Popular matchmaker Sumeet Merhcant is wooed back to Dubai

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Popular matchmaker Sumeet Merhcant is wooed back to Dubai A matchmaker who left the UAE after finding his soulmate in Norway is back in Dubai because Indian and Pakistani women in the emirates are “most in demand” on the global marriage market. In 2010, 7DAYS reported how love guru Sumeet Merchant – who claims he helped more than 4,000 couples tie the knot in the UAE but had been unlucky in love himself – finally got hitched to Oslo-based physiotherapist Violetta Jenssen. Five years on, the marriage magician has returned to continue his business of helping bachelors from the sub-continent find love. Merchant told 7DAYS: “I’m famous [for matchmaking] because of Dubai so it is my duty to give back to the community in Dubai. So many people are calling me from here [Dubai] to find a match for their daughters. They want me to come here. I get so many calls, and at the same time, so many boys in Europe, UK, US, Canada are asking to marry girls from Dubai.” The matchmaker added that he would have moved back to Dubai sooner if it had been possible. He said: “But I had to stay in Norway for three and a half years to get a [Norwegian] passport.” In fact, he said, his business succeeds mainly because of that issue and cites citizenship as the reason women in the UAE want husbands of Indian or Pakistani origin with foreign passports. “In Dubai, UAE, you will never get the passport,” he said. “People have a lot of tension and depression, they feel very insecure. Indians and Pakistanis are worried as no job means they go back, but they don’t want to go back and live in India or Pakistan.” Meanwhile, men of Indian or Pakistani origin prefer to marry women based in the UAE because they “know the culture of East and West very well”. Merchant said: “The boys try to avoid marrying Indian girls living in the West. They prefer to bring a girl from outside the country because they don’t want that quality of girl. They are more confident and too Westernised. Those girls argue more. “If they bring a girl from outside, they think ‘she’ll adjust because she’ll need me’. But then if you bring a girl from India she cannot adjust. But girls in Dubai are modern and educated as well as having good cultural values.” Merchant’s clients – mostly parents of girls – undergo a strict screening process. He said: “I ask for all details: age, qualifications, salary. I ask them to submit proof to verify. “I also ask them whether they have any health problems. “On webcam, during the interview, I tell them to show me their house, too.” Merchant stressed that the service he offers is not to be compared with any matrimony websites. He said: “Men on these sites can fool the girls. They just want to flirt online and enjoy life.” HOW MATCHMAKING WORKS: Parents or women contact Merchant, who places adverts in matrimonial classified sections worldwide. He says: “For example, Dubai-based Indian Gujarati Brahmin parents invite proposals for their daughters from professional, qualified, Indian, smart, handsome boys below age so and so. “I get responses 24-7. On the phone, email, profiles, WhatsApp, Viber. Some adverts receive as many as 50 to 70 responses.” Merchant screens each candidate and shares the final cut – about 10-15 options – with the girl and her family. It takes about 3-6 months to find a match, he said. He charges about $3,000-$4,000. megha@7days.ae   Read the original story at: Popular matchmaker Sumeet Merhcant is wooed back to Dubai