The world was happy, meeting, greeting, and traveling - and then came COVID! It not only infected many but impacted the hearts and the minds of millions of people around the world. Aside from the elderly and the kids, the younger generation in their 20ies and 30’ies which is ready to begin a new relationship, travel, and meet has suffered.
The restrictions in travel and in-person meetings resulting from the viral infection changed the relationship dynamics around the world. This forced societal evolution in which people communicate had some positive as well as some negative outcomes! On a more positive note, some studies found that as a consequence of year-long quarantine, guys were more likely to take long-term relationships seriously, and thus paid very close attention to the quality of people and NOT the number of people they were meeting or speaking with. This realization to stress more on the quality of people came as a result of fewer people one could meet and the more time spent introspecting about life. Another outcome has been the growing importance of character over outer beauty. Staying inside one's house with people has taught many young Indians that importance needs to be given to inner traits rather than outer beauty - something Kedar has believed in since its inception a decade ago. Another outcome was a focus on clearer communication, more focused conversations around expectations and what people want out of a relationship.
Moving on to the actual process, another concern has been around family gatherings, a big part of the Indian marriage process. Indian families always like to get to know each other, before couples get married. In India, the belief is that marriage is as much between the two families, as it is between the couple! For this, many families have resolved to meet online via video conferencing. Not only the young, but COVID has even forced the older generation to be technologically savvy! Even parents in small towns have embraced the use of cell phones, online platforms, and video conferencing technology.
In addition, the focus has shifted towards getting to know each other virtually through online platforms, rather than people trying to meet each other at organized events that are planned by various matchmaking businesses around the country. The only issue is that none of these platforms barring a few guarantee quality of people- Quality that Kedar has always felt proud to assure for its members!
Those lucky ones, who knew each other prior to COVID or decided to marry during COVID have adapted to the new societal dynamics given the current circumstances. The big fat Indian weddings where you could have easily seen 1000 people have reduced their numbers to barely a few hundred while the five-day ceremonies have been cut down to two. For those who do not want to compromise on the festivities, they have decided to postpone their weddings to next year.
How has Kedar added value for its members during this pandemic?
For one, Kedar has completely shifted to an online platform providing access to its members globally. It has also broken with the norm, by providing unlimited chatting and messaging services to all its paid members immaterial of what plans they have subscribed to. Secondly, it has slowly contributed via its blogs to entertain and educate its member community on various issues. BUT most importantly, as has been the tradition, Kedar’s singular focus on the quality of individuals getting on Kedar’s platform has been a source of relief for both young and old who are associated with us. How did we accomplish it? Among many other things, our singular commitment to providing this platform to only the educated and professionally qualified individuals has helped. Second, our personalized service to our members, where the team has and continues to personally screen and verify all member profiles to ascertain the quality of people getting on Kedar’s platform. This has not only led to the prevention of frauds being barred but has provided all our current and future members with the peace of mind, as Kedar continues to assure quality on its platform.
Soon, Kedar will provide its members the possibility to video chat in the future, and the ability to interact through the online app in the immediate future. So stay tuned and stay health