What does it take to find your soulmate after you reach the age of 50? Apparently, at Madhav Damleās Happy Seniors, a one-time membership fee of Rs 7,000. A small price to pay for love.
The happiness of the 150-odd people who have found companionship through the matchmaking agency is proof of its success rate. Whenever the topic of love in oneās silver years is addressed, one canāt help but think back to the year 2015. If you recall, there was a story of a couple in their sixties finding love. It broke the internet.
Channels and digital publications cited the story as proof of the shift in the way relationships were perceived in India and the acceptance of more modern ideologies. But, while we may like to think that live-in relationships have gotten their blessing from society, it is still taboo in many places and an unspoken sacrilege in rural India.
So, when Anil Yardi and Asawari Kulkarniās ādating in old ageā story emerged, the world saw it as a conversation starter to how senior citizens are beginning to shed their inhibitions when it comes to live-in relationships in India.
Kulkarni who retired in 2012 had been alone since her husbandās demise in 1997. Work occupied her mind but it was only when it came to a pause that she missed the beauty of companionship. And it was at one of the Happy Seniors meetups that she met Yardi, and the duo instantly hit it off. They took the plunge and decided to ālive-inā ā āgoalsā as any Gen Z would say.
