This past week, I saw this advertisement about the “GurSikh Speed Meeting.” For those of you who have no idea the Sikhnet’s Gursikh Speed Meeting is obviously (and admittedly) the Sikh version of speed dating. According to the organizers of the program:
"The concept is quite simple. An equal number of Sardars and Sardarnis register. On the event date, each Sardar will meet each Sardarni one-on-one and chat for a specified number of minutes rotating till they have met all the Singhnis. This face to face style of meeting has spurred much interest, in addition to, respecting the participant’s privacy. Only if there is an agreed ‘CLICK’ will an exchange of contact information occur."
I remember when I first saw Sikhnet advertising this a couple of years ago and thinking to myself, “this is bold.” I don’t necessarily think dating for Sikhs is anti-gurmat, but dating is definitely still taboo in A LOT of Punjabi Sikh families.
So, I view what Sikhnet has done as “revolutionary.” When you really think about it this style of courtship successfully rides the fine line between what our parents generation finds acceptable (organized and controlled interaction with the opposite sex) and what the more liberated West would have us do (find a mate ourselves by dating as many people as possible, in search of that magical “click”). The fact that it pushes the limits just enough, without offending traditional notions (I think) is admirable.
Of course this isn’t the first time Sikhnet has encouraged a collaborative alternative to matrimonial ads in Chardi Kala or Ajit. Over a decade ago they introduced another accepted marriage helper: SikhMatrimonials.com. They call that site “the Matrimonial assistant” and it is an exclusively Sikh matrimonial site. Browsing through some of the profiles (for research purposes only) – I noticed that there were a fair number posted by parents and other relatives.
Personally, I am impressed by how gracefully Sikhnet has been able to introduce online personals and speed dating into the Punjabi Sikh community.It’s interesting that both were really advertized by an organization that is run by non-Punjabi Sikhs.
In any event, although these sites may be helpful tools, I agree with the speed meeting website that:
At the end of the day, Sanjogaan Dee Gul Hai!