Unquestionably it was not the first time that I had heard the word bio-data when my mom asked for a copy of it. I got amazed or say shocked. I could not even guess why she needed it. So, I politely replied to her smiling, “Mom I already have a good job and I am satisfied with it, and you are not getting a job at this age even if you go with my bio-data.” She replied, “There are some social uses of bio-data too. I am searching a life partner for you and the boy’s family needs your bio-data.” 

To fix a daughter’s marriage, girls’ families should approach boys’ families and that’s the culture in most parts of our country, especially in tarai. Needless to say, as we have heard, the dowry gets fixed, but I have heard that these days a lot of marriages happen without dowry. I was aware of all that, but using bio-data for marriage purpose was completely a new concept to me. 

When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle had gotten married. Then, a girl’s picture was all that the boy’s side of the family needed to fix the marriage. 

I talked to some of my newly married girlfriends from Janakpur and asked them, “Do the girls’ families really carry their bio-data along with them when they go for a marriage proposal?” They replied me quite easily with the same answer, “Yes. This has been the trend for many years now.” I realized I am the obsolete one, having no idea of current marriage trends. I recalled all the marriages that I had been to, especially when the weddings were fixed, but could not find a single bio-data incident in my memory. 

So it was my turn to print a new copy of my bio-data. I started working on my CV. I wrote my personal details including my academic qualifications, Facebook link, and blog address as well. Now I got confused, should I also mention my years of experience, am I supposed to write my technical skills like C, C++, and Java, should I include my extra-curricular achievements, training and participations? Last but not the least, should I also mention my references? If yes then who should I mention and what about the recommendation letter? How would these things be judged? 

My confusions led me to analyze how times have changed. Ten years ago, a girl’s beauty and her father’s duty to pay dowry were the factors that fixed marriages. But these days they care about a girl’s education, her ability and her professional skills. I recently attended several arranged marriages in Janakpur, and they were completely dowry-less probably because the girls had submitted their bio-data. 

I am hopeful that someday all marriages in our society will be based on compatibility between the to-be partners. 

Mishra is studying MA in Sociology at Ramshwaroop Ramsagar Multiple Campus in Janakpur.