. Marriage within the kin group, which is the distinguishing feature of Dravidian marriages, is almost wholly eclipsed by matchmaking through horoscope compatibility outside the kin circle. It is argued that while diasporic matrimonial opportunities have certainly opened up new avenues for Brahman women to move into the modern world, the matrimonial strategies deployed and accepted still reflect deep gender asymmetries in the process in spite of the changes in the nature of ‘arranged marriages’.