The beginning...

So, today I have a terrible headache, I've had to cancel a phone call with a prospective suitor as I don't think I can muster up the requisite charm and sweetness needed to entice a punjabi guy to marry me (well, not marriage straight away, we'd have a couple of dates first).
"But it's 2012" I hear you say "isn't this all a bit archaic." The answer is yes, but what alternative does a 30 year old successful Indian girl who failed to meet the perfect guy in her 20s have? It's surprisingly difficult to meet a guy the 'western' way and although my parents have been concerned about my single status since I was 24, I never took the arranged dating thing that seriously or saw any value in it, until recently, and now I'm thinking this may be my only hope.
So this is my story so far: I'm a second generation British Indian girl who did well academically, followed my talents and interests and found a career that I love. I've travelled, sampled the delights of the big city and acquired some random hobbies. In parallel, there has always been a big part of me that's intrigued by my heritage, leading to lots of trips back to the motherland.
Growing up, all of my uncles, aunts, cousins etc married into the same community; punjabi, jatt, Sikh (to be specific), so naturally I assumed I would do the same when the time came. I grew up safe in the knowledge that the perfect guy would be presented to me once I was ready to settle down, so I never gave much thought to relationships. Oh, how I was wrong!
I had my first 'tea party' at age 24, briefly, a family friend contacted my parents to tell them about a 'boy' she knew who would be a good match for me. So, on a Sunday morning, my parents and I made our way to the family friends house where we would meet the boy. There I was, dressed in a punjabi suit, about to walk into the living room to set eyes on my first suitor. I was greeted by his parents, his aunt and uncle, and a selection of his sisters and cousins, who all proceeded to look me up and down. I was taken aback but quietly sat down. The host then suggested that the boy and I go into the kitchen to talk. I followed him into the kitchen; the first thing I noticed were solid gold hoops in both ears and gold sovereign rings on his fingers. We went through the usual niceties and then the conversation seemed to stall, I realised that the boy and I had nothing in common apart from our ancestry and age (although he was 4 or 5 years older than me). I steered the conversation towards dating and marriage and he explained that it's perfectly acceptable for a boy to be aged 28 and single, however, if a girl should find herself in that unfortunate position, she should consider herself 'left on the shelf'. He also added that whatever happens, a boy will be fine because he can always go back to india to find a bride. Needless to say, that's where the conversation ended.

We went back into the living room where his aunt announced that it was a 'yes' from their family and the decision was mine. So, I said I'd need to think about it. I thought about it in the car on the way home, reiterated the conversation we had had and told my parents that my answer was no. My parents passed this on to the matchmaker who was baffled by my decision to turn down a boy who owned a Mercedes. That was my first experience of Indian dating and its been quite a journey...