Techie grooms go out of favour

The economic meltdown has taken an unlikely victim — the techie groom. At the times of lay-offs the future of techies — undisputed rulers of the marriage market till a few months ago — looks far from cutting-edge. Parents are looking at candidates with job security, even if they earn a little less. Ashok Das examines...Dowry hierarchy

The economic meltdown has taken an unlikely victim — the techie groom.

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The god of wealth, and not the god of love, has traditionally found favour with parents of suitable daughters. But in the times of lay-offs the future of techies — undisputed rulers of the marriage market till a few months ago — looks far from cutting-edge. Dowry hierarchy

Parents are looking at candidates with job security, even if they earn a little less. “Parents and girls are giving increasing preference to boys in the civil services, teaching, research and innovation,” said Purabi Rao, CEO, HR, Vanaja Rao Quick Marriages Pvt Ltd, the largest marriage agency in Andhra Pradesh.

The reason for the 180-degree mood swing, particularly in Hyderabad, against techies is quite obvious. This trend, still incipient, is also visible in Gurgaon and Pune.

Hyderabad-based IT firms are facing the brunt of the meltdown, while in Bangalore, the IT majors are in good health, which is evident in the marriage market.

However, non-residents are out of favour in both Andhra and Karnataka. The list of pre-marriage queries is getting longer to find out whether the prospective groom is loaded enough to ride out the meltdown.

(Inputs from B.R. Srikanth, Bangalore)