ISO Broad-Minded Groom

ANITA JAIN (anitajain.net) is the author of "Marrying Anita: A Quest for Love in the New India." (Courtesy Author)

Waving his hand as if shooing away a fly, Vinod answered, "I have a maid."

"The maid is sick. Who cooks?"

"I have two maids."

"Your other maid is sick, too. Who cooks?" my father said, relentless.

"I'd hire a third," Vinod said, notching up his attitude.

"Forget the bloody maids! What do you do?" Papa bellowed.

With little deference to his prospective

father-in-law, Vinod grunted, "What, these hotels and restaurants are going to shut down all at once?"

I was beginning to feel sorry for Papa. With just days left, finding a "broad-minded" groom was proving harder than he'd assumed.

Papa crammed one last suitor in the evening he and my mother were to leave Delhi, mere hours before their late-night flight. Ranvir was a civil lawyer, a handsome, quick-talking man who, it turned out, frequently prepared cases for the Indian Supreme Court. He asked about my job, discussed politics and began a lively conversation about a novel he noticed on my bookshelf. I sensed he would happily cook dinner. One problem: Ranvir was only there to chaperone his cousin, who had not said a word since walking in the door. After about another 20 minutes, I ushered the men out.

That night at dinner, as we pushed our nouvelle cuisine around on our plates, my parents avoided the topic of marriage. I felt I'd disappointed them.

"Papa, Mummy, I want to get married, too, you know," I said.

"I know, beta. There is a time for everything," my mother said.

"We love you anyways," Papa said, "whatever you've become."

E-mail: xxfiles@washpost.com. Excerpt adapted from Marrying Anita: A Quest for Love in the New India. Copyright (c) 2008 by Anita Jain. Reprinted by permission of Bloomsbury USA.