'Slim, fair brides, 5-figure grooms' are passe

CHANDIGARH: Time was when calling someone laddoo was a sure way to pick up a fight. Now people call themselves laddoo to net a bride. Not shaadi ka laddoo, mind you, but Diwali laddoo.
If one matrimonial ad reads ''hurry up, this groom is like Diwali laddoo,'' another spurs grooms-in-waiting with ''this bride is vanishing - be sure to catch her first.''
Welcome to the world of matrimonial hardsell.Short of shooting promos for prime time (wait a minute, wasn''t there a show with Mrs Nene aka Madhuri Dixit that brought sweet young boys and girls together?) prospective grooms and brides are getting innovative to find that illusive perfect match.
Surprise, surprise, these new-fangled matrimonial adverts are not the preserve of 20-somethings alone. Fifty-five-year-old banker Manish Kumar has announced his single-ready-to-mingle status with these words: ''I am the best deal for the right lady and there cannot be my replacement.''
Strong words but Manish says he has good reason to make a powerful case for himself. "After my divorce, I was very keen to get remarried. But how could someone else understand my need? So I had to write my own forceful ad," he says.
Simran Arora of Kohinoor Matrimonials in Sector 45 explains the new urgency in matrimonial copy. "There is a desperation to get married. With it comes the need to attract forcefully," she says.
As the be-different-to-get-noticed mindset spreads, matrimonial ads keep getting smarter, wittier and more hilarious and online matchmakers seem to get the toast of them. A spokesperson for online marriage portal ''Bharatmatrimony'', which has an office in Sector 17 here, says, "Good, bad or funny, we cannot tamper with copy sent by clients." That''s necessary for each to find their nuanced own.