Single & Ready for an Arranged Marriage

Book excerpt: Maya’s ready for a change. She has spent three years in a “dead-end” job, and it’s time to pursue something more creative, something fun. She just needs to break this to her parents. Her Tamil, immigrant parents. But it turns out Maya’s parents are ready for a change, too! They’ve decided it’s time to get her married. She’s 25, after all! They tell her the process will feel like a family-approved dating process where everyone gets a say, and they promise her it won’t be a forced marriage. She can’t see how they’re supposed to agree on a husband for her when she can’t even agree with her mum on a saree. Still, Maya’s tired of swiping left or right for romances with the lifespan of fruit flies. So, after much careful deliberation, she gives in to her parents. Maybe this could be her chance to find “the one”. It will be fine! Right? Except, what starts as a hopeful search for love soon spirals into a whirlwind of speed-dating, societal expectations, and all the chaos of navigating your twenties. With the pressure building up, Maya soon finds herself questioning if she’s falling into exactly what her parents promised it wouldn’t be — a forced marriage. Will Maya find love, or be able to live the life she dreams of?