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"I am unmarried. If my friends know anyone, do let me know. I have no demands. Both caste and horoscope don't matter. My parents aren't alive. I have studied B.SC in Fashion Designing. I am 28 years old. My brother is working in Mumbai and my sister is a student. Here's my address."
This was a message posted by 28-year-old Jyothi KG, a resident of Malappuram district, on her Facebook profile last week. Her 'matrimonial ad' was as direct as it could get.
Instead of signing up on matrimonial websites, Jyothi chose to make use of Facebook, one of the largest social networking platforms, to send out a request seeking probable grooms. Jyothi also shared a photograph of herself, along with the post in Malayalam.
Jyothi's post that used the hashtag #FacebookMatrimony has gone viral on social media. At the time of writing, the post had received nearly 6000 shares and 10,000 likes, and has a comments section that seems to be exploding!
Jyothi believes that Facebook was a solution for her and many others like her who face difficulty in finding a partner. Jyothi says people can easily log in, enter their details and directly contact probable partners. This, without the interference of middlemen or matrimonial websites, Jyothi argues in her post in Malayalam.
"Since Facebook is a platform that majority of the people use," Jyothi wrote, "I thought it best to put up a post here seeking a groom."
She has also appealed to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, to include 'Facebook Matrimony' as part of their core network, and urged other users to send messages to Mark with this request.
Jyothi's matrimonial post has met with positive responses from several users, who have dropped their contact details in the comments section. While some users expressed their interest in exploring the possibility of meeting Jyothi, some others wanted to know how they, too, can use Facebook Matrimony effectively.
Speaking to Mathrubhumi Online, Jyothi said, "This is not the first time a matrimonial post has gone viral on Facebook in Kerala. In August last year, Ranjish Manjeri, a photographer from Manjeri in Malappuram district, put out a Facebook post seeking a bride for himself."
Like Jyothi, Ranjish had also said that he did not have any demands.
A few weeks later, Ranjish found out that his matrimonial post had indeed worked out. Ranjish got married to Sarigama, a Guruvayur native the same month. Posting photographs from his wedding, Ranjith had thanked Mark Zuckerberg.