Wanted: Fair doctor, age no bar

While the world’s eyes are on the royal couple and the ‘wedding of the year’ that will take place today, the city too seems to be bitten by the marriage bug. A survey conducted by Shaadi.com reveals that Mumbai’s women are keener on life partners who are either doctors, engineers or...

While the world’s eyes are on the royal couple and the ‘wedding of the year’ that will take place today, the city too seems to be bitten by the marriage bug. But while Prince William might be willing to marry a ‘commoner’ Kate Middleton, a survey conducted by Shaadi.com reveals that Mumbai’s women are keener on life partners who are either doctors, engineers or IT guys (72 %) and want "their guys" to be more educated than them (66 %).



Adding to the drama, only one % of the men surveyed want wives who are more educated than them. However, they seem more flexible in marrying girls who don’t have ‘traditional’ professions.The survey, conducted among 40,407 respondents from Mumbai, also justifies all the fairness cream ads constantly shown on TV with 43 % of Mumbai’s men claiming they want a ‘fair and lovely’ bride. Women, on the other hand, believe that ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’ (64 %). Also, the ways to get to know their potential partner differ for both women and men. Women think that ‘spending time with both families’ (48 %) will give them a wider understanding of their partner whereas men think that ‘spending time alone’ is more appropriate.



But thankfully, some modern thinking prevails with 58 % male and 44 % female respondents saying that caste does not matter to them as

much as the person. And an age difference is no longer considered a big deal with 19 % of women and 24 % of men saying it wouldn’t be a factor while making their final choice.



Interesting stats:

* 60 % women and 57 % of men say they would not be able to handle a disability in their partner and this would prevent them from marrying him/her

* 65 % women and 52 % men say they need to match horoscopes to find their ideal partner

* 74 % women and 66 % men are not comfortable marrying outside their religion

* 49 % women and 41 % men feel that the ideal age difference between them and their partner should be three-five years

* 73 % women want men who earn more than them

* 97 % men want wives who earn less than them

—Compiled by Sneha Mahale