By Sekhar Seshan

Marriages may well be made in heaven, but a Chennai-headquartered company is lending a hand by providing online services to get people married in India as well as abroad.

“I am my own most satisfied customer!” says Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and Chief Executive Officer of online matchmaking major BharatMatrimony. “I met my wife through my own site. It was a great feeling. She was in Gujarat. I had never imagined getting married to someone from so far away!” Even more interesting was the fact that both their parents’ names were the same.

Nearly 15 million weddings take place in India every year out of about 60 million people looking for life partners at any time. This puts the matchmaking industry on a solid footing to keep growing. The constant expansion of the wide range of services available promise to make every would-be bride’s and groom’s wedding dreams come true. Of these 60 million, about eight million people register on online matchmaking sites – and four million of them find a match.

Especially during the Covid-induced lockdowns, with people confined to their homes, BharatMatrimony came up with innovative solutions to help its members connect with potential partners using ‘HomeWedding’ services, bringing all the wedding services to their doorsteps at no additional cost. It also introduced a Video Calling feature, which helped them to communicate when they were not able to meet physically.

“My life revolves around Matrimony.com,” says Murugavel. “It is not only my business – it’s my purpose, my identity.” There is, he explains, a joy in helping people find the right match and lead a happy married life. It is also the mission of the company to create a better Bharat through happy marriages. This, he adds, is a compelling purpose that drives him.

With the Indian matchmaking industry estimated to be worth over US$50 billion, it is a highly fragmented market. Matrimony.com, in the 22 years of its existence, has set a high benchmark with its reputation for innovation, technical excellence, and entrepreneurship.

Many people, especially youngsters, find partners on dating sites nowadays, but Murugavel is clear on the primary purpose of his service: matrimony. “Online matrimony services have become the go-to place when it comes to finding a life partner, while a dating site is more for friendship,” he explains. “We do not intend to get into that space.”

When he himself connected on matrimony.com with his wife-to-be Deepa, they too did not meet and go out together a couple of times before deciding to tie the knot. “My father-in-law had created a profile for Deepa back then on Tamil Matrimony, and it was he who corresponded with me,” Murugavel recalls. “He wanted the horoscopes to match before we could meet. Once that happened, she and I spoke to each other a few times. Then I flew to Chennai from the US, where I was living, and they came from Gujarat. That was then we met, along with our families.”

While he is averse to dating sites, he has however kept pace with changing needs: seven out every 10 users of the group’s services are currently self-registered: they take matchmaking into their own hands and speak, video-call and meet the potential partner a few times before the parents are informed and it is only after that the families meet. He also keeps expanding into new markets. To further his belief in helping all segments of the population with better choices when it comes to choosing a life partner, he launched his Jodii app in Tamil two years ago. This, he says, is specially for people who have studied to the diploma, 12th standard or lower levels.

The flagship brand, BharatMatrimony pioneered several new business models such as EliteMatrimony.com, AssistedMatrimony.com and CommunityMatrimony.com, a consortium of over 300 community matrimonial websites. Over the years, it spread its wings to offer a complete array of services apart from matchmaking, with MatrimonyPhotography, MatrimonyDirectory, MatrimonyBazaar and Mandap.com. The services offered by MatrimonyBazaar have been rated and verified by India’s leading rating agency CRISIL as reliable and trusted wedding service providers.

There is also Elitematrimony.com, which caters specially to a market that is nearly Rs. 200 crore in India and is growing every year. These customers’ needs are unique: the rich need personalised and confidential service, Murugavel says. “Only BharatMatrimony can offer this, because we have experienced Relationship Managers who are good matchmakers.” Elitematrimony.com is advertised regularly, most visibly on television and in Sunday newspapers where it occupies the ‘solus’ position. “We spend optimally on TV and print,” he explains.

Why is he in this particular business? “Actually I drifted into it,” he says. “I always wanted to do something on my own and began by providing various services to the Tamil community in the US in 1997, when I was working there. Online matrimony was just one of the sections I offered on the Tamil community site. It later evolved into a business, TamilMatrimony, when I saw good traction and seized the opportunity.”

From the US, he came back to Chennai, where he was born and brought up, to formalise his business. “My parents belong to Chennai. It was but natural to be here,” he explains. And why is he still a hands-on CEO, though his people can run it without his day-to-day involvement? “My life revolves around it,” he says, simply. “It is my purpose, my identity – and my business too.”

Even though he has been doing the same thing for more than two decades, he does not see it as being monotonous. “Everything evolves,” he points out. “In the early days of the internet, online matrimony was not the first choice – but today it is the primary choice for people. Preferences change over time, but the joy is in helping millions of people find choices that suit them.”

Apart from crossing the Atlantic Ocean, BharatMatrimony and Murugavel have both come a long way from the one-man show that he started. Back then, his wife supported him by taking calls and doing a bit of administrative work. “She was fully supportive of my entrepreneurship journey,” he says. “We also discuss ideas and business at home. I don’t think you can separate an entrepreneur from his business at any time.”

The company has earned a listing in the Guinness Book of World Record for the Largest Wedding Photo Album, which was unveiled in 2017 – on Matrimony Day, 14 April. The 13.11 ft by 17 ft album, weighing more than a tonne, contained original wedding photos contributed by couples around the globe and took a team of 15 craftsmen over two weeks to fabricate.